News Felix 910 30 September 1991

Daylight Robbery ^ m ? Twelve thousand pounds worth o f

equipment were stolen in one

evening from college premises

during the summer. The theft in

August was particularly blatant; two

computers, an oscil loscope and

several charge amplifiers were

taken from a single room in the

C i v i l Engineering department.

Accord ing to college security

there were no signs of a break-in on

the digitally locked door. The theft

can be timed to at least the nearest

half hour, as a printer on a recurring

twenty minute cycle produced a

10pm readout but not a 10.20 one.

A college security spokesman said

that up to thirty-seven people knew

the lock combination and stated 'a

more selective access system is

required. '

The civi l engineering theft was

not an isolated incident. Late in

August a computer was stolen from

the Bessemer Bui ld ing , in addition

there have been numerous wallet

thefts during the summer vacation

and several answer machines have

gone missing.

C o l l e g e s ecu r i t y are a l so

concerned about the ease of access

to some college residences. Head of

security, Terry Briley, recommends

that students get to know as many

people in their hall as possible and

that they challenge any strangers on

sight.

Student Hardship Fifty percent rise in students seeking help over summer Students have experienced greater

hardship this summer than in

previous years according to figures

compiled by the U n i o n Welfare

office. A n example includes the

n u m b e r o f students s e e k i n g

financial assistance which trebled in

July and September compared to the

same time last year. Acco rd ing to

Stefano Ruis , who took up the post

o f Welfare Officer at the beginning

of September, there has been a fifty

percent rise in the total number o f

students seeking help over the

summer months.

T h e p rob lems facing many

students were f irmly rooted in

f i n a n c i a l i n s e c u r i t y . ' T h e

withdrawal o f housing benefit

meant students lost a lot of help they

would otherwise have had, ' he said.

H e is very concerned that once

money required for such necessities

as food, rent, books, bills, poll tax

and so forth are set aside from the

standard grant, there is a very

considerable shortfall. ' The so-

called compensation for the loss of

housing benefit (ie student loans)

does not really address the issue,'

claims Stefano. H e advises students

to 'budget unless they're going to

get into serious debt. '

F o r those that are already in

financial difficulties or who think

that they soon wil l be, Stefano can

arrange debt counselling and can

even help negotiate with creditors.

Th is was a service that was run by

his predecessor, Y v e Posner, and

one that he hopes to continue.

Stefano is concerned that worries

over money wil l affect not just

students academic performance but

also their emotional well being,

'Debt always does' he added.

Accord ing to as yet unpublished

government figures that have been

made available to Fel ix staff, which

include the administration costs o f

the student loan scheme, the

government is making as much as

a fifty percent saving by abolishing

housing benefit and holiday income

suppor t for students . T h e

government appear to be expecting

students to pick up the tab in the

form o f large overdrafts. £3,000

debts are not unheard of amongst

third year students at Imperial.

Stefano fears that current student

financing wil l 'discourage students

from poorer families f rom going

into higher education unless they

are prepared to be saddled with

large overdrafts. '

Dur ing the summer a previously

unknown Imperial Col lege based

group called 'Academics F o r Free

Speech ' , ( A F F S ) produced a four

page A 5 leaflet concerning the gas

c h a m b e r s at A u s c h w i t z and

Majdanek, used to exterminate 6

mi l l ion Jews during the Second

Wor ld War. The anti-semitic nature

o f the material roused concern

throughout Imperial as it claimed to

be 'printed and published by

A c a d e m i c s for F r e e Speech ,

Imperial Col lege, L o n d o n . '

Fel ix was made aware of the

publication and its contents by a

local newspaper in South Shields on

the north east coast of England. The

paper received the leaflet in the post

in mid-August and immediately

telephoned Fe l ix to find out i f the

printing work was done by the

Imperial Col lege Un ion Print Unit ,

part o f the Fe l ix office. Hav ing no

knowledge of the publication, Fel ix

made enquiries around the College,

all o f which drew a blank.

The publication described the

findings of Fred Leuchter, the U S

execution equipment expert, and

ment i on s D a v i d I r v i n g , the

controversial 'revisionist' historian.

The material, o f a highly anti-

semitic nature, supported the

findings of Leuchter's report which

claims that in no way could the

chambers at the concentration

camps have been used for the

execution of such a number of

people within the time span o f the

war. It also severely attacks the

various groups that have been

outraged by his report and the book

based on it.

O n hearing about the document,

that had been faxed to Fe l ix , the

Rector, Sir E r i c A s h , said that T

cannot believe that this is Imperial

Col lege Academics ' and continued

by saying that 'There are a lot o f

nutters at Imperial Col lege, but I

cannot be l ieve it came f r om

here ' .Senior administrative staff

were extremely surprised when

presented with a copy o f the

publication and comments varied

from 'this is the first I've heard of

it' to 'we wil l be looking into it ' .

I m p e r i a l C o l l e g e S e c u r i t y

Officer, Ter ry Br i ley , thought that

the document could be considered

to be 'an incitement to racial

hatred' , illegal under British law.

H e c l a i m e d that one o f the

government's security departments

he called 'special operations' was

interested in the case.

30 September 1991 Felix 910 News

Private Parks

In future years, Imperial Col lege

students may have to pay to enter

Hyde park. This possibility follows

the dec is ion by M r . M i c h a e l

Heseltine, Secretary of State for the

Env i ronment , to privatise the

maintenance of the eight Roya l

Parks. Those against this move

believe that it may be part of a

larger strategy to put the control of

all Roya l Parks solely into the

p r iva te sector . A m o n g s t the

protestors are the Transport and

General Workers Un i on , to which

the parks ' current employees

belong.

O n Tuesday 17th September,

campaigners rallied in Holland Park

at the opening of the Japanese

Gardens by Prince Charles. Pol ice

presence was heavy and complaints

were l e v i e d against p o l i c e

behaviour, saying that they had

been 'bul ly ing ' anybody obviously

connected with park preservation.

M e a n w h i l e the c a m p a i g n

continues and the wheels o f

government continue to turn. Those

wishing to take action should write

to their M P , or the Prime Minister.

Prince Charles at the opening of the new Japanese

Gardens, in Holland Park, now privately

maintained.

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Evacuation of Mech Eng after Hydrogen Sulphide Gas Alert

M e c h a n i c a l E n g i n e e r i n g was

evacuated at 5.15pm on Thursday

after dangerous levels o f hydrogen

su l ph ide were a c c i d e n t a l l y

produced in the building's drainage

system.

A drain had become blocked on

Leve l 1 and a private drain cleaner

company had been called in. A

company employee attempted to

unblock the drain by pouring 93 %

sulphuric acid down it. The gas

reacted with a mystery material in

the drain and copious amounts of

hydrogen sulphide filled the room.

Acco rd ing to Ian Gillett, of the

college safety unit, low levels of the

gas are not dangerous but it

desensitizes the nervous system so

that when levels do become toxic

there is a danger that they are not

noticed. The gas is therefore

dangerous, and since in this case it

originated from the drains system,

the entire building had to be

i m m e d i a t e l y e vacua t ed . T h e

building remained empty for eight

hours until the gas levels subsided.

New Bookstore Manager

Imperial Col lege Un ion Bookstore

has a new m a n a g e r . N e i l

McC luskey left earlier this summer

and has been replaced by Ji l l

Gibbons. M s Gibbons left working

for Marks and Spencers 18 months

ago to go around the world.

'I didn't want to work in a big

organisation', she said, T wanted to

be in charge of making a go o f

something. '

Music Library Reorganisation — New Assistant

The Haldane library will have a part

time music assistant to replace Chris

Gutkind who left at the end of July.

Janet Smith, Haldane librarian, told

Fe l ix that the Management and

Planning group of the Col lege

Administration had initially refused

to replace the music assistant, but

after an appeal by M r s Czigany, the

co l lege l i b r a r i an , the co l lege

decided to compromise.

In addition to a half time music

assistant, the college wil l pay for a

new security system for the music

library. Mus i c wi l l be issued from

the ground floor reception desk,

while the Haldane entrance will be

permanently closed.

There are plans to move the entire

Haldane library stock to the ground

floor 'at some point during this

academic year ' , which wil l cause

disruption for a while. Fo r the short

term, the Haldane music library will

endeavour to keep to the present

opening hours.

Students Charged for Linen

Home students wi l l no longer be

provided with free linen when they

a r r ive at co l l e ge res idences .

Housekeepers have been instructed

by c o l l e g e a c c o m m o d a t i o n

management to offer linen packs for

sale to students. The original policy

included overseas students but it has

been amended after student union

intervention.

The linen packs contain two

sheets, two pi l low cases, a blanket

and a bed cover. Most packs have

been made up from the old l inen,

common to all halls of residence.

Acco rd ing to M s Gask in , the

Garden Ha l l housekeeper, students

rarely used the blankets that were

once provided as many people

arrived with their own duvets. 'If

they turn up with nothing they wil l

be able to buy something,' she said.

Advertisement Felix 910 30 September 1991

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To start with, you'll receive interest on your

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tough, we won't. No r wil l we pile on bank charges.

In fact, you can apply for a £400 interest-

free overdraft i f you need it.

We've also made the account simpler to

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And to make travel easier, we'll give you

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30 September 1991 Felix 910 Union Page

Welcome back (or to those who are

new.. .welcome) to IC for yet

another exciting term filled with

fun, frolics, joy and laughter, all

provided to you by your friendly,

caring, sharing U n i o n . I hope you

had a great holiday, as I didn't! O h

wel l , a president's life is a lonely

one . . . boohoo . N o w , down to

business.

Union Office

Those o f you who have been used

to slouching around the dingy

brown U n i o n office in the North

East corner o f Beit Quad wil l be

surprised to find that it is no longer

there. It has miraculously moved to

the central staircase and is now

bright and we lcoming with a

comfortable reception area for you

to sit i n , d r ink coffee, read

newspapers, or one of the many

welfare information leaflets which

have now been placed there, or

even talk to Miche l le or Cathy (the

very friendly administrative staff).

Should you wish to speak to any of

the sabbaticals then you need only

ask Miche l le or Cathy to let you

through the gate and we ' l l be very

pleased to see you .

Welfare Service

Elsewhere in this issue you wil l

have seen that we have a new

welfare adviser: Stefano Ruis joined

us at the beginning o f September

and has lots of new ideas (including

new longer opening hours!) to

improve the service provided. If

you have any questions about

welfare then come into the office

and either pick up a leaflet or speak

to Stef, he 's very approachable and

is a 'very, very nice man ' .

Stefano Ruis is

the Union's new

Welfare Advisor.

External Affairs

Lots of things have happened over

the past year to make life for

students that little bit harder. Firstly

the grant has been frozen to make

way for the student loan, secondly

all student benefits have been

stopped. In order to register the

student opinion of these changes,

the University of London Union has

organised a Hal lowe 'en sleepout on

(you guessed it!) Hallowe'en. There

wil l be more info nearer the date,

but i f you have suffered over this

summer then it is well worth getting

involved to prevent other students

f rom suffering the same fate.

Welfare

For too long, student welfare issues

have been ignored at IC . Hopefully

this won't happen this year. There

are two main avenues for Welfare

concern:

1. Educating and Informing

2. Campaigning for better services

The first is to be tackled by a series

of Welfare campaigns on specific

issues. The first of these wil l be a

general Educational Welfare Week

planned to introduce new students

to Health and Welfare issues that

should concern them (such as

F i t n e s s , E a t i n g , H e a l t h and

Finance). This is to take place over

the 5th week o f term (so long away,

you say!). So it gives you a chance

to learn lots o f bad habits before

spanking you and teaching you how

to do it right!

positions, write a manifesto quick!

I realise that there are already some

structures in existance within

departments and we would rather

tap into those structures than ignore

them.

Parking Permits

Application forms are now available

for students wishing to apply for a

parking place on campus. I must

warn you that competit ion is

high—there are only 100 permits to

give out and they are distributed on

a means tested basis so i f you live

within 30 minutes journey o f

co l l ege and have no spec ia l

circumstances then you are not

l ikely to get one so don't bother

applying. Y o u can pick up your

form from the Un ion Off ice and

they are due in by 5pm Fr iday 12th

October.

News f rom the Home Front Zoe Hellinger,

ICU President,

tries valiantly to

sound

interesting.

Read for

yourself The second can only happen if the

Un ion is informed of matters which

should be tackled. If you have any

worries about how you are treated

whilst at college then I need to know

in order to do anything about it.

Th is can be done either via a Un ion

General Meet ing ( U G M ) or by

talking to any o f the sabbaticals

personally.

Postgraduates

A series o f special interest lectures

have been a r r ang e d for

postgraduates, the first o f which

tackles ' H o w to choose a P h D ,

subject' and wil l be publicised

around departments closer to the

date. There wi l l also be a meeting

held in each department at the

beginning of term to which all

postgraduates are invited, to begin

setting up a support and social

network within college. A t these

meet ings we w i l l e lect a

'Departmental Representative' who

will be responsible for collecting

and disseminat ing in format ion

within the department. So if you are

interested in holding one of these

Finally

If you care about the quality of your

life whilst you ' re here at I C then it

is your respons ib i l i ty to get

involved in the Un ion . Joining

clubs, using the U n i o n facilities

( Ba r , S n a c k B a r , D i s c o s ,

Bookstore, Welfare Advice ) is a

major part o f the involvement

necessary to have a happy life here

and to improve your employment

prospects, it is also virtual ly

impossible to avoid using these

facilities which the U n i o n provides

for you . Another method is by

becoming interested in how it is

run, whether the sabbaticals are

doing their jobs effectively, whether

important things are being missed,

whether students are being treated

fairly. If you aren't interested then

it is your own fault i f you get a bad

deal in life.

That 's the rant over with, there'll

be plenty more where that came

from as the year progresses. . .Al l

I 'd like to do now is wish everyone

a great;. ,;ar at college and hope that

you all make the most of it.

— 4 —

Music Felix 910 30 September 1991

What follows is a reasonably

accurate account of a boy's own

adventure. Disconcerted and bereft

of any desirable challenge, our

intrepid (and imaginative) writer

sought that most rare and awesome

creature, rock's most potent siren

and the current darling of the music

press. Sonic Euph talks to Cranes'

Alison Shaw.

It does occur to me, though, that

however much you try to appear

o r d i n a r y , y o u r m u s i c po in t s

towards an isolationist stance.

' H o w do you mean?' Awkward

silence.

E r , it's not terribly approachable

music. It's oppressive.

'Maybe , but, we are reasonably

normal people ' .

But you have said of your music

that it may seem dark, but there's

I preferred 'Tender Prey ' . ' The

M e r c y Seat' is one of my personal

favourites.

' Yes , but I l ike the fact that H e

uses strings and piano on ' The

G o o d S o n " . - 1 '

I agree. It adds a new dimension

to his music , but I can still go back

and lose mysel f in ' Junkyard ' .

The word ' Y e a h ! ' right now

sounds like I 've found a kindred

spirit - but...

The Cranes Interview Surprise of this particular week

N o . 1. Guns 'n' Roses get Single

o f the Week in Me lody Maker .

Surprise No . 2. Cranes don't. This

is the same music press that

regularly attempts to convince us

that Levitation are more of a

household name than, say, Right

Said Fred (gay bouncers are a big

topic down our way, I can tell you).

It never ceases to amaze me that

idolatrous and gushing prose is

written by people whose only a im

seems to be caging Cranes under a

ridiculously small name. I suppose

we're all guilty of it f rom time to

time, but fingers seem to point

constantly at them, in unison with

cries of Bauhaus, Cocteaus, My

Bloody Valentine, et cetera ad

i n f i n i t u m . W h a t e v e r the

implications, they're keeping the

truth to themselves. A r e they

operating a master plan? strategic

concessions to the press and,

thereby, the public?

' N o . I mean, W e signed to

Dedicated in M a r c h last year, did

Tnescapable'that summer, toured

Hol land; Dedicated wanted an L . P .

before Christmas, but we said we

couldn't do it. W e started making

the L . P . this summer ' .

I have to confess that it seems

improbable that Y o u would produce

a long- form video; though quite

distinct from my perception of you,

it feels too soon.

'We l l , it 's not really. The video

contains four promos, some footage

from ' S N U B ' , and a home movie ' .

F a i r enough, I think. That

answers that one. D o I venture for

a big ice- breaker? The trouble with

'phones i s . . . they 're 'phones.

Amer i ca loves ' em. They won't

love Cranes, though. So, how does

A l i s on react to the purple prose of

our lovely music press?

T don't understand it ' .

M m m m . It gushes. It's over the

top.

' Yeah , I don't l ike - '

( E D I T E D I N T E R J E C T I O N )

' H a ha. Y o u ' l l never get M e to

say that. No , I can't relate it to what

we do ' .

always a light at, ahem, the end of

the tunnel; I don't get that, I don't

experience that with your music.

O h dear. Laughter. I laugh back.

What?

'We l l , you don't sound like a

Cranes fan. Don ' t you like us? '

N o , no, I assure her. I love your

Right. Lesson for today. H o w to

break a newly- established affinity

with a Rock Star. A s k a question

with the word ' G o t h ' in it.

How do you react when the name

'Go th ' is fired at you?

T don't know; I mean, what most

people think o f when they hear

music. I think you ' re the most

original 'band ' around. Cranes are

great. Readers, I mean that most

sincerely. Cranes are gorgeous.

O . K . , so there is a certain extent

with 'Adorat ion ' with the major

chords three minutes through the

song, but the main reason is your

voice.

' Thank you . It's nice o f you to

say it ' .

I 'm charmed. I mean it. Now I've

alluded to it, how do I avoid that

question? I don't . Where does the

voice come from, by the way? I

mean, it's described here as 'foetal

keening' (promotional notes to you

lot).

' O h god, P . R . O . D . . It's just my

voice, y 'know. A l l that 'chi ld - l ike '

stuff is just irritating' .

The problem is, it can't be

denied. She sounds so affected in

the songs. I make a discreet move

towards the pigeonhole marked

'another tack' . It seems to me that

most o f the bullshit said about

Cranes revolves around their

presumed antecedents - Swans, The

Birthday Party, Bauhausl I don't

know where they get Bauhaus

from.

'We l l , I used to listen to The

Birthday Party, but not any more ' .

Y o u still like N ick Cave, though.

' O h , I l iked ' The G o od S o n " .

' G o t h ' is the Mi s s ion and the

Nephs, and to M e that's more like

heavy rock ' .

Mmrp,, T h e Sisters. It's merely

another name for heavy metal. It

used to mean The Birthday Party,

Joy Division, U.K. Decay, even

Diamanda Galas. These, and their

descendants, are collectively known

as the avant-garde. Diamanda 's

another o f your compar isons .

Diamanda Galas and L y d i a Lunch ,

by association, seem to have

p r o v o k e d a l ine o f i n q u i r y

c o n c e r n i n g y o u r past , and

childhood traumas.

T don't wish to discuss it, but it

was relatively normal ' .

Yes . It's more o f a case of a

personal response to something,

because it is nothing unless it affects

something. E v e n so, this question

has accused your fans o f a sadistic

voyeurism because of the presumed

nature o f the music.

'We l l , any listener is a voyeur of

sorts. It all depends on your

approach' . Th is is undeniable.

A l s o , I have been given, on

occasion, to sadistic thoughts when

listening to music. All About Eve,

for instance, or Tanita Tikaram. M y

sadism as regards Al ison, I 'm given

to understand, is through my

interest in her failed catharsis and

the necessary self-inflicted pain of

the failure. Aga in , the voice o f

A l i son Shaw is held to be a catalyst

for the protective instincts o f men.

What I think, however, is that this

particular instinct is merely a 'sub­

heading' , so to speak. But this isn't

up for debate. Not on the 'phone on

a monday afternoon, anyway.

Shit. I hate 'phones. This is my

f i rst ' p h o n e i n t e r v i e w . A n d

probably my last.

'It's O . K . . It's like a chat' .

But it's so much better one-to-

one. I suppose Y o u must be really

puritanical with your product,

musical dictatorships and all that.

' T o an extent. J i m writes all the

music , but it's very much a gut

reaction thing ' .

Originality without contrivance.

A s l i p p e r y ba s t a rd , but

'Adorations/Brighter ' had a very

spontaneous feel.

' T h e f i rst v o c a l take for

'Adorat ion ' was the one we used.

It's mostly l ike, I hear the music,

and sing whatever words come into

my head ' .

G lor ious ly honest. Fantastically

natural. A lmost auto-suggestion,

but with distinct personalities. Even

so, 'Adorat ion ' feels slightly more

contrived than 'Fuse or 'Se l f N o n -

S e l f (both recorded on 8 -Track in

1986). The transience o f Cranes '

sound, a very definite thing, is not

gazing at it's own future. Her voice

was more raw in 1986, but this is

not base camp, i f you ' l l pardon the

pun.

'When we first started, we used

to bash around in a garage, and you

had to scream to be heard - but I

couldn't say where we're go ing . . . '

There is, it seems, some slight

truth in the inspiration through

adversity with Cranes. The i r home

town, Portsmouth, they found

parochial and claustrophobic. They

were the classic struggling artists;

poverty has often invoked great

inspiration. So, has their fame

brought that sterile kind o f wealth

their way?

'No . We ' r e still poor. I only get

£60 per week'.

O h dear. Evident ly , Y o u ' r e not

selling enough records. I feel

responsible; I shall therefore extol

Y o u r virtues to the record-buying

public.

' O h , please! '

Cranes are l ike the favourite toy

for our music press. It's the one

they're never allowed to play with.

They beg, whine and sulk; but i f

they got their hands on it, they

would break it and throw it back.

Cranes ' album, 'Wings O f Joy ' ,

is out now on Dedicated, and

Cranes play London U . L . U . on

October 11th. C o m e and spend a

day in A l i son ' s house.

S O N I C EUPH

— 5 —

30 September 1991 Felix 910 Music

Reading, a veritable mosquito bite

on the arse o f the naked land, yet

again plays host to what is known,

cryptically enough, as the Reading

Festival. Dav id and Seb discuss this

and the relative merits of drinking

until falling over in some dire bar.

The i r conclusion? Read on . . .

Friday.

Festival . What image does this

con jure up? T h i r t y thousand

pissheads believe it consists o f a

weekend orgy o f alcohol and sex.

It's not, but Reading always was

full o f contradictions such as, say

'Carter ' supported by 'the F a l l ' .

T r y a free festival and some brew

and you ' l l be amazed. N o more the

denizen of kids wearing Carter and

Ned ' s tee-shirts. N o more Goths

and all for free.

F r i d a y was a g o o d day .

Ominous ly grey clouds threatened

and occasionally pissed down on the

permanently pissed crowd, but the

bil l was excellent. Noise god after

noise god, never was a better l ine­

up seen - except for the 'Honey

Thieves ' . I've never heard or seen

the Honey Thieves and do not want

to talk about the bloody Honey

Thieves.

Not so the 'Babes ' . A n a i l -

Amer i can , al l -gir l trio who play a

bastard R o c k n ' R o l l se ldom

bettered. They paled in the face o f

the m i g h t y , m u c h m a l i g n e d

' S i l v e r f i s h ' . T h e i r r h y t h m i c ,

pulsating sound vibrates to your

very soul, truly, pop music to

brainwash to. Pure aural terror

faded as 'N i rvana ' took over.

'Dinosaur J r ' . L ine up, and be

buttfucked by J ' s Guitar. Another

disappointment. Fuzzy sound and a

shitty atmosphere ruined what could

have been. They still shred, cruising

through monolithic (Tut tut, Seb.

M ixed metaphor) tracks like 'Freak

Scene ' and ' The Wagon ' .

After greatness, 'Pop W i l l Eat

Itself. Again, need I say more. The

only band on friday worse than

Iggy, and that a lone speaks

nought but trouble. I would have

s tayed were C a r t e r not so

unmentionably dire. A l r ight I had

a headache as wel l .

Sunday.

With ony a few baggy stragglers

left over, drunken, dazed and too

much out o f their heads to be in yo '

face, Reading turned into a kind o f

ghost camp that Goth has always

been : r i d i c u l o u s and m i l d l y

third rate and little league. ' N ed ' s '

- ha! T h e final nail in the coffin o f

the unfunny joke bands. A n d that's

the funniest thing about them.

Expect a resurgence in the next ten

years, but i f I want humour, I ' l l

listen to the 'Sisters ' . O h Christ ,

what a crap introduction.. .

Yes , yes I confess my reason for

buying the Reading ticket and yes,

the idea is incongruous. The purple

lights, the pea soup of dry ice, and

The Reading Festival volumes.

T h e band that should have

headlined. 'Sonic You th ' . Sonic

Ter ror i sm. F r o m sex kitten K i m ' s

crusty panties to Lee ' s screaming

guitar, Sonic Youth were awesome.

A n d Iggy couldn't top it.

Punk is dead and men like Iggy

Pop still try to animate it's rotten

corpse. It was an insult to anyone's

sensibilities. Pause, and examine

the comparative merits o f spending

the remaining hours watching Iggy

strut his funky shite, or getting

headfucked by a blazing fire.

Saturday.

C o n s i d e r y o u r concep t o f

Saturdays. A r e they comprised o f

a headache, a field full o f shit and

corpses, lots o f people wearing tee-

shirts screaming Y o u Fat Bastard,

and lots of, er, fat bastards? No? O h

I forgot shit music too. Except 'the

F a l l ' . If y ou didn't see this, you

should be kicking yourself, or at

M u c h touted and perhaps over­

rated, Nirvana were the darlings o f

the Sub-pop scene. Patchy sound

ruined the day; see them in a small

venue or, better, buy a fuck of f

stereo and the i r a l b u m s .

Fuck 'Chapterhouse' - indie shite -

nuff said.

least 'searching for the place where

: they make this brew' . 'Carter

U S M ' , or the C U S machine, as I

prefer to call them, are not worth

the time of day. Contrary to popular

opinion, I do not dislike 'James ' ,

but the corruption of a good natured

pop band to major status speaks

ineffectual.

The 'Pooh-St icks ' were great.

Yeah, young people turn me on too.

The singer declares that we wil l

never see them again, before

launching into ' I 'm In Y o u ' . A t this

point I leave the acoustic stage.

'Gang Starr' are on the main stage.

I walk away; what I don't need on

Sunday is the sort of lifeless wank

' De L a Sou l ' brought to Reading

the day before. Luck i l y I meet up

with some friends and we have a

few beers. Jo Brand comes on in the

cabaret tent. Jo Brand 's funny. In

the acoustic tent, the 'Fat ima

Mans ions ' are playing. They win -

sorry Jo. So I wander to the tent for

'Ceausescu ' , ' V i v a Dead Ponies ' ,

etcetera. They don't play 'On ly

Losers take the B u s ' , b loody

shame, but Ceausescu is typically

violent. Th is man is very definitely

a main contender for the k ingdom

of rock and rol l . Cathal Coughlan

is a t h r i l l i n g neces sa ry

commandment. H i s version o f the

modern myth o f society spat all

over Reading and the 'B low Chunk '

attitudes o f the other bands.

Speaking of which

God fa thers are c rap . T h e y

capture the quintessential ethos of

all that's been shit this weekend -

food, tee-shirts, flat beer, Saturday.

Th is is not sensitive or clever: it is

the throb o f 'After Hou r s ' that

worked so well in Leeds earlier this

year translated to the massive open

stage and the sceptical square mile

o f audience.

E ldr i tch wanders to his mike

stand as the speed driven bars o f

'F i rst and Last and A lways ' echo.

He ' s wearing a tuxedo and bow tie.

I spent the entire weekend getting

shit faced to the point o f inanity,

and this was the first time I desired

sobr i e ty . G r u n g y b l a ck - a r s ed

Reading, gorgeously and ironically

confronted by a man in a tuxedo.

T w o songs in , he greets the

audience. It's 'Someday, everything

you need is just gonna fall from the

skies ' . ' D o m i n i o n ' interrupts the

confused Goths train of thought and

I laugh and pray for another nuclear

accident. The bitch is, they close

too early. H i s encore is for George

Bush - ' H e ' s got T o m a h a w k

missiles in his hands, he's got the

whole fucking wor ld in his hands' .

A s the self-styled, self-emasculated

pale emperor bel lows out his

thanks, the darkness closes around

the cheerfully unhappy Goths and

I wander back to the station, drunk

and dirty, and considering what a

generally wanky weekend it's been.

Yeah, I know festivals are crap. See

you next year.

— 6 —

Reviews Felix 910 30 September 1991

Bo°o S k P s e r ° ' s D v i n 9 Y ° u n 9

' The Tempest ' is ultimately a story

about revenge and the humiliation

of those seeking revenge when they

finally have absolute power over

the i r e n e m i e s . In Peter

Greenaway ' s v isual ly stunning

adaptation, 'Prospero's Books ' , we

are shown the story from the idea

that ' The Tempest ' was written by

Prospero and that its writing caused

the events to happen. Prospero,

played by Sir John Gie lgud, is

abandoned on a barren island with

his baby daughter and some books

from his library. Through the books

he obtains dominion over the

island's spirits and creates his own

k ingdom and eventually engineers

the fate o f those who abandoned

h i m . G i e l g u d b r i n g s the

Shakespearean language to life so

v i b r a n t l y that, at t i m e s ,

Greenaway's visual imagery seems

unnecessary. Those who have seen

his earlier works, especially ' The

C o o k , the Thief , his Wi fe and her

Love r ' wi l l be familiar with his use

o f symbol ism and colour, and here

again these are used to their utmost

effect. Greenaway also uses this

film to explore a new breed o f

special effect which allows h im to

animate the book's contents. This

is not a f i lm wh ich can be

understood from only one viewing.

Return visits are an enjoyable

necessity.

M y l a n .

Th is f i lm is a love story.

H i la ry O ' N e i l (Julia Roberts) is

a streetwise young woman who is

totally insecure mainly due to many

fa i l ed r e l a t i onsh ip s w i th

c o n s t r u c t i o n w o r k e r s . V i c t o r

Geddes (Campbell Scott) is a well

educated rich man who is suffering

from Leukaemia and whose father

wants a full time nurse to take care

o f h im. Hi lary lies about her

qualifications and manages to con

her way into the job. Against his

father's wishes she moves into the

spare room in V ic tor ' s flat to help

h im after he has been for treatment

at the hospital.

After her fist experience o f his

behaviour once he 'd been for

chemotherapy she is left with a

decision to make—can she cope

with this every week or should she

leave the man who is totally

dependent for one night out o f

seven. She stays.

A s the film progresses you see

Victor change. H e is, at the start of

the film, very arrogant and uncaring

but you can see the effects Hi lary

is having on h im. Y o u see h im as

the frail man who needs her help

and support to get through life. She

encourages h im to develop, she

teaches h im to drive, helps him give

up smoking and makes h im eat

proper meals. He in turn helps her

develop—teaching her about art and

some o f his favourite artists—she

The Jewish Society wil l not be

holding a stall at Freshers ' Fa i r

because that day is S imshas

Torah—the rejoicing o f the law.

There wil l be a Simshas Torah

service and party at the new West

E n d synagogue, 10 St Petersberg

Plase, W2 , 071-727 3480 at 7.20pm

on Monday 30 September. There

wil l be light dinner and speeches

and we wil l be holding a stall

sometime during freshers' week—

look out for the posters.

Michael 'Max' Factor,

Chairman Jewish Society.

The Student Industrial Society is

one o f the largest and most active

societies in Imperial Col lege. It is

one of sixty groups making up the

National Student Industrial Society

(1,400 members) which together

a im to increase awareness o f

industry and commerce amongst

students and promote industrial and

commericial involvement in higher

education.

If any of the above interests you,

come along and see us at Freshers '

Fa i r .

• Dur ing Freshers ' Fa i r , Col lege

refectories wi l l be ho ld ing a

treasure trail covering both the

refectories and Southside Bars. The

prize is two tickets to see Simple

Minds at Wembley on the 21st. Ten

days are given for the answers to

the treasure trail questions.

becomes a strong person, changing

from the depressed and oppressed

lonely girl into someone who could

cope with anything even the fact

that she could be spending the rest

o f her life with a man who spends

Monday nights with his head stuck

down a toilet.

It is a moving film. A s Hilary and

V ic tor are the only two characters

who get any form o f development

you become compassionate towards

them and their needs. Although the

film gets a little too sloppy at times

it is well made. Directed by Joel

Schumacher (Flatliners, The Lost

Boys) with a competent production

team (Sally F i e l d and K e v i n

M c C o r m i c k ) and a group o f expert

actors.

A nice nice way to spend a Friday

evening if you like a good romantic

film and permanently carry a packet

of tissues in your back pocket.

S a m Cox.

IC ENTS PRESENTS

F R E S H E R S ' W E E K '91 Monday 30 Sept New Year's Party

8pm-3am, £ 6

Wednesday 2 Oct Comedy Night

9pm-1am, £ 4 on the door (if there's space)

(if you have a week ticket, turn up before 8.30pm

Friday Oct 4 Freshers' Ball 8pm-3am, £ 6

Tickets available from the Union Office. Week tickets—guaranteed

entry to all 3 events—only £12

— 1 —

Felix 910

First Years' Introduction So, having seen the handbook you ' l l

have read a little about all those

wonderful clubs and societies and

others. But don't just be led by mere

written words, go and meet the

people responsible.

O n Tuesday afternoon f rom

2.30pm onwards all the clubs and

societies wi l l be displaying their

wares around college and the union

b u i l d i n g . C l u b s cannot take

membership on the day, though

they are allowed to sell goods from

their stalls. D o come and meet some

o f those nice union officers at the

union stall (outside the union office)

or the sweet and cuddly Fel ix crew

in Beit Quad (by the student

magazine office).

m T h e un ion off icers w i l l be

wearing 'Imperial Col lege U n i o n '

badges throughout Freshers' Week.

Far from being for purely sartorial

elegance, this means you can stop

them and ask them any questions

you like.

If wandering around proves too

exciting for you , then you can

always retire to the lounge bar for

a drink and some food, which wil l

be open all afternoon.

Steve Farrant,

ICU Hon Sec

(Events)

welcomes first

years to

Imperial.

Contacts in College. A l l the fol lowing numbers can be used on internal phones.

Emergencies 999

Health service.

14 Prince's Gardens.

Emergency 3333

Health Centre Reception 3099

Security Office.

T o report a cr ime 3372

Ch i e f Security Off icer, Keith Reynolds 3371

Sherfield 152.

Security Off icer, Ter ry Bri ley 3370

Sherfield 150.

Student Union.

First Floor, Union Building, Beit Quad.

Reception, General Enquiries 3500

Welfare Adv i sor , Stefano Ruis 3507

I C U President, Zoe Hel l inger 3501

Linstead '434 3511

I C U Deputy President, Jonathan Griffiths 3502

Tizard 628 3512

I C U Honorary Secretary (Events), Steve Farrant 3503

Falmouth-Keogh 388 3513

Fel ix Editor , A d a m Harrington 3515

Selkirk 462 3516

General Administration.

Rector, Sir E r i c A s h 3000

Sherfield 541.

Managing Director , Angus Fraser 6106

Sherfield 545.

Registrar, Peter M e e 3201

Sherfield 339.

Dean o f St. M a r y ' s , P ro f Peter Richards (23042)5010

St Mary's, off Praed St.

Catering Manager , S imon Westerman 3271

Sherfield 101.

College Media.

Student Newspaper (Felix) 3515

Ground Floor, far left hand corner of the Union Building, Beit Quad.

IC Radio 3440

Next to Southside Shop.

Student Te lev is ion o f IC ( STO IC ) . . . . .3518

Third Floor, Union Building, Beit Quad.

Constituent College Unions.

Ci ty and Gui lds U n i o n Offices 8673

Mechanical Engineering Building.

Roya l Col lege of Science U n i o n 8675

Old Chemistry.

St. M a r y ' s Hospital Med ica l School U n i o n (23042)5196

St. Mary's, off Praed St.

Roya l School o f M ines U n i o n 8674

Royal School of Mines.

Residences and Maintenance.

Estates Director , Gordon Marshal l 3402

Sherfield 528.

Accommodat ion & Conference Manager , Sheelagh Crampton 3605

15 Prince's Gardens.

Student Accomodat ion Off icer, Loretto O 'Ca l l aghan 3604

15 Prince's Gardens.

Other Services.

Student Counsel lor , D o n Adl ington 3041

75 Prince's Gardens.

Careers Adv isory Service Director, John Simpson 3251

Sherfield 306.

NatWest Bank 3160

Ground Floor, Sherfield

Bookstore 3032

Sherfield Walkway

Chapla incy 3035

10 Prince's Gardens.

Central Libraries 3050

Haldane L ibrary 3070

Safety Director , Ian Gillett 8687

14 Prince's Gardens

8 —

Freshers' Fair Felix 910 30 September 1991

Fresher's Fair Guide

The Union Building

Ground

Floor

Student

Newspaper

Toilets

Lounge

Lift

Beit Quad

Cafe Lounge Bar Union Bar

1 Toilets

Games

Room

First

Floor

•

Second

Floor

Third

Floor

Rag Union Dining

Room

Lift

Toilets

BCR CCR EE

GCR STOIC Lift

Union and

Welfare Office

Snooker Table Tennis

B C R - B r o w n Committee R o o m

C C R - C l u b s Committee R o o m

G C R - G r e e n Committee R o o m

IE-International Enrichment

OS-Operat ic Society

STOIC-Student Televis ion o f

Imperial Col lege

— 9 —

30 September 1991 Felix 910 Freshers' Fair

1 October 1991

Kensington Gardens

Kensington Gore

I C U

B Q

Prince Consort Road

Imperial College Road

B iochem

Chem

n o

&

a o

• i — i +-»

• i — i

i ffl

The College Campus

LIS

180-180 Queensgate

BQ -Be i t Quadrangle

ICU- Imper ia l Col lege U n i o n

Bui ld ing

Q L - Q u e e n ' s L a w n

Q T - Q u e e n ' s Tower

R A H - R o y a l Albert Ha l l

R C M - R o y a l Col lege o f M u s i c

R C S - R o y a l Col lege o f Science

U n i o n offices

R S M - R o y a l School o f M ines

Freshers' Fair Felix 910 30 September 1991

Remember that no club or society

can take membership or money at

the fair.

A Alumnus Off ice S A R

Amnesty International U D H

Ant i -War in the G u l f U D H

Arts Appreciation C H

Arts Week C H

Association Footbal l M D H

A u d i o Lounge

H Haldane L ibrary M D H

Health Centre Lounge

Hockey Q L

T H Huxley Q L by M D H

Indian M D H

Industrial M D H

Intercity M D H

Where to find us The clubs and

societies at IC

can be met at

these locations

during Freshers'

Fair, at 2.30pm

tomorrow,

Tuesday 1st

October.

B Badminton M D H

Barclays Bank S A R

Bi l l iards &

Snooker Snooker R o o m

Biostar M D H

Boardsai l ing Q L

Boat B y Q T

B U N A C M D H

Canoe B Q

Careers Adv i so ry

Service Lounge

Catholic U D H

Cav ing B Q

C & G U Q L by L ibrary

C & G U Rugby B Q

Chess Lounge

Cho i r C H

Christian U n i o n Q L

Chinese S A R

Computer Sales M D H

Conservative U D H

Cr icket M D H

Cross Country M D H

Cyc l i ng Q L by M D H

D Dance Q L by M D H

Day Nursery M D H

DramSoc C H

E Endsleigh Insurance S A R

Engineers & Masters

Assoc U D H

Ents Lounge

Environment & Appropriate

Technology U D H

Japan S A R

Jazz & Rock C H

Jewish U D H

Jiu Jitsu (London) M D H

Judo U n i o n G y m

K K C F O S S A R

K C V B U D H

Korfbal l (London) M D H

L a w n Tennis M D H

Lebanese S A R

L loyds Bank S A R

M Malays ian S A R

Methodist Lounge

Mid land Bank . . . . S A R

Mountaineering Q L

N Nat West Bank S A R

Nightline Lounge

o Operatic C H

Orienteering M D H

O T C M D H

Parachute M D H

Pakistan S A R

Photographic Lounge

P iml ico Connection C H

Pro -L i fe U D H

Mode l l ing Q L by M D H

Rif le & Pistol Outside M D H

Rid ing M D H

Rock M D H

R S M U Q L by L ibrary

R S M U Rugby . . . . . B Q

Rugby B Q

Sail ing Q L

S c i - F i C H

Scout & Guide B Q

S E D S C H

Shaolin K u n g F u U n i o n G y m

Shotokai ( London ) . . . .Un ion G y m

Singapore S A R

Sikh Q T Base

Sk i M D H

SplotSoc M D H

Sporting M o t o r c y c l e Q L by M D H

Squash M D H

Sr i Lankan S A R

S T A S A R

Stoic Lounge

Student Christian

Movement U D H

S W S S U D H

Swimming & Water P o l o . . . M D H

Symphony Orchestra C H

Table Tennis T Tertnis R o o m

Ta iwan S A R

T h i r d W o r l d First U D H

T h a i S A R

T i m e Out Lounge Bar

Turk i sh . . . S A R

u U L U Lounge Bar

Underwater B Q

Union . . .Outs ide IC U n i o n Office

w W a r Games Lounge

Welfare Outside U n i o n Office

H G Wel l s Q L by M D H

West L o n d o n C h a p l a i n c y . . . U D H

W ine Tasting M D H

W i n g C h u n U n i o n G y m

W u Shu K w a n U n i o n G y m

Yacht C lub M D H

Y H A M D H

F B I U D H

Fencing M D H

Fel ix B Q

F i l m Lounge

Fitness M D H

G G l i d i n g . . Q L

R Radio Q L by Q T

R A F M D H

Rag Lounge

R C S U Q L by L ibrary

R C S U Rugby B Q

Real A l e M D H

Remote Contro l

KEY B Q Beit Quad

C H Concert Ha l l

M D H M a i n D in ing Ha l l

Q L Queens L a w n

Q T Queens Tower

S A R Sherfield An te -Room

U D H Un ion D in ing Hal l

— 11—

30 September 1991 Felix 910 Feature

John Simpson Dear Fresher,

We lcome to Imperial Col lege.

The next three or four years should

be among the most interesting and

enjoyable in your life, provided you

make the most o f the opportunities

available at university. Th is open

letter aims to give you some ideas

for your own self-development.

Y o u can probably recall one of

the significant steps in your life

when you entered the sixth form or

went to sixth form college. Coming

to university is an even more

significant step. Y o u have more

freedom, more independence and

more opportunities to do your own

thing and to succeed or fail. If you

do not make some mistakes you will

not have learnt anything, learning

from one's own mistakes is an

important part o f experience, but

don ' t waste time re- inventing

everything—build on the experience

o f others—take advice (it's usually

free)—ignore some of it, test it out,

accept or reject it.

Y o u have already demonstrated

some planning ability by passing

' A ' levels—or their equivalent—

sufficiently well to be at Col lege.

H o w are you going to plan the next

three, four or six years? A n d I 'm

not talking just about your academic

studies, I 'm talking about the start

o f the rest o f your life. Setting

objectives some people call it.

If your short-term objective is to

do as little work as possible and

your medium-term objective is to

scrape a pass, and your long-term

objective is to be idle and poor, then

there is no conflict. But i f you have

grander long-term objectives you

wil l have to modify your short and

medium-term objectives.

By the end o f the summer term

in your first year you may be feeling

the financial pressures—in other

words you ' re probably broke! So

how about earning some good

money in the long vacation? If you

leave job hunting until the vacation

starts you may be too late. A l l the

interesting and lucrative jobs have

been filled already and you wil l be

lucky i f the local council wants

some grass cutting or the garden

centre needs a dirty pair of hands.

It's well worthwhile doing some

preliminary job hunting between

Christmas and Easter. Ca l l in at the

IC Careers A d v i s o r y Se rv i ce

(Room 310, Sherfield Building)

where you wil l find information

about Vacat ion Tra in ing , write to

employers with your C V , call in to

some local shops and hotels and see

who's advertising in the local press.

Vacat ion jobs can be most

informative. Ideally they give you

an insight into the type of work you

may be interested in when you leave

college. They give you experience

in job hunting, letter writing and

interviews, as well as a real insight

into what it's like to work for a

particular type of employer. Some

even pay you quite well . Jobs

abroad are popular and early

applications are essential. Start by

visiting the IC Careers Adv isory

Service which has a good range o f

reference books and addresses.

A t the start of the second year you

raise your sights higher. Now is the

time to test your skills in organising

something—a social evening for

your department, looking after the

finances o f a society or fixtures

secretary of your team. That sounds

too much like hard work, I hear you

say. Yes , it does take some effort

on your part but generally speaking

the more effort you put into

something the more enjoyment you

wi l l get out of it.

Committee work is excellent

preparation for life after Col lege.

Y o u learn to set agendas, run

meetings, agree actions, persuade

other students to do things, work

within budgets and end up with a

successful event—a party, a visit,

a play or a newspaper.

Y o u shou ld start t h i n k i n g

seriously about your future career

before the end o f the second year.

Even i f you haven't a clue what you

want to do, that's no excuse for

delaying finding out about the

possibilities. Y o u are surrounded

with sources o f i n f o r m a t i o n -

friends, family, tutors, careers

advisers, libraries. Start looking. It

may be a long process but so is life,

so it really is worth spending more

time thinking about your career than

planning your next weekend or

holiday.

The IC Careers Advisory Service

is a good starting place. Pop in and

speak to the information officer.

F ind out about 'Gradscope ' and all

the in format ion booklets and

reference files. Have a look at some

of the videos, attend some seminars

on careers, get yourself sorted out.

Christmas vacation courses are a

popular way of finding out about

careers such as marketing, but only

a few major recruiters run them and

they are normally over-subscribed

many times. The Careers Research

Adv i so ry Centre ( C R A C ) runs a

series of 'Insight Into Management'

courses which are also a popular

way o f f i n d i n g out about

management careers.

Stop! I'm only a fresher—why

are you telling me all this?

I 'm telling you because you need

to start planning your life now,

don't just drift through Col lege and

emerge with a degree and nothing

else. O f course a degree is

important and must be your first

priority, but not your only priority.

In the meantime, enjoy yourself.

J o h n S i m p s o n .

Last year the college administration

had another of its periodic binges

o f cost-cutting. ' A s ever, the

a d m i n i s t r a t i o n started on

unnecessary fripperies such as

student, faci l it ies, streamlining

college expenditure to the barest

min imum, namely the generous

salaries awarded to the ranks of

faceless bureaucrats for whom the

college exists. One of the facilities

put under the sword was the

Careers Advisory Service (CAS ) .

There was a struggle f rom which

the C A S emerged shaken, though

not severely damaged, except that

the C A S was to disaffiliate from the

Univers i ty o f L o n d o n C A S -

U L C A S . This meant that D r Russ

C la rk , the then Director of the

service, who was provided by

U L C A S , had to leave.

But if we had not lost D r C la rk ,

we would not have gained M r John

Simpson, who became the director

of I C C A S earlier this summer.

John Simpson joined ICI in

Teesside as a student engineer - an

apprentice - straight from school. In

1959 he started a degree course in

Mechanical Engineering at Imperial

Col lege, graduating in 1962. H e

then returned to ICI at Teesside to

manage a chemical plant. In 1967

he m o v e d to IC I L o n d o n

headquarters at Mi l l bank for three

years, working in personnel, and

then another six years in Teesside

working with white collar unions.

He spent three years with ICI in

B r u s s e l s , t r a v e l l i n g w i d e l y ,

work ing with expatriates and

working on salary surveys - that is

the comparison o f salaries to

r a t i ona l i se wage l eve l s for

employees. In 1979 he returned to

M i l l b a n k , L o n d o n as an ICI

graduate recruitment manager.

'I 've been a bit of a corporation

gipsy ' , he told Fe l ix , ' . . .but I 've

always taken a very close interest

in career's work ' . H e was on the

career's advisory board of Sussex

University for six years, on the

U L C A S board for two and the

R O G E T advisory board for five.

A s John S impson had been

working with ICI for 32 years,

Felix asked him why he had decided

to leave. After a pause for thought

he replied - ' I 'd always anticipated

that by my early fifties I'd want to

do something different. What I want

to do is w o r k in c a r e e r ' s

advice I am delighted to be

here, I've been made to feel very

we l come , the env i ronment is

pleasant and the job has proven to

be what I hoped it would ' .

H e told Fe l ix that the present

I C C A S was 'very well set up and

organised.... the information is first

class .... there is the right balance

of experience amongst the staff .

K e n Wiltsher joined I C C A S with

John S impson. f rom ICI - he has

been seconded on a full time basis

until he finds another job. The team

also includes Frances M c E w e n ,

who has come from working at the

Polytechnic of Central London C A S

and who worked at I C C A S a couple

o f years ago, T o n y Da ly , the new

information officer who joined

I C C A S in July, and Paula Cul lens,

the information assistant who has

come from Keele University. The

graduate recruitment officer, Tracy

Carter, provides continuity with the

previous team and Bi l l Fox , another

secondee, works at I C C A S for two

days a week. John Simpson said that

there were no plans to expand the

service further though replacements

for K e n Wiltsher or B i l l Fox wil l

be found when either leave.

Conc luding the interview, M r

Simpson said 'the job market in

1991 has fewer vacancies and less

r e c ru i tmen t a d v e r t i s i n g . Job

vacancies are down by 2 0 % and

1992 will be equally difficult i f not

worse. M y strong advice is to start

looking early - to use the Careers

Advisory Service If there is one

message I want to get across that is

to apply early. Y o u might get a job

as Imperial has a good reputation -

but the popular jobs will be gone by

Easter. '

12—

What's On Felix 910 30 September 1991

museums

Victoria and Albert

938 8500/8349/8441/8442.

C romwe l l R d S W 7

10-6 Mon-Sat , 2.30-6 Sun.

Donation

Science

938 8000/8123. Exhibit ion R d

S W 7

10-6 Mon-Sat , 11-6 Sun. £1.75

student (but free to IC students),

£3.50 adult, free after 4.30

M o n - F r i , free after 5.00 Sat &

Sun.

Geological

938 8765. Exhibit ion R d S W 7

10-6 Mon-Sat , 11-6 Sun. £2.00

student, £3.50 adult, free after

4.30 M o n - F r i , free after 5.00

Sat & Sun.

Natural History

938 9123. C romwe l l R d S W 7

10- 6 Mon-Sat , 11-6 Sun. £2.00

student, £3.50 adult, free after

4.30 M o n - F r i , free after 5.00

Sat & Sun.

Wellington

499 5676. Aps ley House, 149

Piccadil ly W l

11- 5 Tue -Sun . £1.00 student,

£2.00 adult

National Army

730 0717. Roya l Hospital R d

S W 3

10- 5.30 daily. Free.

Leighton House

602 3316. 12 Hol land Pk R d -

W 1 4

11- 5 Mon-Sat . Free.

Commonwealth Institute

603 4535/602 0702. 230

Kensington H i g h St W 8

10-5 Mon-Sat , 2-5 Sun. Free.

Bank of England

601 5545/5792. Threadneedle St

E C 2 R

10-5 M o n - F r i , Sun (summer) &

Bank Ho i 11-5. Free

Musuem of Mankind

437 2224/7346255. 6 Burl ington

Gdns W 1 X

10-5 Mon-Sat , 2.30-6 Sun. Free

Imperial War Museum

416 5000. Lambeth R d SE1

10-6 daily. £1.65 students, £3.30

adults

British Museum

636 1555. Gt Russel St W C 1 B

10-5 Mon-Sat , 2.30-6 Sun. Free

Museum of London

600 3699. 150 London W a l l

E C 2 Y

10-6 Tue-Sat, 2-6 Sun. £1.50

student, £3.00 adult

Museum of the, Moving Image

(MOMI)

928 3535. National F i l m

Theatre, South Bank SE1 10-6

Da i ly , £4.20 student, £4.95 adult

Cabinet War Rooms

930 6961. C l i v e Steps, K i n g

Charles St S W 1 A

10-5.20 daily. £2.70 student,

£3.60 adult

H M S Belfast

407 6434. Morgans L n , Too ley

St SE1

10-5.20 20 Mar -31 Oct , else

10-4. £1.75 student, £3.50 adult

London Dungeon

403 7221. 28 Too ley St SE1

10-5.30. £4.00 student, £5.00

adult

London Transport Museum

379 6344/836 8557. 39

Wel l ington St W C 2 E

1-6 daily. £1.50 student, £3.00

adult

Madame Tussaud's

935 6861. Mary lebone R d N W 1

9- 5.30. £3.95 and £5.95

London Toy and Model

262 7905. Craven H i l l W 2

10- 5.30 Mon-Sat , 11-4.30 Sun.

£2.70 adult, £1.70 student,

£1.20 chi ld

Please remember your student

card!

art galleries National Gallery

839 33213526. Trafalgar Sq

WC2N

10-8 M o n - F r i , 10-6 Sat,2-6 Sun.

Free

Serpentine

402 6075/2286/ 723 9072.

Kensington Gdns , W2

10-6 daily. Free

Accademia Italiana

225 3474. Rutland Gate SW7

Occasienal

Royal College of Art

584 5020. Kensington G o r e SW7

Occasional

Royal Academy of Arts

439 7438. Piccadi l ly W 1 V

10-6 daily.

Tate Gallery

821 1313. Mi l l bank S W 1 P

10-5.50 Mon-Sat , 2-5.50 Sun.

Free

Wallace Collection

935 0687. Manchester Sq W 1 M

10-5 Mon-Sat , 2-5 Sun. Free

places of

Kensington Palace

937 9561. Kensington Gdns W 8

9- 5.30 Mon-Sat , 11-5.30 Sun.

£2.80 student £3.25 adult

Crosby Hall

352 9663. Cheyne Wa lk SW3

10- 12 and 2.15-5 daily. Free

interest. Speaker's corner

North East corner o f Hyde Park,

near marble arch. Britain's

forum for free speech on

Sundays.

Brompton oratory

Brompton R d S W 7 (100m south

east of Southside Halls) . Free

National Sound Archive

589 6603. 29 Exhibit ion Rd

S W 7

Bonhams (Auctioneers)

Montpel ier St S W 7

Harrods

Knightsbridge SW1 (a short walk

from Prince 's Gdns)

Horse Guards Parade

Horse Guards R d , SW1

Houses of Parliament

071 219 3000. Parliament Sq

SW1

House o f C o m m o n s - 071 219

4272; House o f Lords - 071 219

3107

St Pauls Cathedral

248 2705. St Pauls Churchyard

E C 4 . Free

Westminster Abbey

222 5152. Broad Sanctuary

S W 1 . Free except for chancel

Guildhall

Gui ldhal l yard E C 2 . Free

London Zoo

722 3333. Regents Park N W 1

9-6 daily. £5.30 adult, £4.40

student, £3.30 chi ld

Banqueting House

839 3787. Whitehal l SW1

10-5 Mon-Sat . £2.00 adult,

£1.50 student. H a l f hour guided

tour

Battersea Dog's Home

622 3626. 4 Battersea Park Rd

S W 8

10.30-4 Mon-Sat . 50p adult &

student, 20p chi ld

O ld Bailey (central criminal

courts)

248 3277. O l d Bai ley E C 4

Tower of London

709 0765. T o w e r H i l l E C 3

M a r - O c t 9.30-6.30 Mon-Sat , 2-6

Sun. N o v - F e b 9.30-5 Mon-Sat ,

C losed Sun. £6 adult, £4.50

student, £3.70 chi ld , £17 family

Tower Bridge

403 3761. SE1

10-5.45. £2.50 adult & student,

£1.00 chi ld

London Central Mosque

724 3363. 146 Park Rd N W 8

—13—

What's On

Theatre Upstairs

730 2554, Sloane Sq, S W 1 W .

Riverside Studios

081 741 2251/3354, Cr i sp rd,

W 6 .

Royal Court Young People

081 960 4641, 309 Portobello

rd, W10 .

local theatres

Finborourgh Arms

373 3842, 118 Finborough rd,

S W 1 0 .

Tuesday - Sunday 8pm. £6,

£3.50 conces. +50p/year

membership. 1-19 Oct Normal :

T h e Dusseldorf Ripper; 23rd Oct

When it's over.

Bush Theatre

071 602 3703, Shepherd's Bush

G r n , W 1 2

Mon-Sat , from 1 Oct . A Bright

Light Shining.

Gate Theatre Club 071 229

0706. Prince Albert Pub, 11

Pembridge rd , Notting H i l l W l l .

Membership charge. Oct 9 -

N o v 9. Three Judgements in One

by Calderon de Barca. 7.30pm.

Mat (26 Oct , 2, 9 Nov ) 2.30pm.

£7 (£4 conces.) ; 20, 27 Oct , 3

N o v . The Same O l d

Story/Medea by Franca Rame

and Dar io F o . 8pm.

Lyric theatre

081 741 2311, K ing ' s St,

Hammersmith, W 6 .

Oct 7-19. A Song for Sanctuary.

Mon-Sat 8pm, St 4.30pm. £6.50

(£5 conces.) ; Oct 17- Nov 30.

Lady Aud ley ' s Secret by M a r y

Braddon 7.45pm. Mat W e d

2.30pm, Sat 4pm. £12.75 to

£7.50.

Holland Park

602 7856/ 371 1094, Hol land

Park, W 8 .

Man in the Moon

351 2876, 392 K ing ' s rd, S W 3 .

1st- 26th Oct Utopia 's Whores

by N i ck Warren . Tues -Sun

8.30pm £5 (£4 conces.) ; 8th-

26th Oct T h e M i r r o r o f the

M o o n by Peter Quilter. Tues -

Sun 7pm £4 (£3 conces.)

Lost (youth)

381 6151, 450 Fu lham rd, S W 6 .

Rose Theatre Club

225 2501/ 823 9360, 86 Fu lham

rd, S W 3 .

50p/year membership. T o 6th

Oct Do ing Bush by Peter

Campling/Real ly Naf f Tarts

7.30pm/9pm £5 (£2.50 conces.) ;

8th Oct - 2nd Nov T i m e & the

Body £4 (£2.50 conces.)/ Claude

Duva l £6 (£3 conces.) 7.30pm/

8.30pm

Royal Court

730 1745/ 5174, Sloane Sq,

S W 1 W .

T o 26th Oct Three Birds

alighting on a field by

Timber lake Wertenbaker 8pm £7

(£4 standby); 31st Oct -30th N ov

Death & the Ma iden by A r i e l

Dorsman 8pm £7 (£4 standby).

Latchmere theatre

071 223 3108, 503 Battersea pk

rd S W 1 1 . Membership Required.

1-12 Oct . Joseph Mer r i ck ,

Elephant M a n by Russell A l l en .

Tues-Sat 8pm. £7 (£4 conces.);

6 Oct . Dev i l ' s Poison. 7.30 pm.

£4.50 (£3.50 conces.) 17 Oct - 2

Nov . The Hang of the Gaol by

Howard Baker. 8pm £7 (£4

conces.)

Bloomsbury theatre

Gordon St W C 1

30 Sep-5 Oct . Funny by M a r k

D T n v e r n o & M a r k Rooney.

M o n 8pm, W e d 5pm, T h u 8pm,

Sat 8pm. £6 (£4 conces.)

Institute Francais

589 6211, 17 Queensberry place

S W 7 .

Goethe Institute

581 3344, 50 Prince 's Gate

S W 7 .

UCI Whiteleys

792 3303/3324/3332, Queensway

W 2 .

Minema

235 4225/4226, 45

Knightsbridge S W 1 X .

M y Mother ' s Castle 3pm, 5pm,

7pm, 9pm £6.25 (£3.50 conces.

M o n - F r i 3pm & 5pm)

Chelsea

351 3724, 206 K i n g ' s rd , S W 3 .

F r o m 11 Oct . Uranus.

Chelsea Cannon

352 5096, 279 K ing ' s rd, S W 3 .

Fulham road Cannon

370 2110/2636/1265, 142

Fu lham rd, S W 1 0 .

Hammersmith Cannon

081 748 2388, 207 K ing ' s st

W 6 .

Putney Cannon

081 788 2263, 25 Putney H i g h

st, SW15 .

Ealing Cannon

081 567 1075, Northfield av, W

Eal ing , W 1 3 .

Coronet

727 6705, 103 Notting H i l l gate,

W l l .

local cinemas

Gate

727 4043, 87 Notting H i l l gate,

W l l .

Electric Cinema

792 0328, 191 Portobello rd,

W l l .

Kensington Odeon

602 6664, Kensington H i g h St

(Nr Ear l ' s Court rd.1 W 8 .

Olympia Exhibition Centre

603 3344, Kensington W14 .

1st- 3rd Oct D E C User Show;

8th- 13th Oct Fine Arts and

Antiques; 8th- 10th Oct OS/2 &

Windows; 8th- 23rd Oct Table

Convention; 22nd- 24th Oct

Heating & Ventilating/ Korean

Workwear .

Albert Hall

589 8212/3203, Kensington Gore

S W 7 .

Hammersmith Odeon

081 748 4081, Queen Caro l ine

St, W 6 .

Earl 's Court

385 1200, Warw ick rd, S W 5 .

17th - 27th Oc t M o t o r Show.

local venues

Remember to take your union card

to these places - student concessions

are usually only given on the

production of a proof of

studentship. Care and time has been

taken in the compilation of this list,

but no guarantees can be made as

to its accuracy. Please keep this

page for future reference.

Tuesday 1st.

12.30 every week. Un ion S C R .

Audiosoc - cheap records, C D ' s ,

H i - F i discounts.

Friday 4th.

12.30-3.00 New Senior C o m m o n

R o o m . IC Science Fict ion Soc.

V ideo showing, Free food and

Dr ink for new members.

Tue s da y 8th.

7.00pm M e c h E n g 220.

Flatlinets. I C S F members only -

membership £2.50.

internal

—14—

e

However , thanks to student or

'peer' tutoring, such problems have

been partially relieved, in local

schools, one day a week.

The idea is that an individual with

knowledge or a skill can pass it on

to others—without necessarily being

a teacher. The scheme was invented

in the late eighteenth century by

Joseph Lancaster when faced with

350 chi ldren to teach, single

Back to Basics Last year nearly

100 Imperial

College students

went back to the

classroom.

Chris Riley

reports on his

second

childhood.

Jason was a tall, well built West

Indian sixteen year o ld , with a left

hook that would rival M i k e T y s o n

and a hair cut to match. F ive years

ago, with adolescent peer pressure

to repel authority and education

mounting, he had been labelled a

'disruptive and difficult pupi l ' .

Wi th the end of school days now in

sight, science classes just got in the

way o f his obsession with acid

house music and basketball. Science

was something for other people,

something he had never understood

and therefore hated. Brownian

m o t i o n had neve r had any

significance in his street life,

' I m a g i n e y o u are p l a y i n g

basketball, and lots o f little guys are

running round bumping into you ,

trying to get the ba l l ' , I began.

'Okay man ' , he replied, beaming

down at me and then looking wildly

round the class in a bid to distract

others.

' N o w these little guys are

knocking you about'. I grabbed his

blazer and shook him violently. He

stared at me in disbelief.

'Someone is watching this game

from above, and can only see you

moving about, because the little

guys are too small to see.'

J a s o n pee r ed d o w n the

m i c r o s c o p e aga in as m y

experimental analogy hit its mark

and the jittering smoke particles,

abruptly changing direction took on

a p r e v i o u s l y u n d i s c o v e r e d

significance. It had taken the whole

forty minute lesson to get this far,

not including the previous weeks of

rejection, when I had failed to get

through.

T h e buzzer rang, and he was off

to the freedom o f the street again.

A s he left the classroom, he paused

and came back. 'Fanks mate' , he

grinned, slapping the palms of my

hands. The weeks before, suddenly

all seemed worthwhi le and I

returned the slap, with a 'see you

next week m 'ma in man ' .

W i t h g r o w i n g pressure on

teachers, such vital, individual

attention, needed to convey many

scientific ideas is, these days,

becoming more and more difficult

to provide.

handedly at his Southwark school.

Rediscovered in the early 1960's to

meet teacher shor tages in

developing countries and inner

cities in the U S , it's supporters

c la im there are significant benefits

for both tutors and pupils.

It was not until the mid-1970s that

the idea reached Britain. The

scheme was launched by D r Sinclair

Goodlad as a course project for

twelve engineering students at

Imperial Col lege, to test whether

pupils at Pimlico School would find

lessons more interesting with their

help. Today , results still show that

well over half (63 %) o f pupils find

their lessons easier to follow and

nearly three quarters o f teachers

find lessons more enjoyable and

easier to handle. A lmost all o f the

student tutors involved report an

increase self confidence, feeling

that they have gained useful practice

in communication skills, and are

doing something useful with their

subject. 'Exp la in ing an idea to a

nine year o ld offers a unique

exper ience o f commun ica t ing ,

w h i c h c a n be i n v a l u a b l e to

industry' , expalins John Hughes,

former peer tutor and now B P

fellow in peer tutoring at Imperial.

The ' P iml ico Connect ion ' was

established by Goodlad in 1975 and

five years later it became a U n i o n

Society, administered and run

largely by students.

Research shows that school pupils

f ind peer tutors are m o r e

approachable when they don't

understand things. ' A teacher can't

get a r o u n d the w h o l e c lass

sometimes but, with students there

you could get help more qu ick ly ' ,

explain P iml ico students, fifteen

years on.

Terry Barclay, teacher at the Fox

School in Hol land Park, explains in

the Independent (26 July 1990) that

'the children see the tutors as real

scientists. They don't quite trust us

as scientists somehow. ' Peer tutors

are often closer to the pupils age and

status, than they are to teachers, and

therefore act as role models for

chi ldren who, probably never

consider higher education. 'It is

especially good for girls to see

women science students', points out

John Mason of St. Clements and St.

Johns School , in London . Beverly

H i r s t , j o in t author o f ' Pee r

T u t o r i n g ' , f o rmer peer tutor

herself, and now a teacher, explains

of the pupils; 'they found me most

unusual—a woman physicist. They

couldn't believe that I carried a

—

30 September 1991 Felix 910 Feature

make-up bag and was still a

scientist.'

The main objective of science

tutoring is not necessarily to recruit

more teachers, although this is

frequently a side effect. 'Most

tutors are not thinking o f becoming

teachers when they take part. But

there is evidence that for every one

who is put of f , two are

e n c o u r a g e d ' , e xp l a i n s J o h n

Hughes.

The scheme is designed as more

o f a promotion of science and

technology. One of the difficulties

facing industry at the moment is the

small proportion (50%) o f school

children who opt to continue their

education past 16, particularly in

science subjects. BP , convinced that

peer tutoring is a solution, began

sponsoring a new fellowship at

Imperial Col lege in October 1990.

John Hughes, a former peer tutor

and teacher for ten years, was

appointed to develop the tutoring

scheme, in science and maths,

around the country.

Today, peer tuition is widespread

around the United States, and

thanks to B P , is spreading rapidly

in Britain. Imperial has helped over

fifteen third level institutions,

including Cambridge , Warwick

University and Nottingham and

Brighton Polytechnics, University

o f East Ang l i a , Tr inity Col lege,

Dub l in , and University Col lege

L o n d o n , to set up their own

schemes.

Students volunteering at the start

of the Autumn term usually visit the

school they have been assigned to

on Wednesday afternoons, during

term time, until March . Most tutors

have a one day training session at

college, at the beginning of the

academic year. It is not a case o f

being thrown ' in at the deep end ' ;

tutoring does not involve looking

after a class o f 20-30 kids, single

handedly. The desired effect is the

opposite; providing extra help

within a class. Such help is given

by working with small groups of

children, under the direction and

supervision of the class teacher,

who is still legally responsible for

the welfare of the pupils. Individual

work with gifted, remedial, or

d i s rupt i ve pup i l s , leaves the

teachers free to help others. Roger

Nichol ls , head o f maths at P iml ico

School , again in the Independent,

admits that 'one afternoon a week

we actually get the number of pupils

to teachers right. Really we need

help like this all the time. A t the

moment it 's a luxury, but it

shouldn't be. '

Under the guidance of John

Hughes, IC ' s P iml ico Connection

sent just under one hundred students

a week to primary and secondary

schools around the capital last year.

A t the end of last term, tutors and

pupils alike were asked to fill in

questionnaires.

ShaShika, age nine, from The

F o x P r i m a r y S c h o o l , wr i tes ;

'students have not only helped me

but they have helped the whole

class. They understand how we feel

so i f we d o n ' t unde r s t and

something, they repeat what they

had said. They explain things very

clearly and they give joy to us just

to listen to them. ' Rachel Hopping ,

from the same school, writes; 'the

students knew exactly how we took

things in, because they had been

children, not too long ago. They

knew the words that were easy for

us to understand and they used

them, (which sometimes teachers

forget). ' A s i m writes; T wish they

would stay and teach us more about

science and I would like to say that

I really enjoyed it and think they

should be paid like teachers.'

Saad i A s m i , a th i r d yea r

Chemistry undergraduate writes; T

started on the P iml ico Connection

Scheme in my final year at

Imperial—and regretted not having

done so any earlier. It was one of

the most enjoyable times I have had

at col lege. '

So whether, a budding teacher, a

future captain o f industry or

undecided, the P iml ico Connection

is for you. It only requires one or

two hours a week o f your time,

between October and March . Come

and find out more at Freshers' Fair ,

or come along to the no-obligation

Tra in ing Sessions in Electrical

Engineering 403: Wednesday 2nd

O c t o b e r 1 .45pm to 5 . 1 5 p m ,

Wednesday 9th October 1.45pm to

5.15pm or Monday 14th Ocotber

5.30pm until 8 .00pm.

I M P E R I A L W E L F A R E

C O L L E G E A D V I S O R Y

[L^^ S E R V I C E

d<ryou need advice on any of the

following? Student Loans NHS Charges

Poll Tax Insurance

Housing Rights Consumer Rights

Legal Matters Immigration

Housing Benefit Income Tax

Debt Childcare

Confidential, impartial advice is offered by

Stefano Ruis the ICU Welfare Adviser.

P L U S : a wide range of welfare related leaflets and

claim forms are available

Ca77 in now to the

ICU Welfare Office in Beit Quad

or phone

071-589 5111 ext 3507

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Tuesday 10.30-1.00 2.00-5.00

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telephone enquiries

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—16—

Letters Felix 910 30 September 1991

Unsporting Heseltine and Hyde

Dear Editor

Re: Imperial (College) Sports

Centre.

I believe we should all be

c o n c e r n e d about recent

developments at the Sports Centre,

part icular ly the impos i t ion o f

'admission' charges or compulsory

'membership ' for college staff and

students (in addition to charges for

use of the facilities). Perhaps this

is a case for a little investigative

reporting on what appears to be an

i n s i d i o u s i f not c o m p l e t e l y

clandestine privatisation o f the

Sports Centre and change o f its

prime use to that of a commercia l

health club.

Here is the sequence of events so

far:

1. Disappearance of the staff

student Spor t s C e n t r e U s e r s

Committee.

2. Introduction o f Membership

fees for outsiders, retirement of the

college manager.

3. A w a r d o f a ' consu l t ing

m a n a g e m e n t ' con t rac t to

Wandsworth Counc i l to provide a

m a n a g e r and i m p r o v e the

profitability o f the Centre.

4. Increases in charges above

inflation rates, and promotion of

activities of special interest to

outsiders (slimming clubs etc). New

'uni forms ' for staff.

5'. Introduction o f admission

charges or 'membership ' fees for

college personnel and students (to

enter our own facility!). Th is was

a c c o m p a n i e d by un i l a t e r a l

cancellation o f staff Sports Centre

Membership cards by the manager.

(It was this action which provoked

my interest).

Yve's Dea r Adam,

I'd like to take an opportunity to

say a final farewell and thanks to

Imperial Col lege and IC Un ion .

Working for I C U has been a very

interesting and overall rewarding

experience. It was a challenge to set

up and run the Welfare Adv i so ry

Service and a task I could not have

achieved without the help of IC staff

(all), sabbaticals (most of) and

many college staff as well .

So thank you everyone for your

support over the last 2 3A years and

to all those who contributed to my

generous leaving gift. This I intend

6. Change of name from Imperial

Col lege Sports Centre to Imperial

Sports Centre. (The manager makes

a real fuss about not mentioning the

w o r d ' c o l l e g e ' in te l ephone

responses).

7. C losure of the Centre for

several months next June to fit

sunbeds, saunas etc.

It now costs the same, pro-rata, to

play squash at the Imperial Sports

Centre as it does at any other club.

In other words the privatisation is

almost complete without anyone

making a fuss and a college facility

is effectively the same as a private

c l u b a lbeit w i th v e r y l ow

subscriptions at present. C an you

imagine what the membership fees

wil l be next year to pay the capital

costs o f the saunas, Jacuzzi and

sunbeds (They are £250 per year for

the ex-Wandsworth St George 's

Centre and Wimbledon! ) .

The issues worth raising include:

W h o authorised cancellation o f

free staff and student college sports

centre membership cards?

Is it permissible to privatise a

facility built for IC students, and

paid for by the University Grants

Committee (now U F C ) funds?

W h e n has there been any

consultation about these radical

changes?

I hope you and the U n i o n wil l be

able to take some action on this

matter. It may already be too late

to do much to protect our Sports

Centre as a college facility.

Yours sincerely,

John McMahon Moore (Senior

Lecturer).

cc President IC U n i o n

Cha i rman IC A U T

Adieu to use towards the cost of a word

processor which I hope will help me

with all those essays and projects

I ' l l have to produce over the next

year!

Finally I 'd like to wish all IC and

I C U staff, students and sabbatical

officers all the best for 1991/92

academic year. I hope that it proves

to be a successful and enjoyable

time for everyone and I look

forward to reading some interesting

editions of F E L I X when I call by

to say hello.

Best wishes,

Yve Posner, ex Welfare Adviser.

Dear Adam,

In his speech in the House of

C o m m o n s before the summer

recess, the Right Honourab l e

Michae l Heseltine Secretary of

State for the Environment finally

declared his intention to introduce

privatisation into He r Majesty the

Queen's Roya l Parks. W e are

assured that in spite of the imminent

redundancy of 361 dedicated parks

staff, horticultural standards and

indeed all other standards wil l be

raised.

This should not prove too difficult

in the light o f their rapid decline

over the past ten years, the direct

result o f M r Heseltine's own

cabinet's ongoing policy in this area

o f stringent financial cutbacks. The

ensuring insidious cull o f park staff

inevitably resulted in total failure to

maintain any acceptable standard in

the Central London Parks, i.e. St

James, Regents, H y d e Parks and

Kensington Gardens.

In the same speech to the

Commons the Minister promises 'a

bright future' for our Roya l Parks,

yet fails to mention existing plans

for a coach park in Hyde Park. H e

fails also to give his reasons for

discarding and disregarding the

conclusions arrived at by L o r d

Skelmersdale in his review o f the

R o y a l P a r k s in 1987. L o r d

S k e l m e r s d a l e c o n c l u d e d that

nothing would be gained by their

privatisation.

Londoners , justifiably sceptical,

i f not down right suspicious of the

Minister ' s intentions and gravely

concerned about the future o f these

unique and very special open

spaces, are currently taking to the

streets and petit ioning fel low

Londoners in a desperate bid, i f not

to stop the proposed legislation, at

the very least to demand their

democratic right to a voice on this

issue. The response regardless of

political persuasion is unanimously

against.

A s custodians of the Royal Parks,

have we the right to leave a legacy

of car and coach parks and money

s p i n n i n g f o l l i e s to future

generations? You r support would be

invaluable.

Join us, help us to protect our

Royal Parks.

Anna Green.

—17

30 September 1991 Felix 910 Editorial

EL

EK

D P

. At STA Travel we're all seasoned

travellers so we should know

a thing or two about where

you're headed. We can offer you

the best deals on fares with the

flexibility to change your mind

as you go - and we have special

deals for students. We operate

from 120 offices worldwide.

So call in soon.

Imperial College Sherfield Building SWT

W H E R E V E R Y O U ' R E B O U N D , WE 'RE B O U N D T O H A V E B E E N . SL/i ULU TRAVEL

a Welcome to Imperial Col lege! The

first weeks at this college for both

undergraduates and postgraduates

tend to become a homogenous

sweaty amalgam o f discovery and

mistakes. Sti l l , enjoy the novelty

while you can, and ensure that you

don't waste the future years here

merely working for your degree or

P h D or whatever.

The Student Union

The college's Student U n i o n is an

organisation geared towards student

welfare. It is a service which exists

to help you, but can only do this i f

you ask of it, as nobody who works

there is capable o f telepathy. The

Un ion is not a trade union, it has

no political affiliation, either to the

right or the left. Imperial Col lege 's

Student U n i o n is not a member o f

the N U S - the National U n i o n o f

Students, an issue which will almost

certainly be more fully aired in the

future. The point about this diatribe

is to emphasise that the Un ion is

there for you, and it should not be

avoided because you have a vague

suspicion that it is a hotbed of

radical politics, the sl imy tentacles

of which will never relinquish their

hold, because it's not and it won't.

Avo id ing an organisation which

could help you because of the

possibility that something you may

dissapprove o f may have occurred

once is plainly stupid.

The Un ion is also responsible for

the running of the snack bar (also

variously termed the union cafe,

caterpillar cafe or lounge bar), the

U n i o n Bar, the organisation o f

entertainment and a number of day

to day activities all o f which benefit

students, many o f w h o m are

unaware of the contribution that the

Un ion makes. I have met many

students who have conv inced

themselves that they have led a life

totally untainted by the union, even

though they have eaten food from

the bar and read this student union

newspaper.

Felix - the student newspaper

Felix is the name of the college

newspaper. It is technically the

Student Un ion newspaper, but its

scope is by no means limited to

union affairs and nor is it beholden

to the Un ion Office as to what is

printed. It is an independent

commentator on the college, and

reports on national and international

matters relevant to IC students.

The only people it is beholden to

are the students o f Imperial. Fel ix

has a sabbatical editor - me, A d a m

H a r r i n g t o n - and two other

permanent members o f staff. There

is no conceivable way that these

three could research, write, typeset,

proof , paste up and print a

reasonably sized Fel ix every week

and depends entirely on student

input to run. W e are on the map -

in the central pages - come and see

us. It is inf inite ly the most

fascinating part of the college, i f not

the entire galaxy. It is not a club,

it is not a clique, there are no

peculiar entry rituals.

Deadlines

I hereby give general notice that the

deadlines for features, letters,

what 's on bits, small ads or

anything else is 12.00 midday the

M O N D A Y before the Fr iday that

Fel ix comes out on. F o r example,

if you hand in an article on

Thursday, it wi l l get into Fe l ix not

that week, but the week fol lowing.

If you hand it in on Fr iday or

Monday , it wil l get into the Fe l ix

o f the fol lowing Fr iday . If the

deadline is not kept to, I wi l l not

give any guarantee o f inclusion

irrespective o f how urgent it is.

What's On

I haven't included a comprehensive

what's on page in this issue. C o u l d

clubs and societies please put

relevant information into the clubs

and societ ies p i g eonho l e for

inclusion in the what's on guide.

Bear in mind the deadlines given

above. Next week I intend to

p u b l i s h a l l the wha t ' s o n

information at my disposal - please

don't hesitate to inform me o f any

errors or omissions.

Credits

Jeremy, tho' he drive me round de

bend; David for the music reviews;

Anna for news; the Unmentionable

for general indispensibility; Stef for

news, the cover piccie, general

oddboddedness, graphic design and

occasionally graphic language; Zoe

for the union bit; A n d y for putting

up with me (we're getting there,

honest); Rose, James, Toby , Sam,

Seb, M y l a n , Chr is , John, Steve for

much of the Fresher's Fair stuff and

Stefano. Many thanks to the Science

museum, and Derek Hudson in

particular, for help in getting the

typewriter picture. Thanks also to

the handbook collators - Penguin,

G ina , Becky , F leming , the large

chap whose name I forget and all

the others I have inev i tab ly

forgotten.

Fe l i x is produced for and on behal f o f

Imperial Co l l ege U n i o n Publ icat ions

board and is printed by Imperial Col lege

U n i o n Print Un i t , Pr ince Consort Road ,

L o n d o n S W 7 2 B B . Te l 071 225 8672.

Ed i to r and Pr int U n i t Manager : A d a m

Harr ington. Business Manager : Jeremy

B u r n e l l . Copyr i gh t F e l i x 1991. I S S N

1040-0711.

1 8

STUDENTS! FOR SAFETY'S SAKE

T A K E COVER!

W I T H T H E

N O R W I C H

U N I O N m

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Member of the Insurance Ombudsman Bureau

F O R Y O U R PERSONAL

PROPERTY

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T h e - p o l i c y is a l e g a l d o c u m e n t a n d d e f i n e s t h e i n s u r a n c e i n p r e c i s e t e r m s . T h e f o l l o w i n g is a n o u t l i n e o f c o v e r a n d s o m e o f t h e

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Personal Belongings up to £2000 and College/landlords property i n your room up to £1000

Y o u r P e r s o n a l B e l o n g i n g s are c o v e r e d :

* i n t h e r o o m s o r H a l l o f R e s i d e n c e w h i c h y o u o c c u p y d u r i n g T e r m t i m e a n d i n a n y p l a c e o f r e s i d e n c e w i t h i n t h e U.K. w h e r e y o u m a y

res ide d u r i n g t h e y e a r a n d w h i l s t r e m o v e d d u r i n g t h e v a c a t i o n s t o secu re s to rage d e s i g n a t e d b y t h e C o l l e g e a u t h o r i t i e s a n d w i t h i n

t h e sa id p r e m i s e s

* w h i l e y o u a re i n t rans i t b e t w e e n h o m e a n d C o l l e g e w i t h i n t h e U.K. at t h e start a n d e n d o f e a c h T e r m

Y o u r P e r s o n a l B e l o n g i n g s a n d C o l l e g e / L a n d l o r d s p r o p e r t y are c o v e r e d f o r loss o r d a m a g e a r i s i n g from:

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* escape o f w a t e r f r o m w a t e r t a n k s , p i p e s o r a p p a r a t u s o r f i x e d h e a t i n g ins ta l l a t i ons

* t h e f t o r a t t e m p t e d t h e f t

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T h e f i rs t £ 2 0 o f e v e r y c l a i m , r i s i n g t o £ 3 0 i n areas 2 a n d 3 (as i n d i c a t e d o n p a g e 3 ) , is n o t c o v e r e d . I t e m s e x c e e d i n g £ 1 0 0 i n i n d i v i d u a l

r e p l a c e m e n t v a l u e a re n o t c o v e r e d un less s p e c i f i e d . I t e m s e x c e e d i n g £ 3 0 0 i n i n d i v i d u a l r e p l a c e m e n t v a l u e a re n o t c o v e r e d . T h e f t f r o m

v e h i c l e s is n o t c o v e r e d .

Personal and Occupiers Liability at Common law up to £1,000,000

g i v e s p r o t e c t i o n f o r a c c i d e n t a l i n j u r y t o a p e r s o n o r d a m a g e t o p r o p e r t y c a u s e d b y y o u r n e g l i g e n c e as a p r i v a t e i n d i v i d u a l o c c u r r i n g :

d u r i n g a n y p e r i o d o f i n s u r a n c e i n t h e U n i t e d K i n g d o m , R e p u b l i c o r I r e l a n d , t h e C h a n n e l I s l a n d s o r t h e Is le o f M a n .

Personal Accident £1500

c o v e r s b o d i l y i n j u r y c a u s e d b y :

* f i re o r t h i e v e s i n y o u r r o o m s

* a n a c c i d e n t w h i l e t r a v e l l i n g b y m o t o r v e h i c l e , r a i l w a y t r a i n , passenger s h i p , f e r r y , a i rc ra f t o r h o v e r c r a f t as a f a r e p a y i n g p a s s e n g e r

* a n a c c i d e n t as a p e d e s t r i a n i n v o l v i n g a m o t o r v e h i c l e a n d r e s u l t i n g w i t h i n 12 m o n t h s o f t h e i n j u r y i n d e a t h o r t o t a l loss o f o r c o m p l e t e

a n d i r r e c o v e r a b l e loss o f use o f o n e o r m o r e eyes o r l i m b s .

Homeline Cover

T h e s e serv ices a re p r o v i d e d b y H a m b r o Lega l P r o t e c t i o n L t d a n d a m a s t e r ce r t i f i ca te o f i n s u r a n c e has b e e n i s s u e d t o N o r w i c h U n i o n .

T h e H o m e l i n e s are a v a i l a b l e 24 h o u r s a d a y , 365 d a y s a year . T h e D o m e s t i c H o m e l i n e w i l l l oca t e , g i v e a n i n d i c a t i o n o f t h e cost , a n d

w i t h y o u r c o n s e n t , ca l l o u t a r e p a i r e r . T h e Lega l H o m e l i n e w i l l g i v e c o n f i d e n t i a l f ree a d v i c e o n a n y p r i v a t e l e g a l p r o b l e m c o n c e r n i n g

y o u w h i c h w i l l b e c o n f i r m e d i n w r i t i n g , i f r e q u i r e d . A l l y o u p a y f o r is t h e t e l e p h o n e ca l l .

A c a r d c o n t a i n i n g t h e t w o t e l e p h o n e n u m b e r s w i l l b e i s s u e d w i t h y o u r p o l i c y . I f t h e d a m a g e is c o v e r e d b y y o u r p o l i c y t h e n y o u s h o u l d

s u b m i t a c l a i m t o H a r r i s o n B e a u m o n t i n t h e u s u a l w a y .

Funeral Expenses up to £1000

F u n e r a l e x p e n s e s necessar i l y i n c u r r e d b y y o u f o l l o w i n g t h e a c c i d e n t a l d e a t h o f y o u r p a r e n t ( s ) w h i c h a r e i r r e c o v e r a b l e f r o m o ther :

sou rces a re r e i m b u r s e d u n d e r t h i s s e c t i o n .

OPTIONAL EXTRAS - only available in addition to Basic Cover

(A) Higher Cover

Y o u s h o u l d increase t h e s u m i n s u r e d o n y o u r p e r s o n a l b e l o n g i n g s i f t h e s u m i n s u r e d u n d e r t h e bas ic c o v e r is n o t a d e q u a t e .

( E x c l u d e a n y s p e c i f i e d i t e m s y o u m a y d e c i d e t o c o v e r separa te l y u n d e r 'A l l R isks ' ) . R e m e m b e r tha t a h e a v y c l a i m m i g h t

b e u n d e r - c o m p e n s a t e d i f y o u h a v e u n d e r - s t a t e d t h e f u l l v a l u e o f y o u r b e l o n g i n g s . ( M a x i m u m c o v e r a l l o w e d i n a l l is £ 3 5 0 0 )

(B) All Risks Cover ( v a l u a b l e i t e m s )

List o n p a g e 4 a n y i t e m s y o u w i s h t o i n s u r e separa te ly aga ins t A l l Risks s u c h as loss, d a m a g e a n d b r e a k a g e as w e l l as f i re a n d the f t ,

a n y w h e r e i n t h e U.K. T h i s is a d v i s a b l e f o r v a l u a b l e j e w e l l e r y , w a t c h e s , e x p e n s i v e g a r m e n t s , H i - r i etc. I t c a n b e c o n t i n u e d a f ter y o u

cease t o b e a s t u d e n t . ( M a x i m u m c o v e r a l l o w e d o v e r a l l is £2000 , l i m i t a n y o n e i t e m £ 5 0 0 ) . T h e f i rs t £ 2 0 o f e v e r y c l a i m , rising t o

£ 3 0 i n areas 2 a n d 3 (as i n d i c a t e d o n p a g e 3 ) , is n o t c o v e r e d . T h e f t f r o m v e h i c l e s is n o t covere 'd .

(C) Pedal Cycle

W e c a n c o v e r loss o f o r d a m a g e t o y o u r p e d a l c y c l e b y f i re , t h e f t a n d c o l l i s i o n a n y w h e r e i n t h e U.K.; e x c l u d i n g accessor ies un less

t h e c y c l e is s t o l e n o r d a m a g e d b y t h e fire at the s a m e t i m e ; a n d t h e f irst £15 o f e v e r y c l a i m . ( M a x i m u m a c c e p t e d v a l u e o f c y c l e £300 ) .

'NEW FOR OLD' CLAIMS SETTLEMENT

P r o v i d e d y o u r s u m s i n s u r e d are a d e q u a t e , c l a ims f o r Pe rsona l B e l o n g i n g s a n d ' A l l R isks ' i t e m s w i l l b e se t t led o n a ' N e w f o r O l d ' bas is ;

T h i s m e a n s y o u w i l l b e p a i d t h e f u l l cos t o f r e p a i r o r r e p l a c e m e n t . T h e o n l y e x c e p t i o n s are c l o t h i n g , h o u s e h o l d l i n e n a n d p e d a l cyc les

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HOW TO APPLY C o m p l e t e t h e right-hand p o r t i o n ( p a g e s 3 & 4 ) a n d s e n d it w i t h the c o r r e c t p r e m i u m t o :

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A r e a 2 Glasgow G l -23 A r e a 3 London A l l postal districts &BR1-7, CRO, CR2-4, DA5-8, DA14-18, EN1-5, HA0-9,

Leeds LS1�6 IG1��, IG8, IG11, KT1��, KT9, RM1-14, SM1��, TN16, TW1-14, UB1-10,

Newcastle NE1-5 Liverpool Ll��, L9-49'

Manchester Ml-13*, M16-23, M25, M30-33, M35, WA14-15, SK1-9

•Rates o n app l i c a t i on f o r M14-15, L7-8

POLICrFS IN JOINT N A M E S ( m a x i m u m 2 persons p e r po l i cy )

1. A l l premiums are increased by 25%

2. The minimum sum insured accepted on Personal Belongings is £3000 (i.e. ±2000 Basic plus £1000 'Higher Cover')

H a l l o f Res idence

A l l Areas

O the r A c c o m m o d a t i o n

A r e a 1 A r e a 2 A r e a 3 S u m Insured

P r e m i u m

Ca l cu l a t i on

BASIC C O V E R

OPTIONAL EXTRAS

A. Increase s u m

i n s u r e d

£26.00

£2.00

(Rates per additioi

£35.00 £46.00 £67.00

£2.50 £3.00 £3.50

ial £200 sum insured or part)

£2000

£

£

£

B. A l l R i sks Cove r

(Please list items to

be insured overleaf)

£6.00

(Rates

£6.00 £8.00 £9.00

>er £200 or part)

£ £

C. Cyc le : make & frame no:

Year of make Year purchased present value

( m a x i m u m accepted va lue £300) including accessories

P r e m i u m at 1 5 % o f va lue ( m i n i m u m p r e m i u m £20.00) £ £

Add 25% for policies

in joint names £

GRAND TOTAL £

List here any Personal Belongings with a replacement value over £100 u p to a maximum of £300, unless Insured under 'All Risks'

£

£

£

P L E A S E I N S U R E M E A S A B O V E : I E N C L O S E A R E M I T T A N C E O F £

I U N D E R S T A N D T H A T N O I T E M C A N B E A M E N D E D D U R I N G T H E P O L I C Y Y E A R ( O T H E R T H A N F O L L O W I N G A C L A I M )

E X C E P T O N P A Y M E N T O F A N E X T R A F E E .

C O V E R T O C O M M E N C E : - O N R E C E I P T O R O N ( fu ture date )

F u l l N a m e : ( M r / M ) B i r t h d a t e

(underline your surname please) day'/month/year of birtb

H o m e A d d r e s s (for next year's renewal) : T e r m - t i m e A d d r e s s :

(house name/number, and road/street (with room number if applicable)

(village and/or town)

T e l : T e l :

(county and post-code)

(4)

Items to be insured against 'All Risks'; continue on separate paper if necessary.

N.B. - Max. under this Section is £2,000; max. one item £500

- Describe jewellery etc, clearly. Give maker's name of HI-FI, CAMERAS etc.

- Main exclusions: theft from vehicles; damage to sports equipment whilst in use; contact lenses;

- spectacles; records & tapes; the first £20 or £30 of any claim as detailed in (a) on page 2.

ITEM SUM TO BE INSURED

(Based on replacement value)

T O T A L *

N.B.

1. This proposa l outl ines the cover available and some of the exclusions. The po l i cy itself is a legal document and as

such defines the insurance in precise terms. A spec imen of the po l icy document is available o n request.

2. Y o u are requested to keep a record ( inc lud ing copy letters) of al l information supp l i ed to the Insurer for the

purpose of entering into this contract.

3. W e conf irm that a copy of this proposa l form w i l l be supp l i ed to you , o n request, w i th in 3 months of its complet ion.

D E C L A R A T I O N - (to be signed by every applicant for this insurance)

I declare that the statements made in my appl icat ion are to the best o f my knowledge and bel ief correct and complete,

and I agree that this proposa l shal l form the basis o f the contract between me and the insurer and I w i l l accept and

abide by the terms of the po l icy to be issued. For a major part o f the 12 months to be covered by this insurance I

expect to be a student.

i n the year o f a year course at college/university

Date: Signed: bj

IMPORTANT NOTE: Material Facts - State any other material facts here inc lud ing details o f al l previous claims. Fai lure

to do so cou ld invalidate the pol icy. A material fact is one l ike ly to inf luence an insurer i n the assessment and acceptance >-

of the proposa l form. If y o u are i n any doubt as to whether a fact is material, it shou ld be d isc losed to the insurer. c

Please send me further copies o f this leaflet, to give to m y friends.

and for useful free information, choose from these boxes:

A . Travel Insurance (Medica l Expenses etc.) for weeks starting in

(month) i n (countries): (.

B . Motor Insurance (vehicle) value as from

(renewal date) Present no-claims bonus %

-6

• •

c 3.