http://felixonline.co.uk/archive/IC_1979/1979_0531_A

THE NEWSPAPER OF IMPERIAL C O L L E G E UNION

Friday, October 26th, 1979

Issue NO. 531

Lord Flowers, Rector of Imperial College of Science and Technology, in his Commemoration Day address yesterday called for selectivity in making public expenditure cuts in higher education. Stating that there are a few too many universities and far too many polytechnics Lord Flowers argued that some must go in order that others shall live ....

'If Imperial College is... chosen to go ... that would be better than that we all sink into the morass of mediocrity.'

At a well attended C o m m e m o r a t i o n D a y C e r e m o n y , t he Rector, L o r d F l o w e r s s p o k e out against t he p r o p o s e d e d u c a t i o n cuts.

H e c a l l e d it " D i s t a s t e f ul d i s c r i m i n a t i o n " w h i c h w o u l d m a k e o u r p a r t n e r s h i p in E u r o p e harder to acheive. T h e effects of c h a r g i n g the full fees to O v e r s e a s students are n u m e r o u s . 'It r e m o v e s o p p o r t u n i t i e s for postgraduate work from poorer students of the T h i r d W o r l d . It belittles t he substantial c o n t r i b u t i o n s these students have m a d e to o u r research. It is w r o n g , ' stated L o r d Fl ow ers. Professor A b d u s S a l a m , w h o recently g a i n e d the N o b e l prize for p h y s i c s , started off a s a n overseas student at Cambridge.

H e a d d e d that "I d o not q u e s t i o n t he necessity to r e d u c e e x p e n d i t u r e . I d o not protest that universities s h o u l d a l l u n d e r s t a n d what it m e a n s in realistic terms.

'In a d r o u g h t y o u have t o c h a n n e l t he available water to where it will d o most g o o d . S o m e c r o p s must perish in o r d e r that others s h a l l survive. Y o u have to be selective. D u r i n g t he c o m i n g m o n t h s w e shall therefore be l o o k i n g most carefully at o u r c o u r s e s , at o u r r e s e a r c h activities, at o u r s u p p o r t services, even at w h o l e departments, to s e e whether they s h o u l d all c o n t i n u e . U n l e s s we are selective there c a n

be n o vitality, n o growth, n o r even the m a i n t e n a n c e of e x c e l l e n c e w h e r e a s a c o l l e g e w e have most to offer." " B u t the m a i n task of selectivity lies elsewhere. It lies with t he G o v e r n m e n t a n d with t he University G r a n t s committee. T h e fact is that there are a few t o o m a n y universities in this c o u n t r y , a n d far t o o m a n y p o l y t e c h n i c s . S o m e must g o in o r d e r that s o m e m u s t live. If Imperial C o l l e g e is c h o s e n to g o , s o be it. Even that w o u l d be better than that we all sink into the m o r a s s of m e d i o c r i t y . " At t he presentation c e r e m o n y , itself, 383 students w e r e granted A s s o c i a t e s h i p of C i t y a n d G u i l d s , 388 of the R o y a l C o l l e g e of S c i e n c e a n d 110 of t he R o y a l S c h o o l of M i n e s . Five people, i n c l u d i n g J e a n - J a c q u e s B a r o n , " M i c k e y Davies a n d S i r M o n t y F i n n i s t o n , w e r e m a d e F e l l o w s of Imperial College.

FULL TEXT O F THE COMMEMORATION DAY A D D R E S S E S A R E ON PAGES 10 & 11

LETTERS PAGE

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MORE r, > LETTERS t~OW PAGE 4

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D e a r Sir, I C U d o e s it a g a i n ! A n y credibility still left, must surely have floated out of the w i n d o w n o w with the news that I C U is fighting the government. H o w s p e c t a c u l a r a m e t h o d . A n o c c u p a t i o n ! S i t - i n in the s e n i o r d i n i n g r o o m . What d i s r u p t i o n - what c h a o s ! T h e government trem bles - s u r e l y w i t h s u c h a c o n v i n c i n g o p p o s i t i o n , it must fall. Y e s , the g o v e r n m e n t will be b r o u g h t to its knees by I C U ' s occupation.

L i k e hell! T h e o n l y lasting effect this farce is g o i n g to have will be to m a k e this c o l l e g e the l a u g h i n g s t o c k of the e d u c a t i o n s y s t e m . If I C U is g o i n g to protest at a n y t h i n g , then for Pete's s a k e MAKE THEM SENSIBLE PROT E S T S - ones which actually s t a n d a c h a n c e of w o r k i n g .

Y o u r s sincerely, R J Glass Mech Eng 2 Dear Sir, A p p a r e n t l y IC R a d i o a n n o u n c e d in their ne w s bulletin last week, that C o l i n P a l m e r h a d not been p r o p o s e d for the s a b b a t i c a l post of F E L I X editor. O n Friday, O c t o b e r 12th, at 11:00am, I s i g n e d the n o m i n a t i o n p a p e r s as his proposer . I have several witnesses to this. R o g e r S t o t e s b u r y has verified that C o l i n h a d twenty s e c o n d e r s (not fifteen, as stated on IC R a d i o ) .

Yours, Jill Dawson D e a r Sir, Last y e a r we voted for a b a l a n c e d u n i o n u n d e r C h r i s Fox. However, the e v i d e n c e of the last u n i o n m e e t i n g s u g g e s t s that we were badly m i s l e d. At the time of the election, M r Fox m a d e it quite clear, i m p l i c i t ly if not explicitly, that the u n i o n s h o u l d represent the true wishes of the majority of students at IC. D o e s M r F o x really believe that this majority wishes to be a s s o c i a t e d with s u c h a p o i n t l e s s a n d s e l f - i n d i c t i n g a c t i o n , as the o c c u p a t i o n of the s e n i o r c o m m o n room.

W h i l e a g r e e i n g with the general feeling of the m o t i o n , we feel that the a c t i o n p r o p o s e d c a n o n l y d a m a g e the reputation of IC a n d c a n have n o useful o u t c o m e .

Yours sincerely, D Cornwell and A Gardam Mech Eng 2

2

Dear C o l i n , W e are d i s g u s t e d ! We were sitting in our flat o n S a t u r d a y night a n d we read about a c o n c e r t in the c o n c e r t hall, so we went.

W e paid two p o u n d s e a c h f o r t h i s 'pleasure', w h e n we c o u l d have g o n e to any n u m b e r of L o n d o n p u b s to hear a far better b a n d in a far better environment.

W e respectfully suggest the s a c k i n g of IC E N T S c o m m i t t e e or a m a x i m u m price of seventy-five pence for any c o n c e r t in future.

T h i s was a rip-off!

Y o u r s sincerely, Mike Speight/Jim Cantle C h e m E n g II Dear C o l i n , A s a c u s t o m e r of the Nat West bank in college, for m a n y years now, I have n o t i c e d thatifs getting i n c r e a s i n g l y difficult to use this facility without having to wait for excessively l o n g periods. Even the i n t r o d u c t i o n of the q u i c k service till a n d the mail box have failed to i m p r o v e the situation.

T h i s is particularly n o t i c e a b l e on Friday afternoons a n d l u n c h times, w h e n it is e x c e e d i n g l y difficult to get in the doors. I feel it is about time the bank's premises w e r e e x t e n d e d to c o p e with the increasing demand.

J S Whitehouse (Eds note: many agreed with M r comments.)

D e a r Editor,

p e o p l e have Whitehouse's

I a m writing to y o u c o n c e r n i n g the report o n the U G M , w h i c h a p p e a r e d in last week's F E L I X . I shall not c o m m e n t on the general quality of this report, but I a m however, very c o n c e r n e d about the paragraph , w h i c h referred to a heckler. T h e reason is, that I was in fact, the heckler mentioned, a n d I most certainly did not say or imply what was reported. I k n o w a n u m b e r of people did not hear all of what I actually s a i d , so for the record, for those who did not hear the full text of my statement, here it is: "I w o n d e r if the Irishmen who put b o m b s under cars w o u l d agree." I never u s e d the word r a c i s m and certainly did not imply, that the troubles in Ireland, give us the right to make fun of the Irish race. T h e reason why I in fact m a d e the statement in the first p l a c e is that, to me, r a c i a l i s m is i n d e p e n d e n t of the actual race in q u e s t i o n , so an Irish joke is also racialist, like a joke about an Indian or a J e w . T h e r e f o r e I c o u l d not u n d e r s t a n d why the s p e a k e r s s e e m e d to accept the Irish jokes a n d not the other racialist and sick jokes, that appear in this year's I C U R a g M a g . I did vote in favour of it being b a n n e d and feel the Editor, in the future s h o u l d be a n s w e r a b l e to the U n i o n E x e c . A s what he p r o d u c e s , will help to give a g o o d or bad n a m e to IC students.

I feel for too long, the British have a i m e d a large p r o p o r t i o n of their jokes at the Irish a n d if this s t o p p e d , p e r h a p s it c o u l d help r e m o v e the anti-British attitude, that o c c u r s in some Irish people, both inside a n d outside Ireland.

T h e n , with a bit more unders t a n d i n g between both peoples, the tragic troubles in N o r t h e r n Ireland c o u l d be solved, m u c h earlier than seems likely at present.

I a p o l o g i z e to a n y b o d y w h o might have m i s u n d e r s t o o d the part of my statement they heard a n d been offended by it. I will, in future, keep"my m o u t h shut a n d I hope that F E L I X reports, c o n t a i n only a c c u r a t e a n d not m i s l e a d i n g sections, as this one failed to do.

Y o u r s sincerely, Ian P r o s s e r Chem Eng 3 Dear C o l i n , R e the letter by J C P e a r s o n on foreign student's fees (sorry to labour the point, but....). G u y s with ideas like P e a r s o n s are the most d e p r e s s i n g thing about IC. T a k e the first p a r a g r a p h , he makes it quite clear from the start that his first c o n c e r n is himself and that "matters of direct c o n c e r n to s t u d e n t s " are the o n l y ones worth w o r r y i n g about. It seems to me that many, if not most IC students s e e m to care about little more t han the size of their grants, because this directly affects the a m o u n t of beer they c a n p o u r d o w n their alimentary c a n a l s on p u b crawls and p u b nights. M o s t rag stunts are glorified o p e n air parties where s u n d r y idiots c a n pratt about to their hearts content, a n d , except for a few great guys w h o reason, the students w h o go o n the fourlegged races etc., see the raising of m o n e y as a side issue of little c o n c e r n to them.

I c a n n o t c o m m e n t on the 'facts' about student fees, as most s o u r c e s seem to be out to b e n d them to suit their point of view.

But talking on issues only: c o m p a r e the few millions spent on or gained from foriegn students with the t h o u s a n d s of millions spent on foreign aid, so is overseas aid w r o n g ?

H o w m a n y p e o p l e recently have said in one s e n t e n c e what a s h a m e it is that the p e o p l e of Z i m b a b w e a n d many other third w o r l d c o u n t r i e s cannot run their o w n societies due to lack of education, and in the next d e n o u n c e the s u p p o s e d f i n a n c i n g of overseas students.

A n d lastly M r P e a r s o n say's that this all c o m e s out of taxpayer's m o n e y , but I don't see too m a n y taxpayers d y i n g of m a l n u t r i t i o n or s l e e p i n g twelve and thirteen to a one room shack. C o m e on, c o l l e g e is not an ivory tower, nor is B r i t a in for that matter. T h i r d

W o r l d future is o u r future. Let's see more overseas aid, more overseas students, but most of all more A C T I O N .

J o h n Waterworth Physics 1 Dear Colin, R e M r P e a r s o n ' s letter about the student fees. I w o u l d like to point out that there are two views regarding this point: the governments and that of U K C O S A and N U S . M r Pearson's view is b a s e d o n the government's view of the 'full e c o n o m i c cost'.

T h e view t a k e n • by N U S a n d UKCOSA is t h a t overseas s t u d e n t s s h u l d be charged m a r g i n a l costs. T h i s is b a s e d on the c o n c e p t that the e d u c a t i o n system is d e s i g n e d for the h o m e students a n d that the overseas element represents extra students 'on the m a r g i n ' a n d it is l o g i c a l to use m a r g i n a l rather than average c o s t i n g in the fees a n a l y s i s .

According to this, overseas students bring in ÂŁ50million per year to s u b s i d i z e the British economy.

I think it is about time the two o p p o s i n g parties got together a n d d e c i d e d what the full e c o n o m i c i m p l i c a t i o n s are for housing overseas students in Britain.

At the m o m e n t universities' grants are g o i n g to be cut in direct p r o p o r t i o n to the n u m b e r of overseas students that they take in, thus f o r c i n g universities to c h a r g e the 'full e c o n o m i c cost'.

T h i s w o u l d lead to a drastic r e d u c t i o n in the n u m b e r of overseas students (and g o v e r n ments) w h o w o u l d be able to afford these fee levels (ÂŁ2,350 per student).

Y o u r s sincerely, M Fernando Dear C o l i n , H a v i n g seen an a p p r o x i m a t e l y 4 " x 4 " p h o t o g r a p h of Professor A b d u s S a l a m , s e m i - p a s t e d onto y o u r prototype cover last week (two d a y s before printing), I was d i s a p p o i n t e d , nay d i s g u s t e d to find that o n l y the four a n d a half line article a p p e a r e d on the final print.

I s i n c e r e l y believe that the great achievement of an IC professor being a w a r d e d the N o b e l P r i z e for P h y s i c s , s h o u l d have been given more c o v e r a g e in what is, after all, IC's most widely read p u b l i c a t i o n .

With two p a g e s of letters a n d a large advert for IC's 'news service', I a m sure that alternative s p a c e for the eventual b o t t o m right c o r n e r article c o u l d have been found.

Y o u r s , until I unify the s t r o n g nuclear force with gravity, Peter H e w k i n E d - A P r e s s release, from S t o c k h o l m , arrived after we had g o n e to press.

WHAT'S ON Friday 26 O c t CONSERVATIVE SOCIETY GENERAL M E E T I N G at 12:30 in M e c h E n g 569.

C H I N E S E S O C I E T Y F I L M S H O W of ' B i g Family', a K u n g F u film a n d ' S i n o - J a p a n e s e War (1895-96)', a war film will be s h o w n in M e c h E n g 220 at 6 p m . A d m i s s i o n 50p to members a n d 60p to n o n - m e m b e r s .

IC C H R I S T A I N U N I O N , 'The B i b l e for S t u d y ? ' M L l o y d - J o n e s in the m u s i c r o o m at 53 P r i n c e s Gate at 6:30pm.

E N T S D I S C O in the U n i o n lower l o u n g e at 8:30pm. A d m i s s i o n 30p.

Saturday 27 October IC E N T S P R E S E N T & W O R L D S E R V E C E in the U n i o n great hall at 8 p m . A d m i s s i o n £l in advanc e or £1.50 at the door.

E N T S G I G , 64 S P O O N S A N D W O R L D S E R V I C E at 8 p m J n the U n i o n G r e a t Hall.

A d m i s s i o n £1 a d v a n c e or £1.50 o n the door.

Sunday 28 October M A R C H A G A I N S T T H E C O R R I E B I L L meet outside Beit A r c h w a y at 11:30 or S p e a k e r s C o r n e r 12:00-12:30.

Tuesday 30 October S T O I C T R A N S M I S S I O N at 1pm in J C R , Union TV Lounge, Southside Lower TV L o u n g e a n d Beit and S o u t h s i d e H a l l s o n C h a n n e l 21 of B B C p r o g r a m m e d , ' L a D a m e aux G l a d i o l a s ' with Barry H u m p h r i e s as D a m e E d n a Everage.

ASSOCIATED STUDIES L E C T U R E S F r o m D a r w i n i s m to H i t l e r i s m : S c i e n c e a n d Myth in E u r o p e a n R a c i a l i s t Ideology by Professor M i c a e l B i d d i s s in the R e a d Theatre, Sherfield B u i l d i n g at 1:30pm.

G i o t t o : the A r e n a C h a p e l a n d the V i s u a l Dream by P r o f e s s or J o h n White in the P i p p a r d Theatre, Sherfield B u i l d i n g at 1:30pm.

TWO DAYS TO SPARE? NEED EXTRA CASH? If you are free at the end of October and would like to do some stocktaking work, contact A n g e l a Dashwood A r c s at M A N P O W E R Ltd, the work contractors Telephone: 741-1192 AVAILABLE IMMEDIATELY S u p e r b l u x u r y h o u s e in E a l i n g . S i n g l e room, s h a r e h o u s e with four others. £20 per week plus e x p e n s e s . R i n g L i n d a W i l l i a m s o n , 4938030 ext 156 d u r i n g t h e d a y o r 4 5 6 - 1 6 5 8 i n t h e evenings.

CONSORT CHAMBER ORCHESTRA L U N C H T I M E P R O M at 1:00pm in the C o n s o r t Gallery, Sherfield B u i l d i n g .

R I D I N G C L U B M E E T I N G between 1-2pm in R o o m 1110 (level 11) E l e c E n g . R i d e s b o o k e d , c l u b activities d i s c u s s e d .

MOPSOC L E C T U R E , 'Physics and C o n c i o u s n e s s ' by M r C D C u r l i n g (Kings) in P h y s i c s lecture theatre 3 at 1:15pm.

FILM: ' P L E A S U R E AT HER MAJESTIES', a review i n c l u d i n g M o n t y P y t h o n , the G o o d i e s , Peter C o o k a n d E l e a n o r B r o m at 6:30pm in M e c h E n g 220. P r i c e 25p.

F I L M : ' N E T W O R K ' s h o w n at 5:30 a n d 8:30 at T u k e 97, B e d f o r d C o l l e g e . A d m i s s i o n 2 5 p f o r the early s h o w a n d 30p for the late s h o w .

COMMUNIST SOCIETY MEETING ON I R E L A N D at 6:30pm in the I C W A L o u n g e .

M O U N T A I N E E R I N G C L U B S L I D E S H O W in P h y s i c s lecture theatre 2 from 8 p m .

R B S N I T E O U T , at the D i c k e n ' s Inn, St. Katherine's D o c k . Meet B e r n a r d S u n l e y H o u s e T V R o o m 7:30 or at the D i c k e n s from 8pm.

S T O I C T R A N S M I S S I O N at 1pm a n d 7pm.

T h i s week's ' N e w s b r e a k ' has a c o m p e t i t i o n with a five p o u n d r e c o r d t o k e n as the prize.

L I F E IN I S R A E L L E C T U R E in M a t h s 341 at I:l5pm.

E N T S F I L M : 'Playgirls a n d the V a m p i r e s and the S h e D e m o n s ' in M e c h E n g 220 at 6:30pm.

A d m i s s i o n 30p.

A N D Y C R O N S H A W A N D HIS E L E C T R I C Z I P H E R play the B e d f o r d C o l l e g e Folk C l u b at 8 p m in the Oliver Bar. A d m i s s i o n is 70p and S U cards are required.

Friday 2 November ENTS AND F R E N C H S O C DISCO AND G R O U P at 7:30pm in the U n i o n C o n c e r t Hall.

A d m i s s i o n £1.20 to m e m b e r s a n d £1.50 to non-members.

DISCO (and possibly the band, the 'Speedometers') in B e d f o r d C o l l e g e U n i o n C o m m o n R o o m at 8:00pm. A d m i s s i o n 60p for d i s c o and £l for gig and S U c a r d s are required.

P H O T O S O C S L I D E C O M P E T I T I O N mainly for 2x2 c o l o u r slides. J u d g e M rs N o r a h B a t c h e l o r . Details o n P h o t o s o c n o t i c e b o a r d .

Saturday 3 November Wednesday 31 October

Zones gig cancelled.

O P E N A C T I O N M E E T I N G to fight cuts at 1pm in U n i o n B u i l d i n g .

Thursday 8 November

A R A B I C C L A S S E S by Islamic S o c i e t y begin at 7 p m in Z o o l o g y G 1 .

R A G C O M M I T T E E M E E T I N G at 7 p m ICWA Lounge. Everyone welcome.

in

Thursday 1 November N A T U R A L H I S T O R Y S O C I E T Y L E C T U R E by K e n M e l l a n b y on M o l e s at 12:45 in B o t basement lecture theatre. T e a and b i c c i e s provided. Free.

A S S O C I A T E D S T U D I E S F I L M : C h a r l e s 1 in the Great H a l l , Sherfield B u i l d i n g at 1:15pm.

ASSOCIATED STUDIES L U N C H HOUR C O N C E R T with T a k a s h i S h i m i z u o n violin a n d G o r d o n B a c k on piano in the M u s i c R o o m , 53 P r i n c e ' s G a t e at 1:30pm.

P R E S E N T A T I O N OF AMBULANCE NOON ON TUESDAY OCTOBER 30TH ON THE QUEENS LAWN The Rector will present the Red Cross ambulance on behalf of IC to the president of the L o n d o n B r a n c h of the British Red C r o s s Society.

C O M E A N D S E E T H E 1978 COLLECTION

RAG

AMBULANCE

HANDED OVER.

RECREATION CLUBS COMMITTEE G E N E R A L M E E T I N G at 6:30pm in the S e n i o r C o m m o n Room. All R C C chairmen should attend.

Friday 9 November L A T I N - A M E R I C A N S O C I E T Y T A L K about the present situation in N i c a r a g u a in C h e m E n g lecture theatre 2 at 12:45pm. A l s o Latin A m e r i c a n 'Fiesta' in the lower refectory, U n i o n B u i l d i n g at 7pm. A d m i s s i o n £l.

IC P O L I S H S O C I E T Y P O L I S H S O C I E T Y V O D K A P A R T Y at 7:30pm in B o t Z o o C o m m o n R o o m . T i c k e t s from J e n in U n i o n Office.

RAG MAGS ARE NOW ON SALE Again! 25p from IC Union Office or C C U Offices T H E PHOENIX The Phoenix, magazine of Imperial College Union requires c o n t r i b u t i o n s . T h e y may be poetry, s h o r t s t o r i e s or factual a r t i c l e s o n a n y s u b j e c t .

In fact, anything goes!

Please contact S J Marshall via the C h e m 3 l e t t e r a c k s or via the F E L I X office, if y o u feel that y o u w o u l d like to talk about your contribution prior to starting it, a n d for s u b m i s s i o n of a r t i c l e s .

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MORE LETTERS ON PAGE 6

m o b i l i z i n g student and p u b l i c o p i n i o n . IC may yet catalyse feelings that this government cannot s u p p r e s s and s u c c e s s f u l ly force them, by popular o p i n i o n , to step d o w n on the issues in question.

Robert W i l s o n Pet E n g 2

Sir, Re: T h e current R a g M a g .

A s editor of this o u t s t a n d i n g Dear Sir, entity, I was s h o c k e d , nay mildly J o n M a r s d e n a n d J o n Fewtrell s t u n n e d , to witness the total might be interested to note that, c o l l a p s e of sensibilities within this contrary to 'heir misguided col l ege. S o m e particularly nasty assertion in F E L . X last week, not individuals s e e m to have leapt all w h o s u p p o r t e d the o c c u p a t i o n u p o n the b a n d w a g o n : "Let's ban m o t i o n did so as they suggested this sexist, racist a n d depraved (ie by preparing themselves to publication, especially the miss lectures for as long as v o l k s w a g o n joke." d e e m e d necessary), but that for Firstly, I disagree that this label m a n y it w a s a spontaneous applies a n d s e c o n d l y , I have r e s p o n s e to a most critical issue. I neither the time nor the biro ink to like many others, had no spare o n the subject of R a g M a g preconceived notions of the material; after all, s o m e of us have meeting's outcome, but felt excellent d e g r e e s to work for. c o m p e l l e d to react in this way to more A subject worth far the C o n s e r v a t i v e assault on o u r c o n s i d e r a t i o n is the intervention c o u n t r y ' s e d u c a t i o n a l values. of the c o l l e g e solicitors in c o n n e c t i o n with the fact that our However, the brunt of my R a g M a g did not boast the d i s a p p r o v a l must fall o n R i c h a r d printers' imprint.

W o r m s l e y w h o s e attack on C h r i s T h e s e i n d i v i d u a l s , in t h e i r Fox's action can only be c o n c e r n for the f i n a n c i a l c o n s t r u e d as vociferous support w e l l b e i n g of our u n i o n , saw fit to for these intolerable government w a r n o u r u n i o n of the possible policies. I w o u l d ask h i m ; does consequences of distributing any mandate, regardless of size, s u c h an illegal d o c u m e n t . A wise give a n y government, regardless move, I say, as they seem to think of politics, the right to wield its (I have been told that they are not legislative axe unchallenged, absolutely certain, however) that even if it d o e s so with the blind s u c h an offence carries a fine of t h r a s h i n g of t h e present five p o u n d s per c o p y s o l d , both to government. T h e answer is s i m p l y the p u b l i s h e r a n d the printer. I a v i g o r o u s N O , for otherwise a k n o w not whether this be true or path w o u l d be laid c o n d u c i v e to dictatorial leadership. false; I w o u l d appreciate s o m e correspondence from said c o l l e g e solicitors u p o n the matter, W e have been confronted with as I have not had the time p o l i c i e s w h i c h are f o u n d e d in (pressure of a c a d e m i c work) to s o c i a l injustice rather than travel to H M S O in H o l b o r n to economical necessity.

Educaobtain the relevant printing acts tional elitism has f o u n d a • However, in my South r e s u r g e n c e initiated by s w e e p i n g K e n s i n g t o n based s e a r c h for the e d u c a t i o n a l cuts o p p o s e d only by truth, I telephoned the m a n a g i n g a f i nanc i al influx into the private director of C h a m e l i o n Press (the education sector.

Foreign printers of s u c h publications as s t u d e n t s are l a m b a s t e d by the 'Alternative Prospectus'. p r o p o s e d massive fee increases 'Spanner' and collators of the 'IC as Britain s l a m s shut the door on U n i o n Handbook'), obviously a educational advancement on very d i s t i n g u i s h e d company, who a n y t h i n g other than o n a purely refused to print our R a g M a g a n d introspective, national level. w h o very nearly always put their imprint upon their printed T h o s e cuts threaten to e r o de the material. Off the top of his head, British e d u c a t i o n a l s y s t e m whilst he informed me that the fine was j u x t a p o s i n g it with o n e f o u n d e d twenty p o u n d s per copy s o l d , on privilege. T h e e c o n o m i c s of both to the printer and publisher. the c u t s are r i d i c u l e d by the H e d i d say, however, that he was i n s i d i o u s a n d massive p r o p o s e d not s u r e of this. increases in defence expenditure.

I next t e l e p h o n e d Private Eye (who have c o n t r i b u t e d to the R a g Mag) to speak to their legal If in the light of these p r o p o s a l s , department, but he h a d g o n e the students of this c o l l e g e still home.

However, another feel i n d e b t e d to apathy, then o n g e n t l e m a n from the E y e s a i d that their o w n c o n s c i e n c e is this he w a s pretty d a m n sure that y o u country's future.

Otherwise c o u l d be i m p r i s o n e d for s u c h an s u p p o r t o u r U n i o n ' s attempts at

4

offence, but he was not that sure.

S o there we have it: a five p o u n d fine (College), a twenty p o u n d fine (Chamelion) or imprisonment (Eye).

Now, do y o u remember ' J a m r a g ' ? This was our R a g M a g two years ago.

Imagine my surprise w h e n I d i s c o v e r e d that the printers' imprint was absent, thus m a k i n g all ten t h o u s a n d c o p i e s distributed quite illegal. If only c o l l e g e solicitors had been so efficient two years ago, the union w o u l d have been saved a p o s s i b l e p r o s e c u t i o n resulting in an almost .certain fine of fifty t h o u s a n d p o u n d s or perhaps two h u n d r e d t h o u s a n d p o u n d s or maybe imprisonment.

I tremble at the thought that if s o m e particularly nasty individual were to take this year's R a g M a g to court (number distributed : six hundred) then obviously the J a m r a g w o u l d have to be cited as a major previous offence. G o s h !

H o w terrible!

A l s o , isn't it a pity that c o l l e g e s s u c h as the S o u t h B a n k Poly, Coventry, Edinburgh (Patron: H R H , alias 'the D u k e ' ) a n d S h o r e d i t c h (to name four that I have personal k n o w l e d g e of) do not have s u c h an efficient team of solicitors.

However, two years ago, ours weren't particularly efficient either. B o y , O h B o y ! A m I glad that they've s h a r p e n e d their wits over the last two years. M i n d you, with c o l l e g e t a k i n g s u c h an active interest in this year's R a g M a g in general, especially its detrimental effect u p o n overseas students' fees, not to mention the fact that it renders the o c c u p a t i o n as totally meaningless, this is understood.

Finally, a n y o n e w i s h i n g to c o m e a n d help stamp ten t h o u s a n d R a g M a g s with the printers' imprint, using rubber stamps that the printers, Minstral Press, have supplied us w i t h (financial setback of fifty pounds to themselves) will be welcomed with o p e n arms.

S J Marshall Dear C o l i n , I w o u l d like to a p o l o g i z e to R a e and Steve for saying the R a g M a g was sexist It s h o u l d have read 'blatantly c r u d e and racist' as elsewhere in the letter. I do not, however, withdraw anything else There are also i n a c c u r a c i e s in Rae's letter w h i c h I w o u l d like to point out: i. R a e s a i d t h a t t h e r e a r e o n l y e i g h t J e w i s h jokes and that the w o r d w o g ' appears only o n c e S i n c e Rae took the trouble of c o u n t i n g all the jokes, I felt that I c o u l d do no less. S h e has got both of these figures w r o n g . T h e r e are also other racist jokes or words, w h i c h do not fall in these categories, but are no less racist for that. H a v i n g read previous IC R a g M a g s a n d

those of other c o l l e g e s I c o n s i d e r it to be more racist than most.

T h e r e are too many Irish and J e w i s h jokes and it is the quantity, as well as the quality, w h i c h makes them offensive. ii. If R a e read the letter carefully, s h e w o u l d notice that n o b o d y a c c u s e d her of m a k i n g e x c u s e s only the exec. If C h r i s a n d M a l c o l m had felt that strongly about the mag, they w o u l d have acted more decisively, instead of opting out by d i s a s s o c i a t i n g themselves from the R a g M a g .

The e x e c is t h e caretaker government of the u n i o n d u r i n g the holiday and it was up to them to act. iii. N o b o d y in the letter used their official p o s i t i o n to 'give p o w e r to their personal opinions', apart from myself. I had the full b a c k i n g of my committee, chairtnen of several national societies a n d several students had expressed strong o p i n i o n s about it. The others in . the letter signed themselves as ordinary students at IC w h i c h I thought was their privilege, if they so w i s h e d to do so.

A c c o r d i n g to Rae's motion at the U G M , the R a g M a g is for ' b r o a d m i n d e d ' students. If that is the case, then s i n c e Rae, C h r i s and Malcolm disassociated themselves from it does that mean that they are not b r o a d m i n d e d ? I personally prefer to think that they have s o m e s t a n d a r d of d e c e n c y that they think s h o u l d be maintained.

IC already has a bad reputation with other c o l l e g e s about its R a g M a g a n d this is not g o i n g to help to improve that image.

Y o u r s sincerly, A Gujral Dear C o l i n , W h e n will the officers of IC U n i o n finally realize that they do NOT have the support of students.

A s we are all aware at the last U n i o n meeting the m o t i o n on e d u c a t i o n cuts was railroaded by the U n i o n e x e c u t i v e .

The a m e n d m e n t s w h i c h basically said that we do not believe in an o c c u p a t i o n was defeated by the narrowest of m a r g i n s . A n a m e n d m e n t (which I believe a l a r g e n u m b e r of students supported) a s k i n g the U n i o n to support the cuts in i n c r e a s e d expenditure was not even allowed to be d i s c u s s e d True d e m o c racy?

We have been told that Ihe o c c u p a t i o n of the S D R was designed not for maximum disruption ol College, but ' m a x i m u m publicity' W h o rnnlly believes that a few linos in the G u a r d i a n a n d a brio! mention on R a d i o . L o n d o n is m a x i m u m publicity?

Even Sonnet the ne w s pape r of L o n d o n students' d o e s not mention the o c c u p a t i o n Bernard Smith

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As the o c c u p a t i o n trundles along .... the students are lubricated with John Whitehouse's H O T Soup (not quite 57 varieties). The photo shows J o h n d i s t i l l i n g another vat of soup in a laboratory somewhere in London. P h o t o by C o l i n Palmer 5

Dear C o l i n , Here's a n o t h e r letter about the Frank J a m e s c o n t r o v e r s y (did he really write h i s letter just to get a correspondence g o i n g in the F E L I X letters c o l u m n ? ) .

I'm a fresher a n d like S D G o u l d e r in last week's F E L I X , I have m a d e up m y o w n m i n d . However, I disagree w i t h Frank J a m e s main c o n c l u s i o n s i n that, while I think that s o m e of his c r i t i c i s m s are valid, t h e s o l u t i o n s that he s u g g e s t s w o u l d not, in fact, work.

S t u d e n t s s e e m to need s o m e way of 'letting off s t e a m ' a n d h o w this is d o n e varies from o n e student to another; s o m e listen to l o u d music, others drown their a c a d e m i c w orri es in b e e r a n d play the most trivial of c h i l d i s h g a m e s until t h e early h o u r s of the morning.

N o t h i n g c a n c h a n g e this facet of h u m a n nature; s o it is o n l y r e a s o n a b l e that s o m e form of o r g a n i z a t i o n is present in c o l l e g e to supervise (and even encourage) such recreational activities, a n d furthermore, to e n s u r e that they d o not get out of h a n d . T h e C C U s fulfill this function a d m i r a b l y w h i l e at the s a m e time c o o r d i n a t i n g a c a d e m i c p r o b l e m s a n d r a i s i n g a very large a m o u n t of m o n e y for charity. I feel that a s i n g l e central o r g a n i z a t i o n w o u l d not be able to d o this nearly as efficiently; b e c a u s e by the nature of their p u r p o s e s the C C U s are e a c h a ' p e r s o n a l ' o r g a n i z a t i o n to w h i c h e a c h student c a n feel that he or s h e 'belongs'. A large b o d y s u c h as I C U is t o o i m m e n s e for the a v e r a g e fresher (et al) to identify with.

T h e C C U s provide a lot of enjoyment for their members, a n d while being far from perfect (is anyone , even Frank J a m e s ? ) , I believe they s h o u l d be retained, even if p e r h a p s 'cleaned u p ' a little.

Sincerely, Jeremy Nunns ( E E 1 ) P S - R e the i n f a m o u s c o m m e n t : I don't particularly like beer, a n d have t h e usual male i n c l i n a t i o n s .

Dear Sir, I am indeed disappointed ( t h o u g h not altogether surprised) that the U G M , last T u e s d a y s a w fit to reject the m o t i o n c a l l i n g for the b a n n i n g of t h e R a g M a g . I f o u n d its c o n t e n t s p o l l u t e d w i t h o b s c e n e a n d s i c k 'jokes', a n d a s a m e m b e r

6

of the overseas student c o m m u n i t y here, I w a s very and moreover, offended disheartened by its racialist overtones. Despite those c y n i c s w h o m a y smirk ' t o u g h ' or 'too bad', I w h o l e h e a r t e d l y agree with M r Gujral's c o n d e m n a t i o n of it.

M a y I a l s o point out that L o r d Flowers has expressed his d i s a p p r o v a l in this matter. In fact, I w o u l d be a m a z e d if other IC students are not themselves of the same opinion.

T h e a r g u m e n t s presented by the motion's o p p o n e n t s s t r u c k me as being contradictory, facetious a n d even h y p o c r i t i c a l . S u b s t a n tially they w e r e as follows: i. T h e R a g M a g is p u b l i s h e d with the intent to raise m o n e y for charities (a most c o m m e n d a b l e c a u s e w h i c h n o - o n e c a n surely begrudge) a n d therefore a certain degree of l i c e n c e in its contents is to be p e r m i t t e d (which presumably is as e q u a l l y commendable). ii. T h e m a g a z i n e h a d already been sold (despite some legal aberrations) a n d to withdraw o r b a n it w o u l d c a u s e some i n c o n v e n i e n c e , e s p e c i a l l y as the m o n e y raised c o u l d be spent profitably by the charities. of my s u b s e q u e n t Some c o m m e n t s may appear to certain factions of t h e student p o p u l a c e to be a trifle unrealistic a n d moralistic, but I feel they are necessary to the issue.

"The hallmark of her work has been respect for the individual human being, for his or her dignity and innate value."

Firstly, the above quotation is an extract of a tribute paid by the c h a i r m a n of the N o b e l award c o m m i t t e e to M o t h e r The r e s a , the recipient of this year's peace prize. It stresses the respect o n e h u m a n b e i n g ought to have for another, a respect w h i c h s h o u l d not be d i m i n i s h e d by a n y affliction a p e r s o n may endure.

C l e a r l y many of the 'jokes' are hardly respectful of a person's race, creed, c o l o u r or situation. It is all very well s a y i n g , " n o harm i n t e n d e d " or " i t 's o n l y a joke," but s u c h phrases only belie the essential cruelty a n d insulting behaviour inherent in these jokes.

O n e d o e s not have to suffer from p a r a n o i a to dislike being ridiculed or l a u g h t e d at. I a m s o m e w h a t mystified then, that IC students, albeit not saints, d o not share M o t h e r Theresea's respect for individual dignity, a n d have permitted a n d even c o n d o n e d the free l i c e n c e granted to the c o m p i l e r s (the term editors is I feel, rather inappropriate) of the magazine.

Secondly, perhaps I am c o n f u s e d , but I a m u n d e r the i m p r e s s i o n that w e students are first a n d foremost h u m a n beings.

It is idiotic to s u p p o s e that people are not offended by certain jokes merely b e c a u s e they are students and c a n therefore adopt s u c h an enlighted status a n d c o n d e s c e n d i n g attitude towards this Rag Mag. It w a s also noticeable that many people at the U G M believed that it was t o o late to act after the 'horse had bolted'. T h i s appears to imply that s o m e s a w the R a g M a g as Sherry 7:00 for 7:30 in the potentially o b s c e n e etc., but Consort Gallery, Sherfield. nevertheless believed it was more expedient to p r o c e e d with its c i r c u l a t i o n . Is this then not With singer Frankie an irresponsible a n d h y p o c r i t i c a l Armstrong and the Mekkers. attitude?

Unfortunately, it seems that the matter has been settled irrevocably a n d the p r o c e e d s Tickets ÂŁ7.50 (ÂŁ6.50 for women heading for a deserving charity. I freshers) from ICWA lounge wonder, w o u l d it be a fair lunchtimes or Annie in the Union a s s u m p t i o n o n m y part to expect Office. the rag c o m m i t t e e to donate a c o p y of the m a g to the recipient charity as a substantive memento of their efforts. I a m sure it will be greeted with great interest. I w o u l d also hope that IC students will e n s u r e that all future R a g M a g s be subject to more stringent editorial c o n t r o l to prevent the present situation repeating itself a n d c a u s i n g further e m b a r r a s s ment.

I must finally a d d that it is unfortunate that in the s a m e week as Professor A b d u s S a l a m of the physics department was h o n o u r e d by a N o b e l Prize, the name a n d prestige of our c o l l e g e will inevitably be tarnished.

Y o u r s respectfully, Rumar SingaRajah EE P G

ICWA FRESHERS BALL

FRIDAY 9TH NOV.

DAY BY DAY

01km

Wednesday 17th

eighteen m o n t h s into l a r g e s c a l e smmuggling from the Indian subcontintent led to the drugs seizure.

BL B A L L O T

DR WARREN'S PROFESSION

BL will-ballot 164,000 workers on its plans to cut 25,000 jobs and close thirteen BL plants. This is without the support of the union representing half the work force. The Transport and General Workers' Union will not endorse the plan, unlike other unions.

Dr Warren spent four years trying t,o persuade his local council that he and his family are running a food and research centre, trying to build a model of farming economy to see how it will function without machines and chemicals. The council however, see him as a crank and doubt he is a real farmer or researcher. Dr Warren falls foul of the planners' definition of a farmer, since his project is not commercial.

NOBEL

P E A C E PRIZE FOR THERESA

MOTHER

The announcement of the award to Mother Theresa of the Nobel Prize started tributes flowing from all over the world. Mother Theresa was referred to as one of the rare saints acclaimed in their own time. The prize money will go towards her work in Calcutta.

ZIMBABWE/RHODESIA The South African Foreign Minister, Mr Botha, met Lord Carrington and Mrs Thatcher to express his concern over the pace and direction of the talks. Mr Botha would like to see the exlusion of the PF and a swift agreement between Britain and Bishop Muzorewa. South African officals are worried about even partial power being granted to Mr Mugabe's radical wing of the guerilla aliance which in their opinion would lead to a while exodus from and chaos with ZimbabweRhodesia.

Thursday 18th THATCHER'S ULTIMATUM T O E E C The PM, in a stark message to the E E C , stated that the UK's patience in waiting for reform had been exhausted and set the E E C summit in Dublin as a deadline for changes.

Mrs Thatcher however, did not indicate what action might be taken if a solution was not forthcoming.

HOMOSEXUALITY REPORT A C h u r c h of E n g l a n d report on homosexuality recommends a more lenient attitude to homosexuals. It supports relationships involving sexual love, calls for the age of consent to be lowered from twentyone to eighteen and says bishops should not refuse to ordain gay men. The Church's Board for Social Responsbility, said that homosexual behaviour was sinful and against G o d ' s law. Even the C a m p a i g n for Homosexual Equality was 'appalled' it did hot condemn the evils of 'queer bashing'.

Friday 19th D R U G S SEIZURE A customs officer was shot dead in East London while involved in an undercover drugs operation. Cannabis valued at Elmillion was seized and twenty-three people were detained. Extensive investigations in the last

E E C R E B U F F FOR PM The British Government will be told this weekend that its demands for drastic reductions in UK'S payments to the E E C budget will not be met. Although, it is conceded that there is a problem in the scale of British net contributions, E E C ministers insist that Mrs Thatcher is indulging in brinkmanship in demanding that other countries pay more, so that the UK payments would be roughly no more than what Britain gets from the E E C .

Saturday 20th UNITED G E R M A N Y A LA BREZHNEV A plan to neutralize and unite East and West Germany is on the way, the outcome of which could make or break the present Soviet leadership. The failure of this would lead to a far more militaristic Soviet regime. The full scope of the deal involves withdrawal of West Germany from Nato and East Germany from the Warsaw Pact.

WBA HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP Black American, John Tate, won the WBA'S heavyweight title by outpointing the white South African , Gerrie Coetzee in Pretonia.

ROYAL B E S T M A N Prince Charles was bestman today at the wedding of Lord Mountbatten's grandson, Lord Ramsey. The bridegroom's parents attended in wheelchairs; a stark reminder of the summer's tragedy which killed Lord Mountbatten and injured them both.

Sunday 21st D A Y A N QUITS Mr Dayan, Israeli foreign minister, resigned because of a disagreement over the government's approach to negotiations involving autonomy for the Palestinians of the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Mr Dayan was unhappy with the hardline Dr Bung, Minister of Interior being given responsibility for negotiations with Egypt under US auspices and since the talks began was dissatisfied with the intransigent stance taken by the government.

R E T U R N O F T H E TIMES The Times and Sunday Times should be back on the streets at the end of November after almost a year's shut down. The end of the struggle between the Times newspapers and print unions came at 1:40pm with unions claiming victory and management uncertain whether the ÂŁ30million shut down had been worth it.

ANTHONY NOLAN Anthony Nolan, aged seven, finally Ist the fight for survival. Anthony suffered from a bone marrow deficiency and despite four year's struggle to save his life died in Westminster Children's Hospital after he had a severe haemorrhage. All attempts to find a donor for a bone marrow transplant failed, but Anthony's death has left behind hope for others in the shape of a laboratory with the largest register of donors in the world.

Monday 22nd F A T A L RAIL C R A S H A train crash in.Dundee led to the death of four people and injuries to fifty-three others.

One of the diesel locomotives had been in mechanical difficulty for several minutes before and witnesses reported seeing sparks from the engine.

G O V E R N O R FOR RHODESIA A British governor, if the talks succeed, with executive power and control of existing security forces in Rhodesia will supervise elections in the territory. Mr Mugabe of the PF stated that British supervision would be unacceptable as Britain was not an impartial agent.

US E X E C U T I O N Jesse Bishop became the third person to be executed in the US in the past twelve years.

Bishop, who could have demanded a stay of execution, died in a gas chamber in Nevada.

Tuesday 23rd EXCHANGE CONTROLS GO All Britain's exchange controls, except for those relating to Rhodesia, have been scrapped. British residents can now buy gold, hold as much foreign currency as they like, open foreign bank accounts and buy shares abroad without incurring a penalty.

C A N C E R T R E A T M E N T FOR SHAH The exiled Shah of Iran is being treated in New York for cancer. He is said to be seriously ill and was flown secretly from his retreat in Cuernavaca, Mexico.

RHODESIAN RAID Zimbabwe-Rhodesian forces cross the Zambezi river to destroy a heavily fortified camp of Mr Nkomo' guerilla army. The 'selfdefence' action was mounted reportedly because of a build-upof guerrillas at the camp.

7

THE GANG OF SIX Hi there, bureaucracy lovers! We thought it was time to inform you about ICU's superquango, the Permanent Working Party.

These dedicated people are committed to fighting inefficiency and corruption in the Union and College and also hope to bring several sparks of creativity Into a stale, tired Union.

We are elected during the summer term to sit on Union Council, and to hold our own committee meetings. Until recently, the PWP has been thought of as a committee formed solely for the purpose of holding meetings, but this year we want to come out of our shells and demonstrate that we really do get things done.

This year we epitomize every aspect of student opinion, containing the fib, lab and con club chairmans, as well as a C C U vicepresident. This makes us an eminently suitable forum for kindling new ideas. We are: Gary Dearmer (Chairman) Mark Clegg (Hon Sec) Dave Lyons Tansy Hepton (Token Woman) Mick Berry Colin Palmer (Who?)

We are currently reviewing union places in hall. Are these the unacceptable face of 'perks for hacks', designed to keep union officers in luxury for the remainder of their IC days; or are they vital aids to people with important jobs? We are meeting to decide next Monday lunchtime, and soon hope to have a motion on the subject to present to council or a U G M .

If you want to contact us about this, or any other subject you wish us to investigate, just drop a letter into the PWP pigeon-hole in the Union Office.

GUILDS T h a n k G o d it's Friday, time for the a s t o u n d i n g well-written, highly informative G u i l d s article. First, a q u i c k look back at what has h a p p e n e d . F o u r freshers d i n n e r s have been a n d gone, all of w h i c h were great, with M r M o o n e y d o i n g his best to provide g o o d food (we h a d five vegetables with o u r stock a n d y o u c o u l d hardly tell w h i c h was which).

A l l the d i n n e r s have been well attended, with those w h o went enjoying themselves t h o r o u g h l y . There is still time to g o to y o u r o w n d i n n e r if y o u are in C C D (Oct 29) or M e c h E n g (Nov 1). T h e s e d i n n e r s are an excellent o p p o r t u n i t y to meet y o u r staff in an informal atmosphere, have a g o o d meal, listen to s o m e g o o d speakers a n d find out s o m e t h i n g e m b a r r a s s i n g about the E x e c and other people.

O n Saturday, we went to H a r r o d s on o u r a n n u a l Silly Sports. A l l those w h o went had a t h o r o u g h l y g o o d time in participating in s o m e games. N a b really is a sadist, a l t h o u g h he d o e s look sweet in a p o l i c e m a n ' s helmet.

G u i l d s took about six h u n d r e d a n d fifty p o u n d s for R a g , b r i n g i n g o u r total to over £1,500. L o o k out for the next R a g events.

Coming u p is the c o m b i n e d C C U H a l l o w e e n party on W e d n e s d a y the 31st. It is a ticket only party s o get y o u r s from the C C U office. W e have a bar until 2am a n d a great d i s c o . M a k e sure y o u get y o u r ticket early to avoid d i s a p p o i n t m e n t as it promises to be a great event.

1

O n S a t u r d a y the 3rd, we will be having a R a g c o l l e c t i o n and o n S u n d a y the 4th, it's the B R I G H T O N R U N . 'Bo', o u r highly esteemed m o t o r i z e d mascot will be particpating in the L o n d o n to B r i g h t o n veteran car run and y o u have the c h a n c e to s e e the start of the run at 8:20am in H y d e Park. W e a r i n g pyjamas to s h o w that y o u have o n l y just got up, g o by c o a c h to B r i g h t o n , leaving promptly at 9:15, so as to w e l c o m e B o in B r i g h t o n with a r o u s i n g B o o m a l a k a . Y o u c a n then have a g o o d meal in a hotel followed by the delights of the seaside afterwards.

T i c k e t s for B r i g h t o n are on sale in the U n i o n office at the cost of £4 for the l u n c h a n d £2 for the c o a c h . B r u c e w o u l d like s o m e help on S a t u r d a y anytime to help B o into a suitably s h i n i n g c o n d i t i o n to participate, s o see B r u c e a n d bring s o m e grease.

After this there is R a g week with the G u i l d s carnival, as the final a n d last event, but more of that later.

Bryan

Photo by Marie-ThSrese

Would you give money to this man?

3

Despite a rather disappointing turn out for the last Rag stunt, we've organized another for tomorrow. Yes, you too can stand outside Harrods in a shiny black rubber suit or wear your best spiv outfit to force shares in the Underwater Company onto unsuspecting shoppers for charity. Remember Rag is fun: Threaten the aristocracy with whips and floppy snorkels, pester the tourists with bogus shares, but no matter how much you can collect - come along and enjoy the event.

At the last E N T S committee meeting, a motion was passed to make a violate ENTS committee mascot. After much debate, it was decided to construct a giant parsnip to be taken on all R C S U ENTS nights out. Various suggestions were made for the name of this mascot, but the final winner in the apt title competition was 'Parsnip'. And so, on Sunday afternoon, the E N T S committee (minus the chairman) set to work with great gusto. This mascot is violate and so it is vital that we keep it safe, at all E N T S nights out. Look after your mascot and fight apathy with Parsnip!

Having got that out of my system, I would like to encourage people to drop into the Union office to help build the R C S Rag float, this Sunday afternoon. If you have any cardboard bring it along as well.

By now, tickets will be on sale for the joint C C U halloween party. This is always a sellout and there will be postively NO ADMISSION at the door on the night, so to avoid disappointment buy your ticket now for any of the C C U offices.

And finally a reminder to life scientists to buy their freshers dinners tickets, before Tuesday. Everyone who went to any other RCS freshers dinner is welcome to come to the disco after the life science dinner.

THE DOVE T h e D o v e is a s m a l l Fullers p u b situated o n the T h a m e s e m b a n k m e n t in H a m m e r s m i t h .

T h e p u b has not c h a n g e d m u c h s i n c e it moved from the h o u s e next d o o r about a h u n d r e d years ago. It still retains w o o d e n floor boards a n d the original s m a l l bar. Fo r a time the pub was k n o w n as ' T h e Doves', but the present l a n d l o r d reverted back to the original n a m e of ' T h e Dove' a few years ago.

There is a s m a l l garden at the back of the p u b o v e r l o o k i n g the T h a m e s with a grapevine bearing grapes at this time of the year.

The p u b sells the u s u s a l c o l l e c t i o n of Fullers beers, i n c l u d i n g E S B , a s t r o n g ale with a distinctive taste. T h e beer is more expensive than in most Fullers p u b s with E S B over fifty p e n c e a pint. T h e service in the pub is g o o d , a c l o u d y pint was c h a n g e d even before I noticed it. Lager is not s o l d in the pub on draught, o n l y as bottled pils.

T h e p u b is frequented mainly by y o u n g e r people, hense it has a lively atmosphere, but lacks the feeling of a local. It is best to visit the pub d u r i n g g o o d weather s i n c e it is so near the T h a m e s . T h e pub is within easy reach of Hamlet Gardens and Ravenscourt u n d e r g r o u n d station.

The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences has decided to award the 1979 Nobel Prize in physics to be shared equally between Professor Sheldon L Glashow, Harvard University, USA, Professor Abdus Salam, International Centre for Theoretical Physics, Italy and Imperial College, Great Britain, and Professor Steven Weinberg, Harvard University, USA, for their contributions to the t h e o r y of the u n i f i e d w e a k a n d e l e c t r o m a g n e t i c i n t e r a c t i o n between elementary particles, including inter alia the prediction of the weak neutral current.

THREE SHARE NOBEL PRIZE KUNGL.

VETENSKAPSAKADEMIENITHE

ROYAL

First

The discovery of the radioactivity of certain heavy elements t o w a r ds the e n d of last century, and the e n s u i n g development o f t h e p h y s i c s of the at omic n u c l e u s , l e d t o the i n t r o d u c t i o n of t w o n e w f o r c e s or interactions: the strong a n d the weak nuclear forces.

Unlike gravitation a n d e l e c t r o m a g n e t i s m these forces act only at very short distances, of the order of n u c l e a r diameters o r less.

While the strong interaction keeps protons and neutrons together in the n u c l e u s , the weak interaction c a u s e s the s o - c a l l e d radioactive beta-decay. T h e t y p i c a l process is the decay of the neutron: the neutron, with charge zero, is t r a n s f o r m e d into a positively charged proton, with the e m i s s i o n of negatively c h a r g e d electron a n d neutral, massless particle, the neutrino.

A l t h o u g h the weak interaction is m u c h weaker than both the s t r o n g a n d the electromagnetic interactions, it is of great importance in many c o n n e c t i o n s . T h e actual strength of the weak interaction is also of significance. T h e e n e r g y of the s u n , a l l important for life o n earth, is p r o d u c e d when h y d r o g e n fuses or b u r n s into helium in a chairn of nuclear reactions o c c u r r i n g in the interior of the s u n . T h e first reaction in this chain, the transformation of h y d r o g e n into heavy h y d r o g e n (deuterium), is c a u s e d by the weak force. Without this force solar energy p r o d u c t i o n w o u l d not be possible.

A g a i n , h a d the weak force been m u c h stronger, the life s p a n of the s u n w o u l d have been t o o short for life to have h a d time to evolve o n any planet. T h e weak interaction finds practical a p p l i c a t i o n i n the radioactive elements used in m e d i c i n e a n d technology, w h i c h are in general beta-radioactive, a n d in the beta-decay of a c a r b o n isotype into nitrogen, w h i c h is the basis for the c a r b o n 14 method for dating of o r g a n i c a r c h a e o l o g i c a l remains.

ACADEMY

OF

SCIENCES/CINA

of the Weak Neutral Current T h e first observation of an effect o f t h e new type of weak interaction w a s made in I973 at the E u r o p e a n nuclear research laboratory, C E R N , in G e n e v a in a n experiment where nuclei were b o m b a r d e d with a beam of neutrinos. S i n c e then a series of neutrino experiments at C e r n a n d at the F e r m i Laboratory near C h i c a g o have given results in g o o d agreement with theory.

Other laboratories have also m a d e s u c c e s s f u l tests of effects of the weak neutral current interaction. O f s pe c i al interest is a result, p u b l i s h e d in the s u m m e r of I978, of an experiment at the electron accelerator at S L A C in Stanford, U S A . In this experiment the scattering of high energy electrons on deuterium n u c l e i was s t u d i e d a n d an effect due t o • a direct interplay between the e l e c t r o n m a g n e t i c a n d weak parts of the unified interaction c o u l d be observed.

Interaction C a r r i e d by Particles

Physics, like other sciences, aspires to find common causes for apparently unrelated natural and experimental observations. A classical example is the force of gravitation introduced by Newton to explain such disparate phenomena as the apple falling to the ground and the moon moving around the earth.

Another example occured in the nineteenth century, when it was realized, mainly through the work of Oersted in Denmark and Faraday in England, that electricity and magnetism are closely related, and are really different aspects of the electromagnetic force or interaction between charges. The final synthesis was presented in the 1860s by Maxwell in England. His work predicted the existence of electromagnetic waves and interpreted light as an electromagnetic wave phenomenon.

SWEDISH

Abdus Salam T h e o r i e s of Weak Interaction A first theory of weak interaction was put forward already in 1934 by the Italian physicist Fermi. However, a satisfactory d e s c r i p t i o n of the weak interaction between particles at low energy c o u l d be given only afterthe discovery in 1 9 5 6 t h a t t h e w e a k f o r c e differs from the other forces in not being reflection symmetric; in other words, the weak force makes a distinction between left a n d right. A l t h o u g h this theory was valid only for l o w energies a n d thus h a d a restricted d o m a i n of validity, it s u g g e s t e d a certain k i n s h i p between the weak a n d the_ e l e c r o m a g n e t i c interactions.

In a series of separate w o r ks in the I960s this year's N o b e l prize winners, G l a s h o w , S a l a m a n d W e i n b e r g , d e v e l o p e d a theory w h i c h is a p p l i c a b l e also at higher energies, a n d w h i c h at the s a m e time unifies the weak and electromagnetic interactions in a c o m m o n formalism. G l a s h o w , S a l a m a n d W e i n b e r g started from earlier c o n t r i b u t i o n s by other scientists. Of s pe c i al i m po r t ance was a generalization of the s o - c a l l e d gaug e p r i n c i p l e f o r t h e d e s c r i p t i o n of t h e electromagnetic interaction.

This genrealization w a s w o r k e d out a r o u n d the middle of the I950s by Y a n g and Mills in U S A .

After the fundamental work in the I960s the theory was m a d e in I97I by the y o u n g D u t c h p h y s i c i s t ' t Hooft.

T h e theory predicts a m o n g other things the e x i s t e n c e of a new type of weak interaction, in w h i c h the reacting particles d o not c h a n g e their charges. T h i s behaviour is si mi l ar to what happens in the electromagnetic interaction, a n d o n e says that the interaction p r o c e e d s v i a a neutral current. O n e s h o u l d contrast this with the beta-decay of the neutron, w h e r e the c h a r g e is altered w h e n the neutron is c h a n g e d into a proton.

Observation

A n important c o n s e q u e n c e of the theory is that the weak interaction is carried by particles having s o m e properties in c o m m o n with t h e p h o t o n , w h i c h carries t h e electromagnetic interaction between c h a r g e d particles. T h e s e s o - c a l l e d weak vector b o s o n s differ from the massless photon primarily by having a large mass; this c o r r e s p o n d s to the short range of the weak interaction. T h e theory predicts masses of the order of o n e h u n d r e d proton masses, but today's particle accelerators are not powerful e n o u g h to be able to p r o d u c e these particles.

The c o n t r i b u t i o n s a w a r d e d trfis year's N o b e l Prize in p h y s i c s have been of great importance for the intense development of particle p h y s i c s in this decade.

Sheldon L Glashow: B o r n in N e w York o n D e c e m b e r 5th, I932; P h D from Harvard University I959; P r o f e s s or in p h y s i c s at the L y m a n Laboratory, Harvard University, s i n c e I967.

Address Professor S h e l d o n L G l a s h o w L y m a n Laboratory, Harvard University Cambridge, Mass. U S A Abdus Salam: B o r n in J h a n g , P a k i s t a n o n J a n u a r y 29, I926; P h D from C a m b r i d g e University, Great Britain, 1952; Professor in theoretical p h y s i c s at the Irpperial C o l l e g e of S c i e n c e s a n d T e c h n o l o g y in L o n d o n s i n c e I957, a n d Director of the International C e n t r e for Theoretical P h y s i c s in Trieste, Italy.

Address Professor A b d u s S a l a m International C e n t r e for T h e o r e t i c a l P h y s i c s P O B o x 586 Miramare I-34I00 Trieste Italy Steven W e i n b e r g : B o r n in N e w York o n M a y 3rd, 1933; P h D from P r i n c e t o n University I957; H i g g i n s Professor in p h y s i c s at Harvard University s i n c e I973.

Address Professor Steven Weinberg Department of P h y s i c s Harvard University Cambridge, Mass. U S A

9

ADDRESS BY THE RECTOR C h a i r m a n , M y L o r d s , L a d i e s and G e n t l e m e n , I must first e x p r e s s our s o r r o w at the deaths in recent m o n t h s of eminent c o l l e a g u e s who have given service to s c h o l a r s h i p , to the nation a n d to the C o l l e g e : Emeritus Professor G a b o r , N o b e l Laureate, formerly Professor of a p p l i e d electron p h y s i c s ; E m e r i t u s Professor Sir Ernst C h a i n , N o b e l Laureate, formerly h e a d of the department of biochemistry; Emeritus P r o f e s s o r J a m e s , formerly head of the department of b o t a n y ; Emeritus Professor M i t c h e s o n , formerly head of the department of h y d r a u l i c s ; a n d Robert Pryor, P r o f e s s o r of M i n i n g a n d head of the department of mineral resources e n g i n e e r i n g . W e m o u r n their deaths, but rejoice in their d i s t i n g u i s h e d c o n t r i b u t i o n s to science and engineering.

Last year the D i p l o m a of A s s o c i a t e s h i p of one of o u r three constituent C o l l e g e s was a w a r d e d to 881 students a n d the D i p l o m a of M e m b e r s h i p of IC b e s t o w e d u p o n 695 postgraduates. We c o n g r a t u l a t e them all on their s u c c e s s a n d w e l c o m e their families and friends w h o are here to join us in w i s h i n g them well in their future careers. T h e s e will be far more varied than many might imagine for graduates of a C o l l e g e of S c i e n c e and Technology.

Fo r m a n y years now, the M e r c h a n t B a n k s a n d other great institutions of the C i t y have r e c o g n i z e d the quality of an IC graduate. T h e e l e c t r o n i c s , m e c h a n i c a l e n g i n e e r i n g a n d c o m p u t i n g industries as well as the scientific civil service have also been very active in recruitment of o u r graduates this year.

But despite this munificence of o p p o r t u n i t i e s there remain s o m e , as yet largely u n e x p l o r e d , territories offering great c h a l l e n g e . O u r first lady P r i m e Minister, is a l s o that rarest of p e r s o n s in the H o u s e of C o m m o n s , a s c i e n c e graduate. I hope that a few of y o u will follow her e x a m p l e and at s o m e stage in y o u r careers desert y o u r laboratories, w o r k s h o p s a n d b o a r d r o o m s for p u b l i c life a n d politics as m e m b e r s of other professions have l o n g s i n c e d o n e . S c i e n c e a n d T e c h n o l o g y c a n no more be kept at arm's length from central d e c i s i o n m a k i n g than they c a n be c o n f i n e d within rigid b o u n d a r i e s of departmental responsibility.

N o b o d y k n o w s this better than my old friend S i r M o n t y Finniston, our S p e c i a l Visitor today, w h o s e leadership and inspiration the e n g i n e e r i n g profession so greatly respects.

He will be p l e a s e d to k n o w that a m o n g us today are our first graduates in Total T e c h n o l o g y . Their c o u r s e has been d e s i g n e d meet the present to e q u i p them to requirements of a career in e n g i n e e r i n g in the new E u r o p e to w h i c h Britain now belongs.

We c a n no longer look d o u b t i n g l y over our s h o u l d e r with our backs to the C h a n n e l .

Acceptance a n d u n d e r s t a n d i n g of our E u r o p e a n culture and of the role we have to play within the E u r o p e a n e c o n o m y is an essential ingredient of higher e d u c a t i o n today. I am, therefore, very p l e a s e d to w e l c o m e a m o n g our new Fellows, M . J e a n J a c q u e s B a r o n , President of the National C o u n c i l of F r e n c h , E n g i n e e r s . If our plans prosper, the e d u c a t i o n of our engineers will b e c o m e m u c h closer to that of their E u r o p e a n counterparts.

T h i s c a n but give fresh e m p h a s i s to our long-established tradition of welcoming large n u m b e r s of overseas students to Imperial C o l l e g e . There are about a t h o u s a n d of them altogether, and most of them are postgraduates under-taking a d v a n c e d study a n d research. But now the government is p r o p o s i n g to charge full e c o n o m i c costs for overseas students. T h e y are p r o p o s i n g fees w h i c h will be far higher than those c h a r g e d a n y w h e r e else in the world.

That we s h o u l d all be aware of the costs of the services we enjoy is not in q u e s t i o n . But I students d e e p l y regret that o v e r s e a s s h o u l d be s i n g l e d out. T h i s distasteful d i s c r i m i n a t i o n belies the moral authority w h i c h has for so l o n g earned respect for Britain a m o n g s t the c o m m u n i t y of nations. It makes our partnership in E u r o p e m u c h harder to achieve. It removes opportunities for postgraduate work from poorer students of the T h i r d W o r l d . It belittles the substantial c o n t r i b u t i o n s these students make to our research. It impoverishes our society. It is wrong.

I am glad in this context to report that the that the President of the S t u d e n t s ' U n i o n and I have l a u n c h e d an a p p e a l a m o n g s t staff and students so that we c a n a w a r d our o w n s c h o l a r s h i p to a postgraduate from the T h i r d

W o r l d . T h e first a w a r d h a s been made this session.

It is in this context a l s o that I a m delighted to report the recent a w a r d of N o b e l Prize in P h y s i c s to Professor A b d u s S a l a m w h o began his career as an overseas student in C a m b r i d g e . H e has brought great d i s t i n c t i o n to P a k i s t a n , to Britain a n d to IC. We are p r o u d to offer h i m our warmest c o n g r a t u l a t i o n s .

T h e s w i n g e i n g i n c r e a s e in fees for overseas students is, of c o u r s e , o n l y one aspect of government p o l i c i e s d e s i g n e d to c u t - p u b l i c expenditure. I d o not q u e s t i o n the necessity to r e d u c e e x p e n d i t u r e . I do not protest that universities s h o u l d be e x c l u d e d from s u c h cuts. I am c o n c e r n e d that we s h o u l d all u n d e r stand what it m e a n s in realistic terms.

In a d r o u g h t y o u have to c h a n n e l the available water to where it will do most g o o d .

S o m e c r o p s must perish in order that others shall survive. Y o u have to be selective.

D u r i n g the c o m i n g m o n t h s we shall therefore be l o o k i n g most carefully at our c o u r s e s , at our research activities, at our s u p p o r t services, even at w h o l e departments, to see whether they s h o u l d all c o n t i n u e . U n l e s s we are selective there c a n be no vitality, no growth, nor even the m a i n t e n a n c e of e x c e l l e n c e where as a C o l l e g e we have most to offer.

T h e V i c e - C h a n c e l l o r c a n be a s s u r e d of my full s u p p o r t in his e n d e a v o u r to s c r u t i n i z e in the s a m e way s c h o o l s a n d departments of the University of L o n d o n as a whole.

But the main task of selectivity lies elsewhere. It lies with the government a n d with the University G r a n t s C o m m i t t e e . T h e fact is that there are a few too many universities in this country, a n d far too may p o l y t e c h n i c s . S o m e of them must g o in order that others shall live. If IC is c h o s e n to go, so be it. Even that w o u l d be better than that we all sink into the m o r a s s of mediocrity.

M r C h a i r m a n , I c a n n o t c o n c l u d e without paying a p e r s o n a l tribute to one of our new Fellows. M i c k e y Davies has been a c o u n s e l l o r a n d friend to me s i n c e I was a p p o i n t e d Rector. He is greatly m i s s e d by us all and it is delight to have h i m with us a g a i n today l o o k i n g on from the o u t s i de at what he so l o n g ably c o m m a n d e d from within.

THE LORD FLOWERS, FRS

ADDRESS BY SIR MONTY FINNISTON, FRS It was G e o r g e B e r n a r d S h a w w h o in the D o c t o r ' s D i l e m m a wrote, " A l l p r o f e s s i o n s are c o n s p i r a c i e s against the laity" - a..u no better proof of this utterance c o u l d be f o u n d than in m y p r e s e n c e on this r o s t r u m . B y a selection p r o c e s s of w h i c h even the p o l i t i c a l parties of this c o u n t r y w o u l d be a s h a m e d , the a c a d e m i c p r o f e s s i on seated on the platforms h a s c o n s p i r e d together a n d by autocratic d e c i s i o n by p e r s o n or p e r s o n s unidentified d e t e r m i n e d that I, a lay m e m b e r of the e s t a b l i s h m e n t t emporari ly invested with the flattering titlfe of ' S p e c i a l Visitor', a d d r e s s y o u o n behalf of the H o n o r a r y G r a d u a n d s any o n e of w h o m as the p u b l i c orations to w h i c h

10

y o u have listened will confirm, has more a p p r o p r i a t e credentials than I. G r a d e d grains it is s a i d m a k e finer flour, but in this case finer F l o w e r s has g r a d e d brains.

B y contrast, whatever y o u the laity may think, the s e l e c t i o n p r o c e s s by w h i c h y o u r h o n o r a r y g r a d u a n d s have been a w a r d e d the F e l l o w s h i p or A s s o c i a t e s h i p of this C o l l e g e , is one of w h i c h we the recipients all approve.

W e w o u l d e x p r e s s o u r s i n c e r e t h a n k s for g r a n t i n g us this h o n o u r w h i c h , whatever may be o u r private view, m o d e s t y forbids any p u b l i c s u g g e s t i o n by us that it is deserved.

S o m e it has been s a i d are born great, s o m e achieve greatness a n d s o m e have it p i n n e d

on them. In whatever category y o u place us. we are grateful.

T h e term 'Fellow' has fortunately been modified in its usage t h r o u g h the a g e s from its attribution to a lower c l a s s servant, peasant or lout to the p o l i s h e d savant, technological p e e r o r i n t e l l e c t u a l of academic s o c i e t y; but in the Oxford D i c t i o n a r y 'Fellow' is defined inter alia as " o n e of a c o m p a n y or c o r p o r a t i o n who, with their head, c o n s t i t u t e a C o l l e g e a n d will receive e m o l u m e n t s from the c o r p o r a t i o n revenues".

Chairman, your Honorary G r a d u a n d s do not a s p i r e to equality with y o u in y o u r office, but what in a period of

c o n s i d e r a b l e s t r i n g e n c y for universities a n d c o l l e g e s s h o u l d relieve y o u even more, is that they wish to forego their rights to receive e m o l u m e n t s from t h e C o l l e g e . T o be h o n o u r e d a n d be paid for the h o n o u r w o u l d be t o o . m u c h to expect even of a welfare society!

It is a feature of age that whereas the y o u n g k n o w everything about little, the more elderly the limitations of their o w n recognize e x p e r i e n c e and k n o w little about a n y t h i n g . In a d d r e s s i n g this a u d i e n c e , therefore, I start with the disadvantage that I d o not k n o w what to s a y w h i c h w o u l d be helpful a n d if I h a d w o r d s of w i s d o m to impart whether they w o u l d make a n y impression. Winston C h u r c h i l l , w h o suffered o n neither c o u n t , o n c e s a i d that in m a k i n g a n y p u b l i c s p e e c h the speaker s h o u l d c o n c e n t r a t e o n m a k i n g one point only, s i n c e this desirably c u r t a i l e d the length of the s p e e c h a n d at a n y rate was as m u c h as o n e c o u l d expect o n e h u m a n being to assimilate from another h u m a n b e i n g I w o u l d like to m a k e two half-points.

The first relates to the e c o n o m i c future of this country, a future w h i c h is already with us a n d in the h a n d s a n d m i n d s of those w h o through devotion to st udy d u r i n g the past few years have g a i n e d their first o r p e r h a p s in certain c a s e s s e c o n d degree by e x a m i n a t i o n .

It is c o m m o n p l a c e to hear that this w o r l d of c h a n g e t h r o u g h political upheaval, but political revolutions o n l y replace c h a o s with c o n f u s i o n . T h e major revolutions of this century, in R u s s i a , C h i n a , C u b a , Iran or wherever, a n d even the d e m i s e of an e m p i r e w h i c h fathered this C o l l e g e , have affected fewer p e o p l e directly a n d indirectly a n d in lesser d e g r e e t han the c o n t i n u i n g revolution of t e c h n o l o g y in the s a m e p e r i o d . T h e d e s c r i p t i o n of this C o l l e g e - ' S c i e n c e a n d T e c h n o l o g y ' - defines the d i s c i p l i n e s from w h i c h c h a n g e e m e r g e s in the m o d e r n w o r l d .

Even those w h o a c c e p t the regimes of political revolutions are o n l y offered as r e c o m p e n s e the fruits a n d benefits of the t e c h n o l o g i c a l revolution for w h i c h y o u a n d others like y o u will be responsible.

The t e c h n o l o g i c a l revolution w h i c h we are now e x p e r i e n c i n g is, however, of a different order of m a g n i t u d e a n d kind from those c h a n g e s w h i c h have p r e c e d e d it. W h e r e a s the Industrial R e v o l u t i o n r e p l a c e d the brawn of man by the power of the m a c h i n e , today's revolution t h r o u g h the transistor in t h e micro-processor a n d c o m p u t e r is transferring s o m e of the intellectual qualities of the h u m a n b e i n g to the m a c h i n e . If G o d made m a n in H i s image, m a n is m a k i n g the robot in his o w n . M a n y look u p o n this creating c o n d i t i o n s fearful to m a n a n d his work. T h i s is not my view nor is it in fact the l e s s o n of h i s t o r i c a l e x p e r i e n c e . T h e o p p o r t u n i t i e s to relieve m a n of the burde n of work at its worst - the dull, repetitive, m i n d l e s s activities of routine - are a c o n s e q u e n c e of new t e c h n o l o g y . W h o w o u l d build satanic mills today? W h o w o u l d c o n d o n e the i n h u m a n i t y of the t e c h n o l o g i e s of yesteryear? If a s s e m b l y lines c a n be left to robots w h y use h u m a n b e i n g s ? T h e t e c h n o l o g y of the future is about freeing the individual not just to c o n t r o l the environment in w h i c h he lives, but to e n g a g e in pursuits m o r e satisfying to himself a n d for others.

I owever, as a nation we have failed, in h u m a n a n d t e c h n i c a l terms, adequately to translate into the industrial w o r l d the basic

k n o w l e d g e a n d skills e m e r g i n g from this C o l l e g e a n d other places of c h a n g e ; not may I hasten to a d d b e c a u s e t h e talent is l a c k i n g but b e c a u s e the cultural environment d o e s not e n c o u r a g e o u r single national asset e d u c a t e d m a n p o w e r . S i n c e it is the w o r l d of t e c h n o l o g i c a l c h a n g e w h i c h maintains us in the style of living to w h i c h w e have b e c o m e a c c u s t o m e d a n d w h i c h holds out future e x p e c t a t i o n s of the better life - p h y s i c a l l y less arduous, aesthetically more pleasing, intellectually more satisfying - what is to be d o n e to correct the present inertia?

M a n y years a g o , Heine, the G e r m a n poet, was a s k e d , "If the w o r l d were to c o m e to an e n d w h e r e w o u l d y o u like to b e ? " a n d he replied, "In E n g l a n d " a n d w h e n a s k e d why, he said, " B e c a u s e E n g l a n d is always o n e h u n d r e d years b e h i n d the t i m e s . " Sir, the riposte is not true. T h e g a p between us a n d the rest of the w o r l d in s t a n d a r d s of living c a n be b r i d g e d by e n c o u r a g e m e n t of the present generation, but we have to adopt a n d act u p o n t w o w o r d s essential to the c o n d u c t of a m o d e r n industrial society; two w o r d s w e have to borrow from other c o u n t r i e s b e c a u s e we have no E n g l i s h equivalent (nor for that matter a S c o t t i s h one). T h e first is from the F r e n c h - entrepreneur - a n d the s e c o n d the G e r m a n w o r d ' T e c h n i k ' defined a s the s y n t h e s i s of k n o w l e d g e from many d i s c i p l i n e s to devise t e c h n i c a l a n d e c o n o m i c s o l u t i o n s to p r a c t i c a l p r o b l e m s . In a d o p t i n g both as part of the culture of o u r society defined as the beliefs, k n o w l e d g e a n d t e c h n o l o g y deriving from man's activities and c o l o u r i n g o u r w a y of life, lies o u r material salvation a n d the r e s p o n s e to H e i n e.

B y the turn of the century, most of the graduates sitting in this hall will have married a n d have h a d families, or by j u d g i n g by present c o n d i t i o n s will at least have families.

T h e w o r l d in w h i c h t h e i r c h i l d r e n will be living will be different from the o n e in w h i c h the present c o h o r t of graduates seek to progress their careers, even to the e x a m i n a t i o n s w h i c h in the year 2000 may well be b e y o n d the c o m p r e h e n s i o n of y o u g r a d u a t i n g today.

W h i c h brings me to my s e c o n d half-point what k i n d of s o c i e t y will it be.

Y o u r H o n o r a r y G r a d u a n d s are of an age where their c o n t r i b u t i o n s to the material progress of society t h r o u g h t e c h n o l o g y is mainly of the past. They w o u l d a c k n o w l e d g e with c o n s i d e r a b l e satisfaction a n d certainly c o n f i d e n c e that the talent a n d c h a r a c t e r of those newly g r a d u a t e d today to progress t e c h n o l o g y will move certainly farther a n d p r o b a b l y faster than in the past. B u t w h e n y o u r H o n o r a r y G r a d u a n d s c o n s i d e r the structure a n d behaviour of society in w h i c h these n e w de v e l o pm e nt s will be a s s i m i l a t e d, there is c o n c e r n a n d doubt. S o c i e t y has to operate o n a s s u m p t i o n s of values w h i c h are not b a s e d o n natural p h e n o m e n a subject to e x p e r i m e n t or c o n t r o l in the laboratory. We k n o w the t e c h n i q u e s s c i e n c e , t e c h n o l o g y a n d even industry use to a d v a n c e themselves but the c o n d u c t of society c a n n o t be so regularized or regularated. T h e criteria by w h i c h society c o n d u c t s its relationships between p e o p l e whether in the family, in the c o m m u n i t y , at national or international level, are b a s e d o n the c o n c e p t of order; order i m p l i e s rules a n d rules imply values w h i c h a n d tested by have to be a s s u m e d u n s t r u c t u r e d e x p e r i e n c e for their worth.

The concepts of s c i e n c e a n d t h e developments deriving therefrom have

q u e s t i o n e d s o m e of the r e c o g n i z e d values of the past w h i c h were b a s e d mainly u p o n religious (or humanist) tenets. O r g a n i z e d religions have lost g r o u n d a n d their tenets have been n e g l e c t e d . Yet it i s interesting to c o n s i d e r the c h a o s w h i c h w o u l d result if these tenets were rejected or given lesser place in society. A g o o d test of any scientific theory is to determine the i m p l i c a t i o n s of o p p o s e d a s s u m p t i o n s . O n this test, it w o u l d be an o d d w o r l d if the T e n C o m m a n d m e n t s were reversed; a sixty h o u r week instead of forty. ( M r T e r e n c e Duffy w o u l d certainly ask for a return at least to the 4th c o m m a n d m e n t ) ; a n d what w o u l d h a p p e n if murder, stealing or removal of s e x u a l restraint of the 6th, 7th and 8th c o m m a n d m e n t s respectively were the norm?

B u t o n e a s k s then, are these values of themselves sufficient or d o w e need in present s o c i e t y a d d i t i o n a l values w h i c h c o u l d be neglected in the past but n o w have to be accommodated in the new w o r l d of t e c h n o l o g y . H a s the c h a n g i n g w o r l d to adopt new a n d a d d i t i o n a l values not just to the present generation but to future g e n e r a t i o n s ?

C a n waste of natural r e s o u r c e s for example, be c o n d o n e d ? W h e r e d o w e look for a n s w e r s to these a n d s i m i l a r q u e s t i o n s ?

O n e o b v i o u s place is a university b e c a u s e here is a centre for freedom of t h o u g h t a n d e x p r e s s i o n ; it is also the c r a d l e for value determination b e c a u s e t h o s e w h o attend university are in the t r a n s i t i o n between tutelage of the s c h o o l a n d the a s s u m p t i o n of i n d e p e n d e n c e a n d r e s p o n s i b i l i t y of the citizen to c o m e . A t t e n t i o n to the c o n d u c t of the society in w h i c h y o u will be living a n d leading is not a first priority o n e at least w h i c h c a n n o t be neglected. T h e A m e r i c a n author Oliver W e n d e l l - H o l m e s o n c e wrote, " O u r s y s t e m of morality is a b o d y of imperfect s o c i a l generalisations e x p r e s s e d in terms of e m o t i o n . " I believe a university o r c o l l e g e offers not just the p r o s p e c t of material progress by m a n k i n d t h r o u g h the e x e r c i s e of reason not e m o t i o n , but the d e v e l o p m e n t of a system of values w h i c h c a n also be subject to the e x e r c i s e of reason and not e m o t i o n . Brute force, m o b power a n d self-interest are not the w e a p o n s of a s o c i e t y in w h i c h e d u c a t i o n and intelligence set the s t a n d a r d s , a n d n o w h e r e are these w e a p o n s less in e v i d e n c e t han in the a t m o s p h e r e of a c o l l e g e c a t e r i n g to learning y o u t h . W e H o n o r a r y G r a d u a n d s therefore offer y o u A s s o c i a t e s a n d D i pl omat es our best w i s h e s in the c r e a t i o n of an i m p r o v e d world based u p o n the k n o w l e d g e a n d as important the values w h i c h this C o l l e g e has afforded y o u - and hopefully y o u have a c c e p t e d .

Do YOU care about the future of the education system in this country?

Come to an open meeting at 1PM on WEDNESDAY, 31ST OCTOBER. Contact the Union Office for the location of the meeting.

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TOM COTTRELL THE IMPERIAL C O L L E G E NAT WEST BANK LIASON OFFICER FOR STUDENTS AND STAFF TOM would be pleased to give you a d v i c e on ....

INSURANCE INVESTMENTS TRUSTEE ADVICE TOM WILL ALSO HELP YOU WITH YOUR INCOME TAX! If you have a BANKING problem then see TOM. You c a n find him in the NAT WEST sub branch (level 1 Sherfield) 12

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WELFARE C O V E N A N T S - A GIFT FROM T H E T A X M A N If y o u r parents contribute to y o u r grant, y o u c a n u s e a covenant as a painless w a y of increasing the m o n e y that they give y o u by 43%.

C o v e n a n t s were de v e l o ped as a means of aiding tax-exempt charities but there is no reason w h y they s h o u l d n ' t be used to help tax-exempt people of w h i c h i m p e c u n i o u s students are the prime example.

T h e idea of a deed of covenant in this context is quite s i m p l y that y o u r parents c o m m i t to writing a n u n d e r t a k i n g to pay a certain s u m of m o n e y e a c h year for a period capable of e x c e e d i n g s i x years. After each payment y o u get a form from the tax office, fill it in a n d return it to y o u r tax office a n d they will then refund y o u the b a s i c rate tax that y o u r parents have already paid o n the m o n e y that y o u receive under the covenant.

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It is advisable to follow this e x a m p l e exactly, s u b s t i t u t i n g the appropriate names, addresses, a m o u n t s a n d dates of payment.

T h e r e are certain points to w a t c h out for: 1. Y o u can't benefit from a covenant unless y o u are eighteen or married.

2. T h e instalments c a n be paid at whatever intervals y o u like but the first o n e must c o m e after the date o n w h i c h the covenant is signed.

3. A m o u n t - this c a n be stated either as 'a gross a m o u n t of £x' as in the example, w h i c h means that y o u r parents d e d u c t the tax w h i c h

IC LIBERAL CLUB T h e freshers' p l o u g h m a n s s u p p e r w a s a r e s o u n d i n g s u c c e s s with all those attending taking part in a lively d i s c u s s i o n of relevant u n i o n affairs, i n c l u d i n g the i n c r e d u l o u s attitude of s o m e m e m b e r s of t h e U n i o n towards aparteid in general, a n d t h e a t r o c i o u s rugby m a t c h played recently with a S o u t h A f r i c a n team in particular. T h e s u c c e s s of the m e e t i n g w a s c o m p l e t e d w h e n all those attending j o i n e d the c l u b !

It h a d been h o p e d to have D a v i d A l t o n , Liberal M P for L i v e r p o o l E d g e Hill a n d the

y o u will get back, from the total c o n t r i b u t i o n a n d pay y o u the rest. T h i s means that they have to alter the a m o u n t that they actually g.ive y o u every time the basic rate c h a n g e s .

S o if the parental c o n t r i b u t i o n is £100 and tax is at 3 0 % they woujd h a n d over £70 a n d y o u w o u l d get the other £30 from the tax man. If the basic rate then went d o w n to 25%, they w o u l d have to pay y o u £75.

T h e other w a y of d o i n g it is to agree to pay 'an amount w h i c h after d e d u c t i o n of tax at the b a s i c rate a m o u n t s to £x'. T h i s m e a n s that they pay the s a m e a m o u n t a l l t h e t i m e , but the refund from the tax m a n will vary with c h a n g e s in the basic rate. T h i s s e c o n d variety is apparently the most c o m m o n .

4. T h e formalities. Y o u c a n c o p y out the covenant with alterations a n d it doesn't really matter h o w y o u d o this. T h e important thing is that it must be s i g n e d by w h o e v e r is p a y i n g and w i t n e s s e d by s o m e o n e other than yourself. It might be advisable if the witness was s o m e o n e other t h a n y o u r parent a l t h o u g h it p r o b a b l y w o u l d n ' t m a t t e .

However, s i n c e y o u don't k n o w whether the tax m a n will query it until the e n d of the tax year w h e n , in a sense, it is t o o late, it is best to play safe. T h e other important t h i n g to r e m e m b e r is that T H E D E A L M U S T B E S E A L E D . Y o u c a n d o this with s e a l i n g w a x or a d i s c of red paper w h i c h y o u stick o n t o the deed. Y o u r parents s h o u l d then h a n d the deed over to y o u .

5. T h e c o v e n a n t c a n be c a n c e l l e d by mutual c o n s e n t at a n y time.

Other Earnings T h e a m o u n t c o v e n a n t e d - ie what y o u get from y o u r parents plus what y o u get from the tax m a n - c o u n t s as earned i n c o m e . T h i s m e a n s that if y o u r vacation e a r n i n g s plus the m o n e y received u n d e r the covenant total more than £1,165, y o u will start p a y i n g tax on the e x c e s s . It is possible, however, that s i n c e y o u recover b a s i c rate tax at 3 0 % a n d pay lower rate tax at 2 5 % o n the first £750 over £1,165 that y o u might still make a profit.

C l a i m i n g the m o n e y b a c k

T h e turn-out for the postgraduate g r o u p committee meeting o n W e d n e s d a y , 17 O c t o b e r , to d i s c u s s s o c i a l events a n d P h D time lengths w a s d i s a p p o i n t i n g , s o I h a d better u s e these p a g e s to try a n d get the message across.

W e are very c o n c e r n e d at the fact that many students take longer t h a n three years to finish a P h D (some students are in their fifth a n d sixth years) a n d feel that this situation is o n e w h i c h must be investigated s e r i o u s l y with a view to r e m e d y i n g this blatant defect. A l l postgraduates in the c o l l e g e will be receiving a q u e s t i o n n a i r e s h o r t l y s o that w e may find out y o u r views o n this subject.

T h e G r o u p a l s o h a s a duty to stage s o c i a l events t h r o u g h o u t the year a n d possibilities w e r e d i s c u s s e d at the meeting. It w a s d e c i d e d to look into the possibility of h o l d i n g a postgraduate dinner s o m e t i m e a n d a l s o a barbecue o n 5 N o v e m b e r with a p l o u g h m a n ' s l u n c h as a c o n t i n g e n c y plan, s h o u l d either of the first two be f o u n d i m p o s s i b l e to stage.

T h e r e s p o n s e from i n d i v i d u a l departments in c l a i m i n g grants for s o c i a l functions h a s been almost non-existent. I therefore say again that all depart ment s are entitled to a grant for s o c i a l f u n c t i o n s involving P G s (apply to myself c/o U n i o n Office). Last, but not least, w o u l d a n y o n e w h o is interested in p l a y i n g football in the park at l u n c h - t i m e s please c o n t a c t M a r t i n B a g g s , w h o is c o o r d i n a t i n g it.

Richard Earl PG Group Chairman

G

Get a form R 185 (AP) from y o u r tax office, for y o u r parents to fill in a n d s e n d back. If y o u haven't got a tax office look in the telephone book u n d e r Inland R e v e n u e a n d c o n t a c t the one nearest to where y o u live.

If y o u want a n y m o r e details o n any of this, please c o m e a n d see me in the Welfare C e n t r e on the third floor of the U n i o n B u i l d i n g w h i c h is o p e n from 9:30 to 5:30every weekday.

Michael Arthur Welfare A d v i s e r y o u n g e s t M P at Westminster, at the meeting.

However, arrangements are n o w in hand to invite h i m (with his r a d i c a l ideas o n student housing) to address a meeting later in the t e r m - s o w a t c h o u t for t h e posters !

T w o posts o n the c o m m i t t e e have yet to be filled. T h e s e are secretary a n d ordi nary member, r e s p o n s i b l e for policy, u n i o n a n d external affairs. T h e papers are n o w u p o n the S C C n o t i c e b o a r d in S o u t h s i d e a n d c o m e d o w n at 5 p m T h u r s d a y , 1 N o v e m b e r . T h i s is an ideal o p p o r t u n i t y for all m e m b e r s to actively take part in the d e c i s i o n m a k i n g of the college's most active a n d radical political society. M e m b e r s h i p of the c l u b c o s t s a mere

/LIBERAL /

CLUB

\

T h e L I B E R A L C l u b c a n be c o n t a c t e d at its regular informal Friday l u n c h t i m e m e e t i n g i n Stan's B a r . S o u t h s i d e .

30p, payable to t h e U n i o n receptionist (Annie), or a n y of the c l u b officers.

B e c k y B r y a n , U L S political v i c e - c h a i r m a n , has kindly agreed to address a meeting o n ' E d u c a t i o n ' (this is the b r o a d title of the talk, but I'm s u r e t h a t cuts will be the main issue) in the U n i o n L o w e r Refectory at 6:30pm o n Tuesday , 23rd O c t o b e r . T h i s meeting is a c h a n c e for a n y o n e with an interest in matters of e d u c a t i o n (ie cuts) to c o m e a l o n g a n d hear a liberal's viewpoint a n d a l s o to represent their o w n point of view. I a m s u r e it will be a lively affair!

(

) 13

FELIX me III cry As you may or may not know, depending on whether you managed to grab one of the rationed copies of last week's FELIX, ICU has been in occupation in the senior dining room.

This was intended to, and did illicit a response from the outside world. Other student unions, the college authorities, politicians and the media have all reacted to varying extents. It was intended to increase awareness amongst students of this and other colleges.

T h e attendance in the occupation obviously varied from time to time, generally it was fair, sometimes it was either good or bad. I am heartened by the number of 'non hacks' who care but, obviously not satisfied.

The Committee of Vice-Chancellors and Principals (CVCP) upon which such people as our own rector sits has reacted with unprecedented swiftness and firmness against recently published plans to charge this legendary full economic cost to overseas students, and to deduct the appropriate sum from universities' budget.

Indeed the C V C P seem much more concerned than many student unions, perhaps indicating that the situation is not just in the minds of anti-Tory commies. To quote Sir Alec Merrison, Chairman of ViceChancellors Committee: "....the government proposes to remove a substantial part of our income under the fallacious belief that it corresponds to the 'subsidy' to overseas students, leaving universities to recoup whatever they can by charging so-called 'economic fees', which would have to be at a level far in excess of anything charged to students anywhere else in the world.

"The effect of these policies upon our universities and their students - both from home and overseas - is potentially disastrous.

They will undermine institutions which are vital national assets of international renown.

Whatever the pressures to reduce public to reduce public expenditure the government must sustain such institutions; to do less will cause grave damage to the country's ability to survive in an increasingly competitive world.

My committee implores the Secretary of State to think again."

Once again that is not some 'whining lefty' but someone at the top of the educational administration and not given to overreaction.

People have complained that they voted for a balanced president and this action is somehow unbalanced. In my manifesto whilst speaking out against politics in student unions and whilst being a non-political person, I did say that there are educationally politic issues and I cited overseas students fees and grants as such issues. I hope by a balanced president they did not want someone who was prepared to fiddle while Rome burned.

Chris Fox

C PEIUAJJ COLLEGE

DAQ• O Friday 26th 5:00 6:00 7:00 9:00 11:00 1:00

Tune in - Tony Oliver Sounds Country - John Clark Viewpoint - Chris Dalton Roundabout - Chris Watts Through Midnight Closedown

Saturday 27th 8:00 11:00 1:00 6:00 9:00 11:00 1:00

Wake up With Jon - Jon Firth The Wibbly Wobbly Wireless Show - Dave Fuller 301 Sportsline Heavy Metal Show - Julian Pitt Roundabout - Sarah Talbot Through Midnight - Tony Oliver Closedown

Sunday 28th 8:00 11:00 1:00 4:00 5:00 6:00 9:00 11:00 1:00

14

Wake up With Harvery - Harvey Nadin The S and M - Simon Milner Groovin' - John Allen Roundtable - Barry Wareing Focus on Dr Feelgood - Neil Bayliss The J C Sunday Special - John Clark Gramophone Request Programme - Pete Bennett Through Midnight - Huw Baynham Closedown

301 metres Medium Wave Monday 29th 5:00 6:00 7:00 9:00 11:00 1:00

Tune In Disco/Boogie Time - Alan Burton Viewpoint - Dave Fuller Roundabout - Chris Watts Through Midnight - Neil Bayliss Closedown

Tuesday 30th 12:00 2:15 5:00 6:00 7:00 9:00 11:00 1:00

Midday Spin - Simon Milner and Alan Burton Closedown Tune In - Alan Burton That's Jazz - Harry Magnay Viewpoint - Karen Hardy Roundabout - Sarah Talbot Through Midnight - Tony Oliver Closedown

Wednesday 31st 5:00 6:40 7:00 9:00 11:00 1:00

Rhythm and Blues - Neil Bayliss 301 Newsline Viewpoint - John Firth Roundabout - Tim Tuggey Through Midnight - Huw Baynham Closedown

Thursday 1st 12:00 2:15 5:00 6:00 7:00 9:00 11:00 1:00

Midday Spin - Alan Burton Closedown Tune In Folk Programme Viewpoint - Simon Milner Roundabout - Simon Woods Through Midnight Closedown

GOVERNMENT HALLS

OF

RESIGNS

RESIDENCE

REVOLTING

AS

UNIVERSITY

OCCUPIED

STUDENTS

by Fanshaw F Love, Head of our Student Affairs Team Today, a w o r l d disaster has been averted at the c a m p u s of the University of R e d d o n , near J e k y l l Park in L o n d o n . A l t h o u g h to the untrained eye, it w o u l d appear that nothing has happened; I'm sure that today's m o m e n t o u s events will be i n s c r i b e d in the annals of history. S q u a s h e d inside a d u g - o u t with twenty-seven other journalists, I've watched the unfolding of these events. Let me try to recap them.

It all began w h e n the C o l l e g e authorities issued a statement c l a i m i n g that the student's U n i o n had instigated an o c c u p a t i o n of the Halls of R e s i d e n c e , without their s a n c t i o n .

This was the c u l m i n a t i o n of two months of speculation, rumour, accusation and rebuttal. W h e n I first q u e s t i o n e d M i s s F o x y Lady, the student President, about the o c c u p a t i o n , she de ni ed all k n o w l e d g e of it.

C l e a r l y , this was extremely subtle d i p l o m a c y .

W h e n I u r g e d her to reveal the motives for the o c c u p a t i o n , s h e p o n d e r e d for a while, then, almost as if she was m a k i n g them up on the spur of the moment, told me there were three....at least. T h e protest was directed against rising tuition fees, cuts in government s p e n d i n g a n d last, but not least, Soviet presence in M o n g o l i a , s h e s a i d .

It's been e x c e p t i o n a l l y difficult to tell fact from fiction as all sorts of extraordinary r u m o u r s have b u z z e d a r o u n d the excited c a m p u s . It has been estimated that a total of six h u n d r e d students, a n d revolting students at that, participated i n . the o c c u p a t i o n , although s o m e s o u r c e s have put the figure as high as fourteen t h o u s a n d . T h i s last figure is highly q u e s t i o n a b l e s i n c e there are only two t h o u s a n d students in the entire university.

Strangely e n o u g h , most, if not all, of the students that I've interviewed today, have also denied the existence of any o c c u p a t i o n .

T h i s is generally believed to be a tactical manoeuvre o n the part of the U n i o n .

A l l the same, the a t m o s p h e r e here has been thick with t e n s i o n all day. T h o u g h n o t h i n g 'revolutionary' has h a p p e n e d , we confidently e x p e c t e d the i n s u r r e c t i o n to o c c u r at any moment. I was a n o n y m o u s l y informed that prominent members of t h e College authorities have been reading the riot act to e a c h other in fearful anticipation o f t h e events to c o m e . T h i s m o r n i n g I s p o k e to D o n G i o v a n n i , the D e a n a n d famous opera, w h o was terribly a n x i o u s b e c a u s e the students had m a d e no further move. T h e i r inactivity, he added, was o m i n o u s . Indeed, he said that what w o r r i e d him most was that he'd no idea how l o n g the o c c u p a t i o n had been g o i n g on for.

S o m e t h i n g portentous d i d h a p p e n at about midday w h e n M i s s F o x y L a d y left her presidential offices a n d walked over to the ladies' toilet. What d i d it mean, w e w o n d e r e d ?

Was this the prearranged signal? It turned out to be a false alarm, thank G o d .

BY

M e a n w h i l e , the news of the o c c u p a t i o n spread to the four corners of the g l o b e and we began to hear the reactions of the H e a d s of State of the leading nations of the w o r l d . T h e government of G r e e n l a n d was one of the first to p l e d g e its support, but as yet no-one's been able to determine to w h i c h side they gave it. At this point, the D a n i s h government p r o c l a i m e d that it w o u l d s u p p o r t the o p p o s i t e s i d e to the G r e e n l a n d government, w h i c h e v e r that was. A n d of c o u r s e , the P o p e offered to try to r e c o n c i l e the two parties.

T h e British Premier, w h o is affectionately k n o w n to her c o m r a d e s as the T i n Lady, expressed acute d i s a p p o i n t m e n t in the ' u n g e n t l e m a n l y c o n d u c t ' of the students U n i o n for not informing the College authorities of the o c c u p a t i o n on the day it began.

A s far as t h e h i s t o r y of student d e m o n s t r a t i o n goes, the o c c u p a t i o n of the Halls of R e s i d e n c e is a new and previously untired met hod of protest. Its effectiveness as a political w e a p o n c a n be g a u g e d by the trial of government emissaries a n d celebrities that have visited the scene of these t u m u l t o u s events d u r i n g the c o u r s e of the day.

At three o ' c l o c k this afternoon, the Minister of Ignorance, S i r A r c h i b a l d B a l d e r d a s h , arrived in his chauffeur-driven Rolls R o y c e .

C l e a r l y the government expenditure cuts have hit both rich a n d poor. H e hurried into the U n i o n office, wher he c o n s u l t e d with the President for an hour.

H e told me afterwards, that their talks had been 'affable, constructive a n d promising', t h o u g h n o t h i n g was achieved. After all, b e c a u s e of this, there was every hope that in the future s o m e t h i n g w o u l d be achi eved.

W h e n I a s k e d him what step the government w o u l d take next, he replied that he'd first have to consult with his minister. T h e n I r e m i n d e d him that he was the minister. H e s c r a t c h e d his head, got into his c a r a n d was q u i c k l y driven away.

By eight o'clock, still nothing had h a p p e n e d . T h e r e had been no riot, no mass d e m o n s t r a t i o n , nor indeed the slightest visible s i g n of unrest. T h i s made us all the more t r o u b l e d . T h e c o n t i n u e d s i l e n ce and inactivity of the students was a clear indication that the situation was deteriorating.

At the s a m e time, M i n i s t e r s were a s s e m b l i n g at D o w n i n g Street to attend an e m e r g e n c y cabinet meeting. B y now, the havoc w r e a k e d by the effects of the o c c u p a t i o n were well k n o w n : in the City, gold prices q u a d r u p l e d as the market was smitten by a bout of p a n i c - s e l l i n g ; the F U index p l u m m e t e d to an all time low of m i n u s infinity; the G o v e r n o r of the B a n k of E n g l a n d committed suicide; and Marie Blancmaison, the famous T V personality, gave birth to

(^J^-"""^

kittens, w h o w e r e s a i d to be d o i n g well under the c i r c u m s t a n c e s .

It was evident to e v e r y o n e that the nation was l o o k i n g over a p r e c i p i c e . O n e false move c o u l d set off a c h a i n of events w h i c h c o u l d only result in b e d l a m a n d catastrophe.

Yet as the C a b i n e t sat in deadlock, all remained c a l m in the Halls of R e s i d e n c e . O n e really must marvel at the c u n n i n g a p p r o a c h that the s t u d e n t s have a d o p t e d . It has been so c a s u e a l that o n e was almost i n c l i n e d to think that there is no o c c u p a t i o n . B u t of c o u r s e this is l u d i c r o u s .

T h e n we heard that the C a b i n e t meeting had finished. A press release e m p h a s i s e d the gravity of the situation that the government faced,and a s s u r e d the p u b l i c that it w o u l d do everything in its p o w e r to avert a major disaster. Finally, it s a i d t h a t i f t h e situation did not improve before the o p e n i n g of the grouse-shooting season next week, a national e m e r g e n c y w o u i d be d e c l a r e d .

At ten o'clock, the F o n d a s a n d the R e d g r a v e s s h o w e d up at the Halls of R e s i d e n c e as a token gesture of solidarity.

The forces of freedom began to rally b e h i n d the students. A r t h u r S l a g t i p , the M i n e r s ' Union leader, was heard to mumble s o m e t h i n g about 'taking their lead'. A n hour later, the radio a n n o u n c e d that his men had o c c u p i e d their mines a n d had already formulated a shift system. A p p a r e n t l y , the W e l s h miners, rather than b e c o m i n g bored, were p a s s i n g the time by d i g g i n g for coal.

T h e N C B were s a i d to be delighted.

T h e n a few more celebrities t u r n e d up: Eliot G o u l d arrive from J e r u s a l e m w h e r e he was p l a y i n g the lead role in the s e q u e l to the film, ' G o d ' . W h e n I a s k e d him for his frank o p i n i o n on the students, he s a i d , he'd take his hat off to them, w h i l e E m a n u e l l e s a i d she'd take off her k n i c k e r s . T h i s was at about eleven thirty, by w h i c h time there were only a few lights b u r n i n g in the Halls of R e s i d e n c e . Not a s o u n d c o u l d be heard. T h e s i l e n c e was m e n a c i n g . O b v i o u s l y the students were trying to d e c e i v e us into t h i n k i n g that they were not as revolting as we w o u l d believe.

T h e n at last, at twelve fifteen in the m o r n i n g , the d r a m a r e a c h e d its climax. T h e government c a p i t u l a t e d . A l l was resolved.

R a t h e r than lose face by meeting the students' d e m a n d s , they preferred to resign.

A s p o k e s m a n for the i n - c o m i n g government de c l ar e d that their first act w o u l d be to implement the d e m a n d s in full.

W h e n I r u s h e d into the Halls of R e s i d e n c e to tell the students of their pyrrhic victory, the only person I c o u l d find was the night porter, w h o was fast asleep.

15

GUILDS BRIGHTON RUN Sunday 4th November Tickets from Guilds Office £4.00 for lunch £2.00 for coach Coach leaves Beit Arch

16

5 T \ J ?

ALBUM REVIEWS

BY CHRIS WATTS DAVID WERNER (EPIC) O n c e u p o n a time, in the mid-seventies, in the days of the d i n o s a u r rock bands, there lived a n d g i g g e d a b a n d called the N e w York Dolls, w h o used to dress up in ladies c l o t h i n g and go o n stage a n d play heavy rock. T h e y weren't very g o o d .

However, there is a ha pp y e n d i n g to this story.

David Werner was one young gentleman that used to play in the aforem e n t i o n e d outfit (sic), a n d has now p r o d u c e d a s o l o a l b u m , w h i c h is p r o b a b l y the best that I've heard s i n c e M a r c h of this year. " A h , " I hear y o u say, "it's all very well extolling the virtues of this masterpiece, but how do y o u classify the m u s i c ? " Well it seems that you can't classify it, Werner appears to have ignored all trends towards d i s c o or punk, neither has he g r a b b e d onto the recent respectability of 'pop', but p r o d u c e s s o n g s that c o u l d have been laid d o w n on a forgotten record by D a v i d B o w i e in his ' M a n w h o S o l d the World/Ziggy Stardust' era, an almost u n c a n n y e x a m p l e of this is 'Every N e w R o m a n c e ' , w h i c h was m i x e d by lan Hunter.

(PLEASE) C O N G R E G A T E IN THE UNION BAR 6:30pm - 7:30pm on FRIDAY 26 OCTOBER (TONIGHT) ALL THOSE PRESENT AND PAST MEMBERS OF THE HALL WELCOME , (TIES TO BE WORN IF POSSIBLE)

T h e L P o p e n s with a very fast track, 'Can't Imagine', w h i c h is almost like a M o t o r h e a d single in its speed, but totally superior in kthe resolution between each distinct c h o r d from the lead guitar, but leaving the e m p h a s i s on the d r u m m i n g , care of T o m M o n n e y (no relation).

This is followed by a c o u p l e of s o n g s that s o u n d as t h o u g h they were at least p r o d u c e d

by B o w i e , five or six years ago, a l t h o u g h all the material was written by Werner himself.

P e r h a p s the strongest feature of the album is the i m m e n s e variety of style, ranging from K i n k s softies to heavy metal, with an e x c e pt i o na l ly competent band the m u s i c does not need to rely on one particular player/instrument to carry the songs t h r o u g h , for instance on 'Every New R o m a n c e ' the vocals and bass are all that are recalled, whereas on 'Eye to Eye' the s l i c i n g lead guitar is all that is remembered. Mark D o y l e plays it like he c o u l d have had tuition from Pete T o w n s e n d .

Sihra Self-Mind Control teache* you to

Unfortunately for M r Werner, I don't think that there is a track from the record that is very suitable to turn into a s i n g l e , a n d without the air play, that a s i n g l e w o u l d bring, n o b o d y is g o i n g to buy the a l b u m . Better luck next time.

DREAM POLICE - C H E A P TRICK (EPIC) C h e a p Trick have f o u n d a s u c c e s s f u l formula for s e l l i n g their records, c o n s e q u e n t l y this a l b u m s o u n d s irritatingly like their last studio a l b u m .

The b a n d have been g o i n g for s o m e time now. T o m Peterson a n d R i c k N i e l s o n started together in the late sixties then split the band to play with T o m M o o n e y a n d Stewkey, the remnants of Nazz after T o d d R u n d g r e n gave u p o n t h e m to go solo; then after another split the present line-up got together in the early seventies a n d have been d o i n g the r o u n d s in the U S for five or six years.

S i n c e then they have c r a c k e d all the single/album charts ne c e s s ar y to make big money, and I e x p e c t that they'll do it again with this offering as it s o u n d s an equally unispired, heavy-metal rip-off as the last.

But onto the g o o d points. T h e eighteen m o n t h s o l d p r o m o t i o n a l bl urb that c a m e with the a l b u m held that, as far as I c o u l d translate, the great strength of the m u s i c must be the great inventiveness a n d variety of c h o r d s c o m i n g from T o m Peterson's bass. If y o u want imaginative bass playing then buy a Status Q u o r e c o r d instead of this.

A s for Z a n d e r ' s " a m a z i n g voice", it s o u n d s on ' N e e d Y o u r Love' like D o n n a S u m m e r ' s 'I N e e d Love' single played at 33 1/3rpm and I'd agree that "it's a just i n d i c a t i o n of what an ace rock s i n g e r he is". ( Q u o t e s in the above paragraph are from the p r o m o t i o n a l text).

P r o b a b l y the best t h i n g about this a l b u m is that it is not even c a t c h y . M y c o p y is up for grabs

YOU DON'T HAVE TO BE THIS KEEN TO GO ON A GARDEN PUB CRAWL

-

LASER LOVE AFTER THE FIRE (CBS)

N o w we c o m e to After the Fire and their first long player, w h i c h is quite a relief after having listened to C h e a p Trick three or four times.

You've heard the singles, they c a m e to IC last year so most of y o u have had the c h a n c e to see them live.

T h e a l b u m is very m u c h like the singles in that it is professionally played, c a t c h y and revolves a r o u n d the keyboards. T h e whole a l b u m is eminently suitable for airplay from that great network in the sky, R a d i o O n e as it is well played, well p r o d u c e d and c o n t a i n s neat 'pop' tunes. However, the material from w h i c h the s o n g s are fabricated just d o e s not c o m e up to s c r a t c h . A l t h o u g h p r o d u c e r , Muff W i n w o o d (who,in part, was r e s p o n s i b l e for the p h e n o m e n a l s u c c e s s of Dire Straits) has made the best of m e d i o c r e material. A l t h o u g h fun a n d bouncy, every s o n g s o u n d s as t h o u g h it was meant to be a single, w h i c h is no b a d t h i n g ( r e m e m b e r ' P a r a l l e l Lines'?), but just did not c o m e up to s c r a t c h a n d so got laid d o w n as an a l b u m track.

But apart from a n y t h i n g else the single ' O n e Rule for Y o u ' is i n c l u d e d on the a l b u m , w h i c h must be a b o n u s for the L P . If y o u like k e y b o a r d m u s i c then y o u will p r o b a b l y enjoy this r e c o r d immensely, as most of the s o n g s revolve a r o u n d the k e y b o a r d player, Peter ' M e m o r y ' B a n k s , w h o is a highly proficient player.

Take Control of Your Life W e are t h e o l d e s t a n d l a r g e s t m i n d t r a i n i n g s y s t e m in the w o r l d , having successfully taught h u n d r e d s o f t housand s o f p e o p l e to be m o r e effective i n life.

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*

SPEED

WILL

*

POSITIVE

*

MEMORY IMPROVEMENT

*

SELF-CONFIDENCE

*

SUCCESSFUL

*

PSYCHIC DEVELOPMENT

LEARNING THINKING

RELATIONSHIPS

Free Lectures Fri Mo:;

8 pm 8 pm

26th 29th

Oct Oct

C a x t o n Hall. SW1 Kensington T o w n Hall.

3 & 8 p m Tues

30th

Oct

Ivanhoe

Hotel,

Bloomsbury

Street,

WC1.

3 & 8 p m Wed

31 st

Oct

Ivanhoe

Hotel.

T h e n e x t 4 day L o n d o n C o u r s e w i l l be h e l d o n the w e e k - e n d s o f N o v e m b e r 3/4 a n d 10/11 f r o m 9 a m 9 p m at t h e I v a n h o e -

Hotel.

N U S Student Discount on Course

F u r t h e r details about this and o u r courses i n other parts o f the c o u n t r y f r o m : Silva M i n d C o n t r o l

(UK)

131a St. Julians F a r m R o a d , London, SE27 T e l : 01 - 761 4 7 6 5 (24 hours)

Discover The Potential Of Your Mind 17

1

KEEPING OCCUPIED I must admit to being absolutely delighted w h e n the d e c i s i o n was taken t o o c c u p y part of C o l l e g e block, not just b e c a u s e I thought it was the right t h i n g to do, but also b e c a u s e I t ho ug h t it w o u l d be great fun. It was a c h a n c e to d o s o m e t h i n g different, to get out of the rut of life at IC, and a l s o a matter of personal pride b e c a u s e I was jealous of friends at other c o l l e g e s w h o h a d t a k e n part in sit-ins.

T h e a t m o s p h e r e o n the first afternoon can only be d e s c r i b e , as e u p h o r i c ; it was a thrill just to be in the S D R at that time s u r r o u n d e d by s o m u c h e n t h u s i a s m a n d o p t i m i s m . T h e early h o u r s of the m o r n i n g arrived a n d the place was still active - w h o were those two g u y s p l a y i n g table-tennis at 4 a m ? T h o s e with foresight h a d g r a b b e d s l e e p i n g bags a n d c a m p beds (although, c o n s i d e r i n g t h e n u m b e r of p e o p l e w h o f o u n d their beds f o l d i n g up u n d e r n e a t h them d u r i n g the night, I think I was better off o n the carpet).

instead; not a lot of hope, really, g a m b l i n g on three-card brag was far more popular. Life was b e g i n n i n g to b e c o m e o r g a n i z e d ; for a while m u s i c w a s limited to five arbitrary cassettes b e c a u s e M a l c o l m kept forgetting to bring his S e x Pistols tape (cries of 'Thank G o d ! ' from Ian) but he d i d bring in a kettle and a h a c k s a w (a H a c k - s a w ? - in c a s e of fire, he assured us). E r i c replenished o u r food s u p p l i e s b y g o i n g out b u s k i n g a n d b u y i n g with the p r o c e e d s . M a r y provided a c o u p l e of p o u n d s of carrots - Waitrose C l a s s J carrots at that!

I felt sorry for two g u y s w h o c a m e over after s e e i n g the E N T S film on T h u r s d a y evening; they h a d t o w a t c h it for a s e c o n d time, as we h a d a free s h o w i n g of it. It was bad e n o u g h for them having wasted thirty pence, but they didn't like ' E m m a n u e l l e 2' t h e f i r s t t i m e . There was always the telly to watch, if we felt really desperate for s o m e t h i n g to d o . O u t of solidarity with the ITV U n i o n s it o n l y p i c k e d up B B C 1.

Next m o r n i n g I a w o k e to the sight of bodies strewn a l l over t h e place, J o o r g a n i z i n g p e o p l e into c l e a r i n g up a n d Pat p l a y i n g table tennis. C h r i s t , I thought, my r o o m is Beit isn't usually like this. T h e n cleaners c a m e in, l o o k e d a r o u n d in surprise, e x c h a n g e d a few c o m m e n t s i n Italian a n d went away again.

T h e staff didn't all a c c e p t it quite so readily, w h e n they arrived for their l u n c h - we e x p l a i n e d t h e situation a n d o n l y a c o u p l e s e e m e d put out b y it.

D u r i n g t h e daytimes most people sat a r o u n d reading Asterix b o o k s and B e a n o and there w a s the o c c a s i o n a l c o n s c i e n t i o u s p e r s o n writing up lab reports (Caroline). Eric a n d M i c k slept in the corner; a g o o d reason for c o n t i n u i n g this o c c u p a t i o n indefinitely is that it w a s t h e most permanent a n d comfortable place either Eric o r M i c k have had to live for ages.

Their w a s a s i g h of relief from s o m e quarters w h e n table tennis c l u b reclaimed their table o n W e d n e s d a y afternoon, so Aftab tried to get p e o p l e to play bridge with him

N i g h t i m e s were far more interesting - say no more - a l t h o u g h C h r i s insists that this is a respectable sit-in. It is an a c q u i r e d art to learn how to get to sleep before three, w h e n there's

Dear Sir, I w o u l d like to raise a few points with regard t o the a m e n d m e n t to the o c c u p a t i o n motion proposed by Sholom G o d s i . U nfortunately there was insufficient time available for this a m e n d m e n t (which s u p p o r t e d the government's policy) to be d i s c u s s e d ; s o m e people have d e s c r i b e d this d e c i s i o n as 'undemocratic', but I s h o u l d point out that the p r o c e d u r a l m o t i o n that it be not d i s c u s s e d was passed by a large majority.

M o s t of this a m e n d m e n t was c o n c e r n e d with a r g u i n g that education cuts are an e c o n o m i c necessity; to the contrary, I w o u l d argue that a high s t a n d a r d of e d u c a t i o n is vital to Britain's e c o n o m i c future. We are a small country with t o o h i g h a p o p u l a t i o n density to b e a b l e to provide e n o u g h food for ourselves, a n d p r e c i o u s few mineral resources, except for a d r o p of oil, w h i c h will r u n o u t in twenty years. S o h o w is it that we retain s u c h a h i g h s t a n d a r d of living a n d are still one of the world's most influential nations?

18

T h e a n s w e r is obvious; we rely u p o n the h i g h degree of expertise shown by our technicians, engineers, sceintists a n d admistrators, w h i c h is respected t h r o u g h out t h e world, and u p o n the trust a n d g o o d w i l l with w h i c h we are viewed by foreign c o u n t r i e s as a result of the n u m b e r s of their p e o p l e who were e d u c a t e d in this country (and thus i n c r e a s i n g o u r trade). O b v i o u s l y , all of this is based u p o n us maintaining a high s t a n d a r d of e d u c a t i o n w h i c h is freely available to everyone, whether they live and work in Britain or abroad.

Of

c o u r s e in the short

term

c u t b a c k s in e d u c a t i o n will save m o n e y (or rather give T h a t c h e r more to s p e n d o n 'defence') a n d may make a minor c o n t r i b u t i o n towards e c o n o m i c recovery, but it will a l s o c a u s e u n e m p l o y m e n t in the e d u c a t i o n sector, many c o u r s e s will p r o b a b l y have to be c l o s e d d o w n , a n d less valuable research work will be able to be done. A l s o , at the moment many of the best students in the w o r l d c o m e to Britain to d o research for their

more activity g o i n g o n a r o u n d y o u than in Stan's on a S a t u r d a y night ( S t r i p S n a p ' ? - the mind boggles!). It's n i c e (!) to wake up on a Friday m o r n i n g k n o w i n g that there are still h u n d r e d s of F E L I C E S t o be collated, s o m e b o d y (no n a m e s mentioned) was still collating them o n Friday afternoon.

At t h e e n d of my most interesting a n d entertaining week at Imperial C o l l e g e I w o u l d like to offer t h a n k s to the following people: 1. T h e k i t c h e n staff for providing us with the o c c a s i o n a l plate of s a n d w i c h e s and pasties.

2. C h r i s for giving m e the satisfaction of t h r a s h i n g him at table tennis.

3. J o e for m a k i n g i n n u m e r a b l e c u p s of tea a n d a l l o w i n g herself to be insulted.

4. Eric for the dulct tones of his guitar and anagrams.

5. M i c k for his even better a n a g r a m s - d i d y o u know that a n a n a g r a m of C h a r l e s P h i l i p A r t h u r G e o r g e W i n d s o r ( H R H P r i n c e of Wales) is ' H a r r o w S l o t h C r a p s H u g e Pile Grinder'!

6. West L o n d o n C h a p l a i n c y for the l u n c h on Sunday.

7. A r c h i e for the m u s i c centre - a vast improvement on a c r a c k l y cassette r e c o r d e r .

8. T h e majority at the U G M w h o gave us the opportunity to miss lectures with a g o o d reason.

9. M i c k also for l o s i n g to himself at table tennis in a needle m a t c h with his other half at 1:30am on W e d n e s d a y .

P h D ; will they still be able to do s o if the government introduces fees based u p o n the 'full e c o n o m i c cost' of a c o u r s e ? I d o u b t it a n d we w o u l d therefore lose students who are potentially a m o n g the world's best scientists.

I w o u l d therefore argue that the present government's e d u c a t i o n p o l i c y is the most r i d i c u l o u s l y short-sighted of all time, and is purely a i m e d at providing a small temporary benefit to the e c o n o m y in order to help themselves get re-elected in four years' time, and gives no regard whatsoever to the jeopardy in w h i c h these p o l i c i e s may put the e c o n o m y . i a twenty or thirty years' time. E d u c a t i o n is a s o u n d long-term investment and M r s T h a t c h e r can't see past the end of her nose.

M a l c o l m Brain

Gary Nichols

FOR S A L E Cubmaster rucsac.little used. ÂŁ10 ono. C o n t a c t R o g e r B r u g g e (int 4195).

N A S C O M microcomputer already built with m a m a l s i n c l u d e d , just plugs into tele a n d cassette. ÂŁ200ono. C o n t a c t Mark S h e p p a r d CCD3.

WANTEDS T R A N S L A T I O N of S w e d i s h phrase, " A l l e m a n s r a t t e n g e r d i g ocksa ansvar".

Anything c o n s i d e r e d . O n e pint of lager offered as reward. C o n t a c t N i c Mortimer, G e o l o g y 3, int 4026.

GROUPIES contact S . O ' B o y l e , 544 T i z a r d (Don't tell Gwen!).

People interested in starting a YOGA club, please contact L. C a u s e r ( C h e m 3) or L J a b b o r ( C C D 3) M e n especially welcome!

C

C O U L D M E M B E R S O F ICUNA, NUS A N D SCIENCE FOR PEOPLE, P L E A S E CONTACT FRANK J A M E S O N INT 3927.

, E STARRING M O N I Y I'Y M l O N . I III G O O D I E S , P E T E C O O K A N D TJUT) MOHI J O H N A T H A N MILLER A N D M A N Y MOHI H 0 E S L

J

RAG MAGS ARE NOW ON S A L E AGAIN - 25p T h e s c e n e r y c o n s i s t e d of o n e main b a c k wall w h i c h w a s u s e d as a projection s c r e e n .

O n c e or twice extra pieces of s c e n e r y w e r e l o w e r e d d u r i n g s t r i k i ng s e t p i e c e s that, sadly, o n l y lasted for a few minutes. T h e stage w a s di mly lit for most of the p r o d u c t i o n .

T h e tribal c o s t u m e s w e r e well d e s i g n e d a n d h e l p e d to create a ' N e w G u i n e a ' a t m o s p h e r e . T h e s l o p i n g stage, at the R o y a l C o u r t Theatre, didn't help m u c h w h e n a b a g of potatoes split a n d b o m b a r d e d t h e front row. M o s t of w h o m w e r e left in a great d i l e m m a whether to ruin the a c t o r - a u d i e n c e a t m o s p h e r e o r pretend not to notice the d e l u g e of w o u l d be w o n d e r - m a s h , c h i p s , roast potatoes, potatoe c r i s p s , bangers & M A S H , B e l g i a n fritune, sweet potatoes, french fries etc. n e e d l e s s to s a y the b a g r e a c h e d the s a m e g r o s s n e s s as formerly.

T h e play was light entertainment - n o t h i n g d r a m a t i s e d , raising a few titters here a n d there.

Outline of the play The people of New Guinea are waiting for the whiteman's cargo to arrive, the cargo which they beleive to have been sent from their ancestors (which usually arrived every 6 months). Unfortunately the whiteman comes

G I R L S C H O O L The audience must have been the largest since Fagin took his boots off in the small room before the days of 'odour eaters'.

Anyway, having dissuaded certain E N T S personnel from charging the bands an entrance fee to see the spectators, in order to cut financial losses, I sat down to lend an ear to the acts.

Review by M A R I E - T H E R E S E to settle in New Guinea and develops the trade between his home country and New Guinea. The whiteman bears no cargo to the natives but promises "progress" which the natives interpret wrongly as "reward" .... cargo ....

The years go on and the natives still receive nothing - they turn to Sgt Ola, whose idea is to get the people working for themselves again .... A custom they have long forgotten having such generous ancestors.

The support's performance reminded me of a time in my past, when a then new band called Supertramp got a mixed reception at a venue in Yorkshire somewhere. Trouble was, half the audience were having quick orgasms at the sound of genius and the other half objected to being robbed of their 'usual rubbish, predictable run-of-the-mill band playing the same old thing, several times.

Only louder towards the end' bit. So they donned their mordm caps (complete with earmuffs) and made their displeasure known peacefully.

Well, it has been said: "If you can't stun 'em with genius - deafen 'em with bullsith!" and whilst 'Devil's Answer' didn't succeed in impressing all the audience with their bountif ull skill, they probably owed this to the fact that they refused to give certain spectators their weekly 'fix', of bull.

Girlschool, a four piece all-girl band, headlined this gig and were abounding with p o l i s h , c a l m , stage presence and exceptionally well delivered normal rock.

Smoothed over with a creamy layer of professionalism helps the said rock, rushed forth in large quantities. You know the type:bass continues, big drum thump, cymbal 'tisk', assortment of fuzz guitar chords (no solos), all parceled up and delivered at painfully loud sound levels (4,000 watt PA). Magic sutff and a real must if you're to empty your head of all the memories you can't cope with before reason returns to assist you - just what IC audiences seem to like (remember the walk-out before the first encore at the UK concert last year?).

GIRLSCHOOL DEVIL'S ANSWER

So it's congratulations to Girlschool on a really good show; you well deserve your money and Congrats also to Devil's Answer there are some who eagerly await your own live set (due mid November) and don't be put off by bad feedback - somebody once remarked that a certain band would go down 'like a lead balloon'.

Look out for more E N T S gigs folks.

BERNARD BOGTROTTER pics by nigel tooby

19

ICU OSC TUITION FEES ISSUE In 1977-78 tuition tees tor overseas students were raised by 60%. Figures ranging Irom £ tOOmillion to £120million were quoted as annual resource costs of overseas students. T h o u g h these figures have been quoted frequently there is no apparent agreement as to how they were arrived at.

However on the basis of the available figures the arithmetic could be: total gross cost of overseas students to education budget £ 1 5 3 m i l l i o n less overseas students' fees £30million which leaves a cost of £123million on 1976-7 '"gures.

7

A report undertaken by N U S and U K C O S A used marginal costs as the logical starting point rather than gross costs. T h e basis for this is the premise of the D E S that the UK educational system is primarily for home students a n d that the overseas students represent extra students 'on the margin'.

T h e y also considered the benefits which might reasonably be deducted to produce e fairer net figure; benefits s u c h as research input, long-term trade benefits and foreign e x c h a n g e brought in by the students, none of which were considered in the government's calculations. T h e r e are other unquantifiable benefits, s u c h as cultural and educational advantages derived from their presence, which are neither unimportant or insignificant. Using monetary arguments, this report refutes the assertion that overseas students are 'subsidized'.

There are some who hold the view that education is a commodity and it should be charged according to what the market would stand. If this view is to be put forward then it should be done bluntly and honestly, not camouflaged or rationalized by baring the discussion of overseas students fees on a supposed subsidy. T h e principles behind the 'market-value' argument are different but equally reprehensible.

L o r d A s h b y wrote: "At universities fees for overseas students are much higher than those for British students - a deplorable policy, a sorTof intellectual import control."

Pratt, Travers and Burgess have written in 'Costs and Control in Further Education': ' T h e D E S has been simply, visibly and always wrong." Their policies towards overseas students is another example of this.

T h e government recently increased tuition fees by 33% in 1979-60, adding to the imbalance, claiming that 'at least 60% on average of the total cost on tuition will still be met from public funds.' Until the government acknowledges the marginal cost concept and benefits of overseas students as recipients of subsidies whereas all the evidence suggests that overseas students are a benefit to the UK even on monetary terms.

More recently and worryingly. the U G C sent a letter to the Vice-chancellors of Universities stating that it is the government's intention to move towards a position in which overseas students meet the full cost of their education and to reflect this in the U G C grant with respect to overseas students admitted in 1980-61 a n d subsequent years. For example, the U G C grant for IC, includihg all fees, is £ 2 2 . 3 7 m i llions at present and for the next three years the grant decreases from £20.34million (in 1980-81) t o £ 1 7 . 2 9 m i l l i o n in 1982-83, which includes fees for time students a n d overseas students starting their courses before 1980-81. In 1983-84 it will be the same figure and this will include no fees for overseas students, ie, they will pay the 'full e c o n o m i c cost'.

T h e committee of Vice-chancellors and principals reacted quickly a n d strongly to this criticising the governmet for threatening the financial future of universites whose finances are already in a state of grave uncertainty'. Sir Alec Morrison. Chairman of the C V C P . said that the government proposed to remove a substantial part of o u r income under the fallacious belief that it corresponds to the 'subsidy' to overseas students, leaving universities to recoup whatever they can by charging the so-called 'economic fees' which would have to be at a level far in excess of anything charged to students anywhere else in the world. In the opinion of the C V C P . the effect of these policies would be potentially disastrous and undermine institutions which are vital national assets. The committee also requested the Secretary of State for Education a n d S c i e n c e to think again.

If the fees are raised to the cost suggested by the government, there will be a drastic drop in numbers of overseas students in this country as they will go to other countries, such as America or decide to stay at home.

Only the very rich people or governments will be able to afford the full economic cost. This would be rather a pity as overseas students take an active part in academic and solid activities and provide a valuable glimpse of their cultures. Only by living together witl we be able to solve the problems which face us today.

Quoting from the L o n d o n conference on overseas students report: "Universities have always been international communities of scholars; academic freedom has meant freedom to share knowledge and ideas as if national frontiers d i d not e x i s t If governments and educational authorities generally accepted such a philosophy today s u c h a paper would be superfluous and irrelevant".

A t t a b Gujral

Students OCCUPATION ENDS The Occupation of the Senior Dining Room ended at 12:15 on Commemoration Day. THose who Commemoration Day. Those who took part in the occupation t o g e t h e r with many others carrying placards and wearing black armbands joined in the "Funeral March" following the black coffin, bourne aloft by six students from the meeting in the Junior Common Room outside, through Beit and on its journey around the Albert Hall. Students were already leafleting the parents and other visitors to the ceremony in the Albert Hall.

The decision to end the occupation on Commemoration Day was taken after a majority vote at Tuesday's meeting.

Occupy University

CUTS: THE FACTS 1. A reduction in rate support grant of £300million approximately, 50% of which is in the education sector. The total amount spent by local authorities on education is about £6.500m''lion.

2. A reduction in * central government expenditure of £55million, of which £8million is in the university sector.

3. The dropping of the pilot scheme to introduce mandatory awards for 16-19 year olds and the loss of many discretionaty awards.

4. A cut in the nursery scnool education from £5.9million to £4million.

5. The increase in school meals by 5p to 30p.

6. T h e reduction in the youth opportunities programme by £28million.

(These cuts were announced in the budget; the details may, be found in the D E S press notice (12th June, 1979).

These cuts are only the beginning of a long p r o g r a m m e by the g o v e r n m e n t .

The Secretary of State for Education and Science has said that local authorities should be prepared for at least a further 5% cut in rate support grant in 1960-81 and a possible' 71/2% cut which would mean: i. A loss of 70,000 teaching staff. ii. Cuts in books and materials etc. iii. C h a n g e s in statutory regulations schools. iv. C h a n g e s in grants.

in

T h e R S G affects schools, polytechnics and institutes of higher education and the proposed cutbacks will affect the latter two items regarding reduced intakes, possible closure of undersubscribed courses and a reduction in overseas student numbers.

Discretionary awards will also be badly affected in that L E A s d o not have to pay them and as s u c h will be cut back immediately. The authorities cannot offset losses by raising rates as the government has stated that it will take action against the authorities who do raise rates, etc.

T h e reduction in nursery school education is important as many parents going to postsecondary education and leaving a child at the nursery may not now be able to d o so, thus causing further discrimation and hardship.

In the university sector, the U G C have propose a 6% decrease in home student intake in 1980-81 from the present figures.

Prospective entry for October 1980 was to increase above that of October 1979 from 78.000 to 79.000 A 6% reduction would leave intake in 1980 at 73,320 which is actually 92.8% of the expected intake for that year.

Total university student population would only decrease by 1.89%. However, in order to preserve present standards a decrease of less than 1.69% would be necessary in grant allocation as many of the costs remain static 'eg 1.89% of a Rector cannot be removed).

Bradford

S t u d e n t s at B r a d f o r d University went into o c c u p a t i o n o n T u e s d a y after it w a s d e c i d e d at their U n i o n general meeting that an o c c u p a t i o n w o u l d be a g o o d way of g a i n i n g publicity for their to the proposed opposition e d u c a t i o n cuts. A p p r o x i m a t e l y o n e h u n d r e d students are n o w occupying the telephone e x c h a n g e , c o m p u t e r centre a n d one w i n g of the administration floor in the main b u i l d i n g of the University.

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T h e nation's future depends on these students and to hinder their education in this manner can only hinder the nation's development. The contribution of research to the nation is vitally important especially in medical, scientific and technological areas and reduction in research grants in particular and in the university sector as a whole can only do serious damage to the country in the future.

Many have said that the cuts are n e c e s s a r / , but the government was elected to cut waste in all public areas, ie £60million to help bright pupils into assisted places in independant schools and £ 2 0 0 m i l l i o n increase in the defence budget, it is necessary to ask if these expenditures are essential.

So the o c c u p a t i o n has e n d e d on Commemoration Day, but that does not mean that everyone goes away and thinks that it is all over and that they have done their bit, because this is not the case. The occupation has only provided a springboard from which to start an educated college-wide campaign against the cuts in education. It is necessary to continue with more action, eg writing to MPs, lobbying MPs, taking part in the week of action in November. The next major step is to organize that campaign effectively. This will begin at the open meeting on Wednesday, 31st October at 1pm in the Union. Do you care about the future of the education system in this country?

JOHN PASSMORE

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Sixty people demonstrated the Czechoslavak outside embassy, o n Tuesday, in protest against the i m p r i s o n m e n t of six human rights activists. T h e demonstrators i n c l u d e d several M P s , a n d three students from I C. The jail s e n t e n c e s r a n g e d from a two year s u s p e n d e d sentence to four a n d a half years for dramatist Vaclav Havel. T h e two day trial was the biggest C z e c h dissident trial s i n c e 1972.

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In reply to this the C V C P have stated that they are disturbed that the recurrent grant will be held constant in real terms over the _ next four years less approximately 13% which is regarded as the cost of overseas students.

Home-student numbers are projected to increase in the n^xt few years and the 13% lost due to overseas students may not be recovered at all for recurrent grant to stay constant in real money terms, it will be impossible to continue to provide an opportunity to qualified school-leavers to enter into university education. Inflation and prices are not considered.

FELIX you

Sunday afternoon help

(15th However from the U G C letter October, 1979) it appears that overseas students beginning courses from 1980-81 onwards will be asked to pay the 'full e c o n o m i c cost' and by 1983-84 the U G C grant will only cover home students.

adult

s c h e m e centre, nothing

complicated.

FOLK C L U B M O N D A Y 29th 8.-00 pm LOWER R E F E C T O R Y

Thus marginal costs must be used. The U G C and C V C P calculate the short-term marginal cost at about 50% of average costs, ie 5 x 1.89% equalling .95%. The smallest cut considered by the U G C in recurrent grant is 21/2%. This would require a 5% reduction in total university student numbers to maintain standards, ie 1980-81 intake would be 80.7% of 1979-80 intake.

Acting Editor: C ISSN

R

0140-0711.

S W 7 .

Palmer Registered

the Post Office. Copyright F E L I X

at

1979.