text:
Friday October 23rd 1987
E § Science
7 Eye Spy In N o r m a n ' s
9 Careers Supplement Including: 1 5 Interview Technique 1 7 Case Study: Accountancy
18 How to Impress 20 Employing Yourself 23 Case Study: Armed Forces 25 Postgraduates
26Careers Fair
Which companies y o u can meet next
Tuesday & Wednesday.
31 L i b e l The Baron E p i s o d e 3.
32 Reviews 33 Clubs 34 Sports
Let me take this opportunity to apologise for the hideous number o f pages i n this issue. Even with 36 we still had trouble fitting all the copy in. F o r this reason, I have had to prune the small ads section down to one column. F r o m now on m y editorial policy is that the boring ads get cut first—so if you want your ad to go in, try and make it slightly more exciting than the one's we've been receiving recently.
love it or hate it, depending on how hot and nutritious you like your food. I personally like 'Norman's' but I know many others who find the food depressing. I can only suggest that i f you want something that isn't already offered i n the Snack Bar, that you write it down and post it in their suggestions box. I ' m sure they'd welcome all constructive criticism and suggestions—as long as it doesn't mention chips!
entering Imperial, the number has decreased this year. Professor A s h mentioned i n his Commemoration D a y speech that 5 0 % o f Imperial's income is derived from private and industrial sources. He guesses that i f the Government continues on its course o f disinvestment that universities w i l l either go bankrupt or privatise like Stamford i n America. College has a Public Relations Officer a n d Industrial Liaison Officer who spend their lives trying to coax more money out o f industry and the alumni. B u t how long can this go on? H o w many glossy brochures do we have to endure? It i s time that staff and students unite and fight. T o quote the Rector: the Government must begin 'to appreciate the very real and irrevocable damage which is now being done to institutions such as Imperial College'.
Petit Gripe I've just noticed the photo credits i n the Annual Report and there's not one mention of F E L I X amongst them a l l . I remember thinking this when I saw a similar incident in Network last week and I C Engineer the week before. Last time we do College a favour!
Music Room
Commemoration Day
A l a n Downie, Chairman o f the Chamber M u s i c Society, has started a petition to save the music rooms in Prince's Gate. Please sign the one in the U n i o n Office i f you are even vaguely interested i n s a v i n g Imperial's music facilities.
This year's Annual Report was released yesterday at the Commemoration D a y ceremony i n the Royal Albert H a l l . It is the usual glossy prospectus for past students with many pretty pictures of students and academics enjoying themselves. It even contains a picture o f the Finally... F E L I X staff hard at work—so it can't There w i l l be the usual staff meeting be all bad! I can't help feeling a little at 1.00pm today. c y n i c a l about a l l the C o l l e g e publications I've seen recently. They contain too many happy faces and rosy outlooks. Unfortunately the publicity doesn't seem to have achieved the desired effect—despite Professor E r i c A s h pledging to try to raise the number o f women students
Security A s the c r i m e rate c o n t i n u a l l y increases in London, I am particularly concerned about the lack o f security in the Halls of Residence. The locks in Southside have only been changed once since its construction i n the 1960s. That means that at least seven students have held your room key and countless Summer Accommodation Centre residents. I recently enquired about my room key. I was told that six were originally copied and that all have gone missing over the past few years. Not only copies of my key but Hall masters have disappeared. It was only when expensive equipment started going missing i n Linstead last year that it was finally decided to change the locks around. Obviously College can't afford to change locks every year but every fourth year is not unreasonable. I certainly wouldn't mind paying a little extra in my rent for increased security.
Norman's This F E L I X contains an E y e Spy i n the Union Snack Bar. W e asked for views on the food. It seems you either
Editor-in-chief Business Manager Careers Editor Reviews Editor Features Editor Science Editor Typesetting Printing
Judith Hackney Chris Martin Kamala S e n A s h l e y Niblock Dave Burns Steve Black Rose A t k i n s Shane Latchman and David J o n e s Cover Design Pippa S a l m o n Contributors: Pippa Salmon, Rupert Clayton, Martin Cole, J o n Burden, Sue Browne, A l Birch, A l Roberts, Adrian Bourne, Steve Kilmurray, A n d y Bannister, Chris J o n e s , J o h n Noble, C h a s Brereton, Louise, Nigel Baker, Simon Bradshaw, J o n Franks, Lisa Ingram, Dave Fish, Pete W e s t o n , Chris Daniels, J a n e Spiegel, David J o n e s , Chris Martin, A n d r e w Waller, Kamala S e n , A a r o n Kotcheff, Pete Higgs, Dave Burns, Dave Williams, Paul D y s o n , Robert Gee, Neville Nelkon, Neil Motteram, David Ashforth, Linzi Wishart, Charles, D B S S , Sunny Bains, Dave Smedley, Rachael Black, Chris Stapleton, Bill G o o d w i n , T i m Hillyer.
F E L I X is published b y the E d i t o r f o r and o n behalf o f Imperial C o l l e g e U n i o n Publication B o a r d and is printed b y the Imperial C o l l e g e U n i o n Print U n i t , P r i n c e Consort R o a d , L o n d o n , S W 7 2 B B ( T e l 0 1 - 5 8 9 5111 ext 3515). E d i t o r : Judith H a c k n e y . Business M a n a g e r : C h r i s M a r t i n . C o p y r i g h t F E L I X 1987 I S S N 1040-0711.
Friday October 23rd 1987
N e w s
Guilds' Vice mauled—official! Tanya Maule, a first year chemical engineer, was elected V i c e President of City and Guilds College U n i o n at the Election U G M on Tuesday. She fills the position left vacant by Chris Simpson on failing his second year exams. After a short speech from each candidate and proposer, M s Maule was elected with a sizeable majority. She is the first fresher to be elected to the Guilds Executive. • F E L I X interviewed M s Maule following her victory. She revealed that she first considered standing for V P o n meeting Dave Tyler, the Guilds Union President, at the joint C C U Christmas Party in Freshers' Week. She had mentioned that she was interested i n Rag, mascotry and Ents to him and he claimed that these interests a l o n g w i t h l i m i t l e s s enthusiasm were the qualities necessary for V P . The following day she gathered a proposer and seconders
from amongst her fellow first-years and started to organise her campaign. Clearly with only two weeks at I C prior to the election she needed to ensure plenty of publicity prior to the election i n order to stand a chance against the other candidates. She feels that questions asked of the candidates at the U G M were fair and although some, such as 'who is responsible for R a g i n G u i l d s ' , put h e r at a disadvantage they were a l l very relevant.
Worldwide flights on quality airlines Special fares for students and academics European trains and short breaks Overland tours and holidays Group bookings Unbeatable prices — unbeatable quality Enquiries and Bookings: European 01-581 8233 Intercontinental 01-581 1022
U L U Travel Sherfield Building Imperial C o l l e g e Prince Consort Road London SW7.
AO W TheWorldbeaters
• Defeated candidate, K e n Pendlebury, bears no grudges against the new V P . H e decided to run for V P on hearing that M r Simpson, whom he had shared a room with during the summer, had failed his exams. M r Pendlebury had intended to run for V P in March, but had stood down when M r Simpson announced his cadidature.
Funds fiasco (
• • • • •
M r Tyler denies that asking M s Maule to stand was showing any favouritism as he sees his role as encouraging as diverse a selection of candidates as possible. H e views having a female first-year V i c e President as a positive advantage as C & G U has previously' had a lack o f involvement from women and freshers.
Predictably she is not w i l l i n g to sacrifice her degree to the running o f C & G U . However, she believes that she can effectively manage both. Her ambitions at this early stage are to increase participation i n U n i o n events, particularly amongst firstyears, and to abolish the present elitism which alienates rank and file students from the management o f C & G U . L i k e every V P before, she hopes to raise more money for R a g than before and plans several new
ULU travel
events which could involve B o appearing more often. She expects the full co-operation o f the two other vice-presidential candidates and many officers in C & G U have pledged their support. I n i t i a l l y she w i l l b e informally assisted by Dave Tyler and previous V P s Chris Simpson and Simon Corns, but she hopes to be i n full control by Rag Week.
The Commemoration Day ceremony took place i n the Royal Albert H a l l yesterday. Following the Fellows awards, Professor E r i c A s h delivered a speech on universities and the public fund cut. H e revealed that Imperial College now receives only 50% of its funding from the University Grants Committee. H e went on to warn the present Government of the dangers of letting the universities rely heavily on the private sector funding and cast a gloomy picture for universities in the next few years as they all compete for the limited funding.
this year, including the election of Mike Hassel and David Olive to the Royal Society, and of Alan Swanson, Colin Besant and Ernie Freeman to the fellowship of engineering. So to St Mary's Hospital Medical School, merger. and the forthcoming Professor Ash is obviously an optimist, as he proved when he referred to the enthusiasm of St Mary's students about the merger. The experience of IC Union is rather different.
And then onto an old favourite, lack of money. The Rector raised the possibility ofprivatising universities, and then, not to anyone's surprise, demolished it, mainly by pointing out the lack of endowments coming in to College funds. This naturally begged The Imperial College A n n u a l the question: Are we doomed to be a Report was published to coincide with loss-making organisation ? Well, Commemoration Day. The 28-page apparently not. If—said the Rector— document is i n glossy brochure you count the income to the country format and contains articles o n which results from the graduation and College's relationship with industry, subsequent gainful employment of an past students and expenditure figures Imperial College graduate, and for the last financial year. It reveals subtract from that the cost of that that the total College income was graduate's education, we make about £66,385K whereas its expenditure £300M per annum for the UK. so, was £67,384K. This is the first year dear Government, although we will that the College has spent more than do our best to increase our degree of self-funding, notably by the launch of it received. IMPEL, a company which exists to exploit novel ideas and inventions for SKETCH we still need your money to profit, j • The rubric opened, as you might expect, with a tribute to the survive in our present structure. achievements ofIC students and staff
Friday October 23rd 1987
INJ o
Jelly's flat 1
Musical movement
Stormy weather
U n i o n Bar Manager A d r i a n Johnson was assaulted by two men i n the U n i o n Bar on Wednesday night. M r Johnson sustained a large cut on the back of his head when one of the men broke a glass on him. The matter is to be taken up by the College Disciplinary Committee.
A petition is being drawn up aginst withdrawal of the M u s i c R o o m without provision o f alternative facilities o f comparable quality. The petition states this would result i n a marked deterioration in the musical life o f the College. S i x pages o f signatures have been collected so far. Anyone who wants to sign should see A l a n Downie (Maths P G ) or visit the U n i o n Office.
W h i l e Hyde Park may look like a battlefield, College itself was barely scarred by Friday's storm. Fourteen windows were broken, though most of these were small, apart from the plate glass window on a gallery level in Tizard H a l l . In the L i f e Science Department's pilot plant, a skylight pane was lifted and later found some 15 feet away still intact. It is expected to be refitted by the end of the week.
Fire and damnation
Ashfelt on the Union Building was also lifted, which has led to the reroofing being brought forward. The main victims of the storm have been the trees, with many branches being brought down. College reports that two small trees are still missing.
Dutch courage The Holland C l u b , the staff bar, has arranged a programme of music for the rest of October. Ex-Imperial band Stagefright w i l l be playing sorfie o f their mellower songs next Thursday. A l l members and their guests are welcome and the entertainment is entirely free.
Policeman injured A policeman was injured during a roof top chase in Cranley Gardens on Sunday. The policeman, P C A n d y M o r b y fell fifteen feet through a skylight whilst chasing suspects across a slippery roof, sustaining injuries to his shoulders, hands and abdomen. The police were alerted to the burglary at 3.45pm by a member o f the public. Nine vehicles, including two fire engines which were used to observe the roof arrived on the scene. A police helicopter was diverted from the Tottenham football match to scan the area using closed-circuit T V , but no arrests were made.
Flan ban The Hitsquad w i l l be restricted this year due to an agreement between C & G U and College. N o hits w i l l take place in lecture theatres and students w i l l be able to purchase immunity from flanning.
There were red faces a l l round •yesterday when the West London Chaplaincy set off the fire alarms i n Southside. The Selkirk -Breakfast group caused the incident when the toast they were cooking i n the T V lounge activated a smoke detector. The alarm was turned off by the Linstead messenger ten minutes later. A spokesperson f o r the W L C explained that the detector was normally covered with a plastic cup to avoid this problem, but added that on this occasion the cup must have fallen off.
Seymour goes bananas The first I C U Council of the year was held on Monday. Council Chairman Alastair Seymour apologised for the postponement which he said was due to late the circulation o f papers. Topics w h i c h were discussed included the St M a r y ' s M e d i c a l School merger. President Ian Howgate proposed honorary membership o f the U n i o n for all St M a r y ' s students this year, allowing them to vote and stand in elections for next year's U n i o n officers. It was noted that there was a lack o f communication between both St M a r y ' s U n i o n and Imperial College Union. Council members were also c o n c e r n e d about the l a c k o f communication b e t w e e n the Executive and the rest o f C o u n c i l about the merger plans. M r Howgate believes that St M a r y ' s U n i o n is frightened of being swamped by I C U .
How to get HI Alternative Prospectus Editor Sunny Bains has published Holographies International, a new magazine for the holographies industry. The magazine, which is also edited by M s Bains was launched on Monday at the Light Fantastic Gallery i n Covent Garden. Copies are available at the I C U Bookshop although the magazine w i l l mainly be sold by subscription.
Digital review E l e c t r o n i c p u b l i s h i n g came to Imperial College yesterday when I C Radio launched I C R A D , a computer based news and information service. I C R A D can be accessed free o f charge from any computer terminal connected to the campus network 'pad'. The service contains College news, events guides, C C U and clubs information. I C R A D Editor A l B i r c h c o m m e n t e d ' t h i s i s t h e most significant computing development since the Analogical Engine'. The service can be obtained by typing ' C followed by T C R A D ' and pressing the return key.
Friday October 23rd 1987
Jelly's flat 2 I C U has gained control of a flat i n the U n i o n B u i l d i n g p r e v i o u s l y occupied by refectory staff. Although it is not known what is to be done with the space, one room w i l l be reserved for late night bar or snack bar staff who have difficulty getting home after work.
^ \
Peft>i Brasserie 134
CROMWELL ROAD (near to Salnsburys) K E N S I N G T O N , SWT Open 12-2.30pm; 6.30pm11.30pm dally Friendly attentive aervlce In an atmosphere of style and comfort Fully licensed Air conditioned Seating for 110 Private parties of up to 40 catered for 10% discount for IC students and staff Early reservation* advisable
01-370 7617
NEW OPTICIAN, HEALTH CENTRE For t h e n e x t 2 t e r m s M r R a s i k N a g u r i a w i l l be d o i n g t h e e y e t e s t i n g at t h e H e a l t h C e n t r e . A p p o i n t m e n t s m a y be b o o k e d with t h e Health Centre r e c e p t i o n staff. H e will a t t e n d on Thursday afternoons. A s well as doing e y e tests for laser w o r k e r s , V D U w o r k e r s and f o r those w h o need special safety glasses, M r N a g u r i a is also a v a i l a b l e t o d o eye tests for any member of College w h o has not recently had an N H S e y e test.
N e w s The longest year
Rag pissed off Last Saturday the Union Building was damaged at the Mencap 'thank you' party attended by students from a l l over the U K who had helped in the Mencap London-wide collection. A t about 10pm the organisers were informed that a wash basin had been pulled off the wall in the gents toilets, rupturing water pipes which led to flooding. A s the drains were not working the 'passed water' seeped into Norman's store room and into the F E L I X Print R o o m . The Union Building was being used free of charge by Mencap through the Imperial College Rag Committee who were responsible for the party, and so brought the matter of the damage to the attention of Monday's C o u n c i l meeting. The question of who would pay the bill has not yet arisen, although he did express to F E L I X that he hoped that Mehcap rather than I C Rag would pay. Letters are being sent to all the universities whose students participated expressing the displeasure o f the U n i o n at such damage being perpetrated.
One on Radio 1 w i l l start transmitting on V H F / F M from 6am on Saturday, 31 October. The first transmitter w i l l cover the London area only, on 104.8 K H z , but other major conurbations are due to be added. The existing shared Radio 2/Radio 1 frequency w i l l continue until airspace is made available to transmit Radio 1 on F M nationwide.
Union Council approved a motion on Monday to change the Sabbatical Year from 1st July—30th June to 1st August—31st July. This could become official policy by M a r c h , subject to approval by a U G M and the College Governing Body. Part of this motion, although not compulsory, would be an informal training period for incoming sabbaticals which would involve them spending July o n the dole and working in the Union Office.
Wind swept Staff and students were washed into the sea at a field trip in Dorset last week. The incident took place in the wake of Thursday's hurricane, when students from Mineral Resources and Petroleum Engineering visited BP's Wytch Farm onshore oilfield, Dorset. Those receiving a dunking included Prof J Archer, Neilah Ghonia, John McNeill and Robert Ambrose. Mr Hatamian said that it had not been felt necessary to issue life jackets. Dr G Hargreaves, Imperal College Safety Director said, in view of the visit taking place shortly after the storms, 'given the exceptional circumstances, perhaps they should not have taken the risk'.
Fishy story M r K H Fisher Safety Administrator at Silwood Park has strongly denied that there was a serious leak from the S i l w o o d Park Reactor Station yesterday. When F E L I X approached him concerning the issue he laughed and exclaimed that it was 'totally erroneous'. Professor Peter Grant was absent f r o m Silwood Park yesterday afternoon when F E L I X tried to contact him, but his secretary confirmed that there had been a leak. Almost everyone approached by F E L I X denied any knowledge of the
incident. M r H A DewitL Departmental Superintendent at Silwood, conceded that he didn't 'think' it had happened. A l a n Rose, I C U Deputy President, said T hadn't heard actually. M a y b e Ian Howgate knows but he's poncing about i n the Albert Hall at the moment. Y o u could ask the safety people but I've just put back the next meeting.' D r G Hargreaves, the Safety Director, said he couldn't tell us anything as it was outside his jurisdiction.
Friday October 23rd 1987
The idea, originally proposed by Jackie Peirce, last year's U n i o n Deputy President, is intended to make the Sabbatical Year conincide with the C o l l e g e f i n a n c i a l year. U n i o n President Ian Howgate feels that i f incoming officers 'are not prepared to spend a month on the dole then they are not dedicated enough' and that sabbaticals are likely to be better o f f on supplementary benefit with rent rebate than on a sabbatical salary with free accommodation. H e denies any ulterior motive in his gaining an extra month in office, claiming that he would prefer to spend July writing up academic work than sorting out Union finances.
Lie in Clocks go back one hour on Sunday. A spokesman from Geology said that considering the age of the Earth, one hour was insignificant and so the clocks were not really changing at all. The change is unlikely to affect many IC students.
Galileo was wrong Not content with already having two more forces than the average mind can understand, some physicists are looking for another one. If they find it, Galileo's proof that heavy and light objects fall at the same rate w i l l be shown to have been wrong. The search started when a physicist called Fishbach looked at the original experimental data collected in 1923 by another physicist called Eotvos, who had been doing delicate tests o f the equivalence o f inertial and gravitational mass. Eotvos thought he had demonstrated, within experimental accuracy, that gravitational and inertial mass were the same (implying that all bodies fall with equal accelerations), but when his data were reexamined they statistical showed significant irregularities, suggesting that there was a small residual mass-dependent acceleration. F i s h b a c h does n o t say that conventional theories o f gravity are
wrong as such; rather, he proposes a new, short-range repulsive force dependent on the nuclear density o f the i n t e r a c t i n g o b j e c t s . T h e implication is that denser objects fall ever so slightly more slowly: that is, in a vaccuum, feathers fall faster than cannonballs. The results from some of the other experiments are now i n . Measurements o f gravity i n mine shafts support Fishbach's hypothesis as do some other experiments using
terrestrial gravity. However, some carefully controlled pure laboratory f o u n d no experiments have unexpected forces. The definitive experiment w i l l probably require the gravitational wave detector at C E R N , but until that experiment is done, the jury is out. Until there is a really good proof o f the new force, people w i l l be justifiably sceptical o f it: after a l l , four forces are more than we can cope with. (Nature 328 p578)
CROStjSCOPE by S t e v e B l a c k
Humanity's single mother Newspaper headlines recently p r o c l a i m e d that scientists h a d discovered that the entire human race was descended from a single A f r i c a n female. T h e headlines were sensationalist, but they did contain an element o f truth.
from a single female living about 200,000 years ago. Presumably the human population was having a bad time at the hunts and had virtually died out. They warned that other more complex scenarios could explain the D N A patterns, but the editor o f The raw evidence that led to the the paper left that bit out and hence Biologists have been driven to claim was based on a study o f the sensational new headlines. religion by attempts to find out why mitochondrial D N A . Mitochondria Recent work has gone into enough slugs don't eat moss. are rod shaped blobs that exist inside detail to give a good idea of the family Slugs seem to happily munch ordinary cells and contain enzymes tree. This places the ancestral Eve in anything useful that we try to grow important for energy supply: they are Africa. The most important fact is that in our gardens, but they never seem the cellular equivalent o f the power modem homo sapiens appears to have to touch moss. Rather than just station. In this case the important arisen i n just one place and then ascribing this to Sod's law or the thing is that the D N A contained i n spread out, completely replacing any general perversity o f nature, two them has certain unique properties. It other competing species. That i s , biologists proposed that mosses is a sort o f relic from the past and humanity did not arise in lots of places contain chemical nasties that the slugs contributes nothing to the cell as a at once. avoid. whole, and it is transmitted from There is much discussion on the To test this, they extracted some of generation to generation only through validity o f the data. Both the actual females. Because it is not involved in the chemicals from moss. However, value and constancy o f the mutation slugs don't eat liquids, so the mainstream genetic processes and the rate, have been questioned. If the researchers had to find some solid to m a i n changes are just random mutation rate is not reliably constant mutation, it can be used to trace and smear the chemicals on. The slugs then the family trees simply cannot be proved very fussy and rejected almost time (if we know the mutation rate) trusted. everything the scientists tried, until the line o f female descent. On the other hand, much o f the
God and slugs
they used the wafers specially designed for use i n the Christian communion service: the slugs gobbled them up, along with al l the moss extracts.
A appreciation of Sir Peter Medawar Not many people who w i n Nobe l Prizes are better known for doing something else; Peter Medawar, who died earlier this month, was one o f those few. He is best known for his sagacious c o n t r i b u t i o n s to t h e p o p u l a r communication o f science; indeed, he has been called the best science writer of his generation. H e did not write huge numbers of books (unlike some modern writers such as Paul Davies or Isaac Asimov) but when he wrote, he said wise things that showed great i n s i g h t into the methods a n d implications o f Science. H e was a man who was capable of excellence in a specific field (immunology), but, when he wrote about more general issues, was no less brilliant. He cared about science as a whole and he cared about how it was used: he showed little mercy to those who abused it. He thought deeply about how science works and how it affects the world: his vision was broad in contrast to the average specialist who sees only his or her o w n narrow branch o f the scientific tree. His greatest achievements were his writings. H i s descriptions o f the scientific character stand against the usual charicatures. H i s explanations of how science is done, and his hints on how to do it better, have both helped scientists with their work and have educated many non-scientists in the ways o f science. F e w scientists have ever matched his ability to think clearly and to communicate ideas simply and without obfiiscation. The world needs more people like Peter Medawar. Unfortunately a scientific education (especially of the sort given at Imperial College) w i l l not encourage people to be like him. We tend to want b l i n k e r e d conservative conformists: they do what they are told, they don't ask questions, they don't rock the boat. There is no hope for science and little hope for the country as long as that is the sort o f person our institutions produce.
The techniques needed to compare criticism may come from colleagues, the D N A from different individuals jealous that they didn't think up work have just recently been applied to this that could make front page headlines area. When the D N A from a wide in the newspapers. range o f people was tested it was The strange thing is that all the E d i t o r ' s B i t found to be much more alike than had It is not clear whether this is writers have failed to notice that the Next week this space w i l l contain, because the religious nature o f the been expected. biblical allusion is wrong: the humam among other things, a look at what wafers protects the slugs from harm, The scientists who d i d the study race is more directly descended from work won Nobel prizes this year (was or whether the chemicals are not the were surprised, and proposed that one N o a h ' s w i f e than f r o m E v e , D a v i d C a p l i n o f the P h y s i c s noxious bits in mosses after a l l . explanation f o r the l o w variation according to the account in Genesis. Department right when he said it was (New Scientist 15/10/87 p 25). could be that everyone is descended (Science 238 p24). the fastest physics prize ever?).
Friday October 23rd 1987
"It's rabbit food!" —Patrick Thomas
"It's not good value for money but my friend paid for it" —Matthew Holmes
"The burger? For what it is it's ****** expensive. I could get the same sort of thing cheaper in MacDonalds''
in Norman's
—Dean Miller
3. What do you think of the food in Norman's? "It's very nice, that's why I'm eating here. It's better than over in the JCR. The service is really good and friendly
"/ eat at the bar because I think the proportion of veggie stuff is awful. The beefburgers taste horrible over there and I think if the Union had their heads screwed on they'd supply a similar service to QT and make a lot of money which they 're making over there. You've only got to see the comparison in the queues. They obviously offer a better package which everybody likes, because more people use it"—Keith Wiggins
—Jacqueline Godfrey
' 'It's fantastic! I love it! I have two plates of it every day. It's a lot better than Linstead food" — L e s z e k Bartoszewsk
"I'm usually over in Belushi's. It's nearer to the Mech Eng Building, you see—you don't have to walk so far. I like my animal fats. The veggie food is OK for a change — D o m i n i c Strowbridge
"I very rarely eat here, it's not too bad, it's not cheap but it's not expensive, it's OK. The service is a bit slow and the tables are always covered in shit. I wouldn't go out of my way to come into College to eat here, but yeah, it's OK"-Rob Conn
"The staff are very friendly—they give very good portions — L o u i s e Cameron
"It's crap! I wanted a veggie samosa. It was on the board; I got my samosa and it wasn't vegetarian, so I'm not going to come here again. I took it back and I got a very bad response"
"It's preferable to QT. You have to time it properly for the queues otherwise you have to wait half an hour"
— D o m i n i c Stead
- R o b Chaddock
Friday October 23rd 1987
Academic affairsMore essentials B y now most of you w i l l be settling into the routine of lectures, practicals and tutorials—some o f you w i l l be finding it easier than others. But i f you are having problems the Union's Academic Affairs system is here to help you.
Academic Representatives—around this t i m e y o u r Departmental Representative (Dep Rep) should be holding (or may already have held) elections for the posts o f Academic Representatives ( A c Reps). Each subject group has 2 A c Reps per year depending on the size of the group. The A c Reps are the first line o f representation between you and the staff. If your lecturer is inaudible his/her writing/overheads illegible or the problem sheets incomprehensible then it's your A c Rep's j o b to point this out to the lecturer concerned (politely!). The A c Reps should also meet the course convener/organiser at regular intervals to discuss how that particular lecturer course is progressing.
training. In this repect it's worth noting that while your teachers at school w i l l have had to go through intensive training most lecturers (although they may be experts in their respective field) have only a very brief training before they are dumped in front of a hundred students and may end up fumbling their way through even the best prepared course.
Ents, Ents, Ents that's all we seem to talk about. W e l l there's a good reason for that and that's because all the events are such jolly good fun and value for money. Before I sum up this week's events I must first add that Ents d i d not make £10,000 i n Freshers' Week; it was i n fact more like £3,000.
This week we have a double bill featuring The Lover Speaks, fresh Getting involved—where do you fit from their Eurythmics support tour, and a very nice group o f boys from in. W e l l for a start you could stand as an A c Rep in your Department. A s North London called The Gospel. The former play a good mix of colourful a student rep you w i l l get to know lots rock with a good uptempo feel and of people within your Department and very interesting vocals. The voice is also at C C U level. O f course with any that o f David Freedman, who is post comes responsibility too. Y o u w i l l be expected to help your Dep Rep currently in conspiracy with A l i s o n and attend various Committees among Moyet in her latest single which was other things. Don't let that put you reviewed not so long ago i n these off, though. To ensure a good deal for pages. It is also rumoured that A & M w i l l be down at the gig giving away students academically means that ordinary students like yourselves records. The Gospel are an energetic getting involved by standing fo r young band whose only aim i n life is election and repesenting the students to entertain, having recently done effectively. several gigs at the M e a n Fidler including a proclaimers support. They There are also two posts available are well worth seeing. Doors open at The Dep Rep and a l l the A c Reps for Ordinary Members of the Union's about 8.30pm and entry is £2 i n in the Department form the student Academic Affairs Committee and the advance and £2.50 on the door or side of the Departmental Staff-Student post o f Secretary to the Academic £1.50 Ents cards. There is the usual Committee. This committee deals Affairs Committee (a post which I late bar and also a disco to fill in the w i t h matters t h r o u g h o u t t h e held years ago). If you are interested gaps. department. F o r example how a i n standing and want to know what's course could be improved or facilities involved, please contact me via the Next week there should be a disco for the students common room. U n i o n Office. The papers are up i n and free band on Thursday or Friday the Union foyer and the elections w i l l If a problem can't be resolved and Saturday the 7th sees the first be held at the next U n i o n General within the Department then it can be Comedy Night so keep your eyes Meeting. t a k e n to the r e s p e c t i v e C C U peeled. Academic Affairs Officer ( A A O ) who John Noble, may be able to resolve the matter. The Finally—your studies will Chairman of Parties Person. four A A O s (including myself are (hopefully!) form the important part responsible f o r representing the of your time at IC and I hope that at student body as a whole on various least some o f you w i l l want to get College Academic committees with involved with Academic Affairs. Y o u important sounding names such as w i l l certainly find the experience Board of Studies, Careers Advisory, rewarding. Admissions Policy, Vacation Charles Brereton Training, Undergraduate Studies, etc, IC Union Academic Affairs Officer dealing with such matters as lecturer
USE YOUR UNION! • Yummy foods in the Uni' Snack Bar • Slurpy drinks in the Uni' Drinks Bar • Happy faces in the Uni' Office
Review The first of a regular series of gigs put o n b y I C Ents took place last Friday when the Ents Room in the U n i o n Building rocked to the sound
of Circus Circus Circus (or Circus x 3 as they proclaimed on the hats and t-shirts they were busy selling!). The night was advertised as a live band and disco starting at 9pm and running (with bar extension until 12am) until l a m . Surprisingly that's just what it was although the disco didn't really start to fill up until about 10.15pm in readiness no doubt for the band due on stage at 10.30pm. Some people (shock, horror) were even dancing to the disco prior to the band's entrance! Finally, after a few hitches (no one could find the sound technician), Circus x 3 arrived on stage at 10.50pm. The first, and only, two words to describe the band that sprang to mind were 'loud'; there was more than one request to turn down the volume, and 'dunamic'; the lead vocalist didn't appear to pause for breath once and continued to jump around stage throughout the performance. Circus x 3 are not really to my taste and I cannot remember much of their music except that it seemed to have neither rhythm nor tune and the vocals were indistinct. Many people, however, enjoyed the whole evening and I think it was more than worth the £1 entrance i f only for the disco and bar extension.
Cut 'n' Blow Dry £5.00 Wednesday Warn onwards in the Ents Room (above the New FELIX Office)
Friday October 23rd 1987
HOW TO GET A CAREER It's that time of year again, when a student's fancy turns lightly to thoughts of a job. The large firms hover over College at the Careers Fair, throwing out lures for the anxious students who have suddenly realised that, in nine months they will no longer be part of the sheltered college life. Notices appeal with anxious hints that it's time to start hunting, or reassuring messages of the sort, 'it's later than you think'. Don't panic. If you concentrate on one step at a time, common sense and a bit of application (effort, I mean) should give you a fair chance of winning a job and/or starting a career. And to make it easier, there are people able to advise you on every step of the way. The Careers Advisors, while they can't tell you what to do, can point you in the right direction to get started, test whether you're being realistic and otherwise generally help you. Stage one in the job hunt is deciding what type of work you want. If you don't already know what you're aiming for, there's an article further on in this issue which should give you some ideas on how to choose. So let's move on to the next stages. The autumn and spring terms should be taken up with yet more research. The indexes of the graduate recruitment directories (ROGET, GET, GO and numerous others) are usually easily available sources. A visit to the Careers Information room should be well worthwhile. The University of London Careers Service offers a wide range of publications including the 'matrices'—folders of computer printed vacancy news which give important information on employers' requirements and are regularly updated. 'Employment requirement forms'; the fortnightly lists, 'Forward Vacancies'; 'Recruitment Update' and 'Careers Extra'—all these should be available either in College or at the FELIX
University of London. The London University's Central Careers Office can be found at 50 Garden Square, London WC1. The result of your investigations should be a comprehensive list of Their possible employers. recruitment literature is important reading, most of the big companies are represented in the College Careers room collection, but if you can't find information on any particular employer try writing directly to them. When you have as much information as you can scrape together, you can start narrowing the field. Compare the pros and cons of the names on yourfirstlist, and pick out the most promising. About a dozen would be a reasonable number for a first attempt. It would be wise to include some small or lesser-known employers on your short-list; the competition for most of the well-known 'giants' will be fierce so having some back-up is a good idea. If any of your short-listed employers are taking part in the Careers Fair (see the list on page 26) applying for an interview will be relatively easy. If not, use each employer's preferred format (their own application form, standard application form, or C V with covering letter are the most usual) to apply directly to them. The College Careers room has application forms for many companies on file. Some employers keep a low profile (including some of those graduates might find most interesting) so if you want a job with them you'll have to make a speculative approach directly to them. Names and addresses can be found in the various directories. There are also the information booklets produced by the Association of Graduate Careers Advisory Services—look for the vast collection in the College Careers room- which should help
Friday October 23rd 1987
you track down employers. If you can spare the time from revising during the summer term you can start applying for jobs that require you to be immediately available for work. This is because many employers are willing to wait two or three months for the right candidate. Otherwise you can wait until after the exams before applying again. The good news is that you can still use the College careers facilities after you graduate. Under a 'mutual aid' system you may even be able to use those of any other university of polytechnic if that would be more convenient. Public reference libraries should also have some of the sources of information you might need. For information on employers try trade directories (eg 'Who Owns Whom'), Extel cards, the Yellow Pages, professional associations and institutions (listed in the 'Directory of British Associations', published by CBD Research) and, of course, company recruitment brochures and annual reports. 'Current Vacancies' and 'Job Opportunities Bulletin', are useful publications telling you of vacancies; the 'Graduate-Employer Matching Register' is a computerassisted register which sends your details to employers with vacancies to fill. Many employers now recruit at summer fairs; national or local newspapers and specialist journals (Nature and New Scientist for example) carry advertisements for jobs. Then there are the local Job Centres for 'non-professional' and 'non-managerial' jobs if you need to earn your bread while you're looking for something more to your taste. And then there are the private employment agencies. Another point to remember is that many jobs aren't advertised. Treasure your contacts—friends, relatives or people you meet through leisure interests or parttime work. It's surprising how often graduatesfindjobs through contacts they have made for themselves, and though these people may not be able to get you a job, they may put you in touch with someone who can help. They may even be able to get you an interview. But once you've obtained an invitation to an interview, it's all up to you. Read on to learn how to cope. Good hunting.
Peat Marwick McLintock is the world's largest firm of chartered accountants. We are already planning for the 1990s and investing in future growth. Graduates-the partners and business managers of tomorrow - have long been regarded by us as the key to our futile saceess A s : result our reputation for professional and practical ;
graduates, chartered accountancy with PMM is simply the best possible introduction to the business world. This is clearly demonstrated by the fact that over a quarter of the UK's financial directors have been PMM-trained. Even among the "Big Eight" chartered accountancy practices we are unique. We are distinguished by a departmental structure that offers exposure to all aspects of a client's account rather than a narrow schooling in audit. You will work with clients rather
than for them, closefy supported by your department manager and training counsellor, combining intellectual study with exceptional practical experience and enjoying the best possible preparation for passing your professional qualification. Our size and strength on both sides of the Atlantic and around the world creates a wide range of career options in finance, management and consultancy. Ability is the only deciding factor and progress can be fast-
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careers adviser or write directly to: Charles Tilley, Staff Partner, Peat Marwick McLintock, 1 Puddle Dock, Blackfriars, London EC4V 3PD.
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So you want a job? By the end of the Careers Fair, you will be fed up with hearing about the world of work. However, and sad though it is, it must be faced one day. FELIX begs to offer a few words of advice about the most common choices of profession.
Accountancy In 1985,10,000 UK graduates were registered as trainees in accountancy, hopefully heading for membership of one of the six major professional bodies in this country. After passing professional examinations, and gaining three years recognised experience, they are then ready to become fully fledged yuppies. Positions tend to open up about the time you hear about your degree result, operating on a day release basis. The choice of positions is actually very wide, and the first BMW tends to arrive after about four years.
Actuarial Work I didn't know what this was either, but an actuary is basically an accountant with a crystal ball, dealing with life assurance, pensions, stocks, bonds and so forth. This involves a study of probability, compound interest and statistical techniques, and their application to finance in general. Courses are either correspondence or postgraduate, and lead to examinations for fellowship of the Institute (FIAs) or the Faculty (FFAs), of which there are almost three thousand members. One year full-time postgraduate courses are run by City University in Heriot Watt, bypassing about half the membership exams for the institutes. Definitely hard work to get into, but as the brochure says, it can be very rewarding. In other words, lucrative.
Advertising The many ways of entering into the world of advertising cannot be detailed here due to the lack of a few hundred pages, but the main recognised course is run by the Institute of Practitioners in Advertising, open to staff of FELIX
member agencies. In other words, get your job, then get your training. This tends to be on an in-house rather than on a day release basis— for example, staff who enter Media departments almost always train on the job, whilst creative staff tend to come from full-time courses at college, usually in an arts or related subject. Starting salaries in London in 1985 averaged £8,500, with some first year rises of up to £2000. This is quite good going, but if you haven't achieved what isreferredto as director status by your early thirties, you are counted as a failure. The potential for ulcers could be quite high.
Biology About forty per cent of biology graduates in the UK in 1986 entered a related subject, which reflects a healthy demand for their services. This can be confirmed by a glance down the appointment pages of such journals as New Scientist. Any careers service should also provide copies of 'Forward Vacancies', covering April to November, and 'Current Vacancies', covering May in your final year and onwards.
Biochemistry Last year, about 60% of Biochemistry graduates went on to gain employment in an area related to their degree. Most of the rest, one sadly assumes, went on to become accountants. One third of this sixty per cent went into industry, tending to be employed directly from college.
Broadcasting, Film and Theatre The situation can be summed up by describing the BBC Radio Journalism course: 12 places, 8000 applicants. Getting into this area is very difficult, and nobody can really tell you any more. There are few courses available, and they tend to be incredibly oversubscribed. You have to be prepared to apply for absolutely anything, probably about 500 times. The best bet for this is the Guardian on Mondays, with several pages of relevant
positions. With the competition so hot, you have to be prepared for repeated failures, and it is as well if you can get some relevant experience—Stoic, Dramsoc and IC Radio are your best bet while at college, as they have been known to work for people in the past. Go for it, and good luck.
promotion inevitably leads into the broader concerns of management.
Marketing and Sales
There are three ways of entering marketing: by direct entry from college, via a postgraduate course, of which there are many, or from work in some related field. Direct entry can be risky, as- many The City companies use the word marketing If you want to work in the smelly to describe burning your guts out at bit in the middle of London which an early age as a sales grunt. On the rejoices under the name of The whole, postgraduate courses or City, you will find it a fairly small subsequent transfer are your best area of graduaterecruitment,most bet, and can lead to a fast and institutions still preferring to recruit profitable career. Adverts in the school leavers with good 'A' levels. papers; Evening Standard or the This explains why the yuppie at the Guardian are a major source all the end of your road can afford a year round, but they have also GTi—he didn't bother with produced some of the most university. This doesn't exclude dishonest advertising I have ever you, though. First degrees are seen—this probably sums up the consideredrelevant,particularly in business of sales and marketing Computer Science. Try the Stock quite well: you exist to present Exchange Visitors Gallery, Lloyds things in a favourable light. In other of London Viewing Area, and the words, you lie. London Metal Exchange for further information. Publishing Good quality papers carry lists of publishing appointments, and these Computing Let's face it, there are so many are likely to be about your only opportunities for graduates from source of inspiration, apart from DoC that they cannot be listed. trade papers. In applying for these Apart from the possibility of positions, it is important to detail working in the City—yup yup yup- any relevant experience you may posts are also found in engineering, have. Obviously if you are at IC, medicine, broadcasting, publishing, you aren't on a related course, but you might have some experience science subjects of all sorts, sales, marketing, all sorts ofresearch,and anyway. You could join FELIX, for of course, in the world of example—last year's FELIX editor computing itself. The world is your is now Assistant Editor on Digital Review—so it can be done. Salaries EPROM—blow it as you will. are not high, but job satisfaction can be, as any member of FELIX staff Engineering will tell you. Or else. 'Engineering is an exciting, practical world which is concerned with making things happen.' While this is undoubtedly true, there is little question that the UK engineer does not share the same financial reward and prestige as his US and Japanese counterparts. As a result of this as many as a third of Imperial engineering graduates pursue careers in other disciplines—eg accountancy, retail management, etc. For those committed to engineering 'chartered status' is almost essential, and is possible through the relevant professional institution. Careers are available for research, design, development through to manufacture, although
Friday October 23rd 1987
Personnel Work Although many people enter directly into the world of personnel from a first degree or previous employment, full-time courses are also available, leading in this country to examinations for membership of the institute of Personnel Management. Membership is generally thought to be an advantage, but is not an absolute requirement for entry into the profession. Management trainees or those with previous work experience are also welcome, due to their wider grounding in the trials and tribulations of the big wide world out there. 11
McKinsey & Company, Inc McKinsey is the world's preeminent management consulting firm, advising major companies on their strategies, mergers and acquisitions, operations and organization. The Firm has 37 offices worldwide, employs over 1,200 consultants and is owned entirely by its partners.
We are looking for a few exceptional graduates to join our London Office next September, working on teams to solve client problems. We expect them to be with us for 2 years before going on to study for an M.B.A. at a leading business school. We encourage the best of them to rejoin us as consultants thereafter and provide them with financial support at business school.
We seek people with excellent academic records, in any discipline. You must also be able to demonstrate leadership and wide ranging interests.
To find out more, pick up a brochure from your Careers Office (from early November), or come to our presentation at Imperial:
Pippard Lecture Theatre, Sherfield Building Imperial College at 6p.m. on Wednesday, November 25,1987
We shall be interviewing in London during January. If you would like to be interviewed, please send a Standard Application Form and photograph by January 1,1988 to: Graduate Recruitment McKinsey & Company, Inc. 74 St. James's Street London SW1A 1 PS
a r e er s
Things to remember A cynic's view General employment prospects Since the low in 1981/82 employment prospects have been rising steadily. Imperial has one of the lowest full unemployment rates, which is getting still lower. Backed up by other measures, this indicates the country-wide recovery which is particularly evident here. There are now more jobs on offer, more visits from employers and more jobs available at Summer Fairs. Electronics and computer science are the areas which produce the highest demand. Recruitment levels in manufacturing have improved. Finance (banking, accountancy, insurance and commodities) and retailing employers are particularly keen to recruit science and engineering graduates. Of course, there will always be those who make no effort to look for work but they are making a big mistake. Around 300 electronics graduates were unemployed at the beginning of last year through falling into this trap. You must realise that you are the one doing the seeking, not your future employer. It would also be very foolish to only apply for one job, or to go for something that is obviously beyond your capabilities. The attainment of a pass degree after five years at college is not a sufficient qualification for R&D— but there is always someone who doesn't realise this. Taking a year off A year off, taken before university, is welcomed almost universally. Alternatively, many think seriously about having some time off between graduation and full-time employment. This can be rewarding and productive, but it must be noted that if you are over 24, you may be advised to seek careers advice, depending on your choice of profession. Otherwise, there are no problems, although it helps to have a clear idea of what you plan to do with the year and one which you can articulate—perhaps to a future employer. You should be able to talk about what your aims were, what you gained from the experience, etc. You should also think ahead. For example, it might be fun going jackarooing in
Australia for 12 months but you will hardly be well placed to apply for jobs back in the UK. For the same simple reasons 12 months off have often become 15 or more. Remember the vacancy lists in September are probably shorter than in another time of the; year. Nevertheless, given some thought and planning, some time off after graduation can be fun, productive and for many, a time of great personal development. Temporary work While the great majority of graduates want permanent work, each year there are those who, for a variety of reasons, seek temporary work. In thinking of the longer term career prospects, virtually all previous work experience is useful, even valuable. Here in London temporary work is not hard to find. I can cover many possibilities, from part-time work in MacDonalds to challenging administrative jobs. Job Centres can be a good source of such work and there are a number of specialist agencies. Catch 22 is one such firm (it's harder to get a job without experience and you can't get experience without a job). Although your work might be far removed from your ultimate ambition, it does give valuable insights into people and the nature of work. It can also be a useful way of funding that year off. Summer Fairs It has always been wrong to think of recruitment as being a January to March phenomenon associated with the Graduate Recruitment Programme, otherwise known as the 'milk-round'. In fact recruitment is increasingly becoming an all-the-year round event. Nevertheless outside the GRP the next busy peak is during the Summer Fairs. This is the time in June and July, starting immediately after finals, when there are about 10 Fairs throughout the country. Of these, London is by far the biggest. This year almost 200 employers attended during its three days with a wide variety of jobs on offer. Thus these events are particularly useful for those who have not wanted to think about jobs prior to graduation.
The 'Milkround', in a nutshell, is a system that companies use to recruit graduates every year. A company will contact the careers services at a university, and will arrange to visit the College on some day, for the 'first interviews'. In the meantime, recruitment personnel may have attended a 'careers fair' at the College, and distributed lots of applications forms along with expensive, glossy
companies can afford the resources to visit Colleges up and down the country. This means that students relying entirely on the Milkround are only going to apply to 'Large' companies in certain areas. To test this out, walk around Careers Fair (as I once did) and find out how many companies aren't involved in defence work. Compare that to the national average. You will find quite a difference. So, the students that rely only on the Milkround are restricting their choice. As long as they are reasonably forward looking, and realise that the Milkround is only a small proportion of what's on offer, then this isn't such a problem. What's the more recent second problem? This time, it's from the companies. Less and less are finding the Milkround worthwhile. Visiting dozens of universities and interviewing hundreds of students isn't cheap. To make it worthwhile, it must produce results. However, because it's so easy for the students, many are applying to companies they have very little interest in, just on the off-chance. Even if they are offered a second interview, they can always turn it down if something better comes along.
brochures, extolling the virtues of their company. They then sit back and wait for the floods of applications. They make a selection of these and interview at the College. They may also (like IBM) apply their own brand of 'aptitude test' at this stage. If they like you, you are invited for second a interview at the prospective place of employment. On that basis they make their choice. It's all very simple and convenient for all. The students, initially at least, don't even have to leave College. The employers, in theory, come to College and get the pick of the best graduates. So, what's the matter? There are two problems with the Milkround; one old, and one new. The old problem is that only some
Friday October 23rd 1987
Companies are finding other ways to recruit. Advertising directly to students may be more cost effective. They may get less replies if the student has to do more work, but the replies they get will be the most highly motivated. One way the graduate employment market may change soon is that the employment agencies, very common amongst the 'real' job market, may move into graduate recruitment. A company might 'contract out' it's graduate recruitment to an agency, which will do all the preliminary advertising, interviewing, testing and so on. You would apply to one agency, and may well be offered a job in any of the companies which use that agency. What will this mean for the student? Probably not very much. The people that seem to get the best jobs are those that have gone out and looked themselves. 13
a r e e r s to reading. These can be viewed in the Careers Video Room, key from Sherfield Room 309. Although all these sources will tell you something of the companies, they are produced and written by the employers themselves and therefore are unlikely to paint the companies in anything other than glowing terms. The same thing can be said of the recent graduates brought along to Company presentations. A company is unlikely to bring along people who think it's a foul company in which to work! So how can you find out which company is It might work but, if you have for you? Firstly you must know spent any time at all choosing what what you want from an employer; occupation you wish to follow, it What sort of environment would enjoy? What promotion seems a pity to mess up your future you prospects or training would suit you happiness by failing to carry out best? Do you want a very open, adequate research on your friendly style of management or prospective employer. There are would you prefer a more five Directories of Employers of conservative formal firm? The graduates. 'Register of Graduate Careers Fair is a good place to start. Employment and Training' (ROGET); 'Graduate Employment You might ask them why they think you should work for them rather and Training' (GET); 'Graduate than for X and Co although don't Opportunities' (GO); 'Directory of sound too arrogant when doing so! Opportunities' (DOG) and Another valuable way of finding out 'Directory of Opportunities in New about different employers is at the Technology' (DONT). These are a Students' Association and good source for your preliminary Old Careers evening.
AN IN-DEPTH STUDY OF WHAT TO LOOK FOR IN YOUR PROSPECTIVE EMPLOYER "How do I choose which employer to apply to? They all seem much the same to me. I'll apply to the seven largest, most famous employers with the most
vacancies and that will probably do."
list of possible employers. Besides outlining the vacancies that they may have, they tell you about the company's size, its location, its pattern of employment and even a little of its philosophy. Many employers produce special Graduate brochures which provide profiles of recent graduate entrants of the 'Day in the life of...' variety. There are many videos for those who prefer watching and listening
JOBS FOR THE BOYS (& GIRLS) There are many job opportunities for graduates who do not want to continue in their chosen discipline. These jobs are open to people who are not only academically sound but who also possess special personal qualities. If you are in your final year you must begin to think about life after University. You must begin to ask yourself 'what do I want from a job or from life?' and 'what do I have to offer a company?' There are endless careers pamphlets in the College Careers Library on Level 3 of the Sherfield Building, which offer all sorts of information and advice. We hope to give you a rough guide to which direction you should be taking.
You—what do you want? • Do you want to feel involved, stretched, excited, useful? • How important is pay, Once you have narrowed the field geographical location, security? of employers you can save everyone • In what way do you want to deal an awful lot of time by checking with people—do you want to whether the companies actually advise, teach, organise or entertain have vacancies in the areas for them? which you are applying. Every • Do you want a job overseas? year, a well known computing • Do you have foriegn languages? company is inundated with Do you want to use them? applications for computer • Do you want a routine 9—5 job? programming jobs. They do have Would you object to shift hours? between 400 and 500 vacancies but • Do you want further not for computer programmers. qualifications? If the company is visiting the • Do you want to do something campus during the Graduate 'socially useful'? Recruitment programme then you can obtain the application forms You—what can you offer? from the Careers library. Otherwise • Are you a leader? you will have to apply directly to • Can you work in a team? the company. • Are you a good organiser? Aridfinally,think about 'fall back • Are you creative? positions'. Please consider the • Are you committed to solving all wisdom of only applying to the big, problems? glamourous, well-known • Can you work to a deadline? companies. Every year on the • Are you a sympathetic listener? Imperial Graduate Recruitment • Are you confident in public? Programme, perfectly respectable • Can you express yourself clearly? companies have to cancel their visits through lack of applications. Think By answering all these questions what it would do to your chances you may begin to see which jobs of success if you applied to such a you are suited to and which you'd company. have no hope of doing.
Friday October 23rd 1987
GETTING THROUGH THE INTERVIEWS After you have overcome the first obstacle to getting the j o b preselection—there is the daunting prospect of the first interview. Most of you will have already undergone at least one formal interview when you were applying to universities in your sixth form. The first interview will be similar to this because the company will be interested in finding out about you and whether you are right for them
• Presentations—Many large companies who go 'on the Milk Round' will give presentations to the candidates at their own universities. This will give you an opportunity to discover more about that company and ask any questions you may have. You will be able to study the sort of graduate they already employ and gain a feel for their sort of management. Most presentations are in the early evening and include food and drink. They are well worth attending as they will be brief and by meeting your interviewer in a relaxed atmosphere before your interview will make it much more easy to talk when you meet him/her in a more formal atmosphere. • First interview—the interviewer will base thefirstinterview on your application form and/or curriculum vitae. He/she will want to know why you are doing a degree in science/engineering; why you selected certain subjects to specialise in in your final year; what sort of degree you are expecting to get; and what experience you have. Some of the questions will be probing such as why did you stand for departmental representative? What did you have to do as Vice President of your favourite club? Other questions will be open-ended and very difficult to answer. Be prepared to answer questions about your previous employment and to comment on how management could have improved the organisation: show the interviewer that you have your own ideas. It is almost certain that the interviewer will ask why you have applied for their job so it's well worth preparing an answer. Don't reel off an answer though—at least make it sound like it's off the cuff. They may also assume that you know their company inside out— always do your homework on the company thoroughly before the interview.
Interviewers are looking for your particular strengths and weaknesses. They are testing your ability to communicate. They want to see that you are genuinely enthusiastic about their company and the job they are offering. The
interviews will take place at the company's headquarters. Second interviews are worth going to as larger companies will put you up in a five-star hotel and pay all expenses you may incur. You will have the opportunity to eat and drink as much as you like and try out that Jacuzzi in your hotel room!
Second interviews are vastly different from all other interviews you may have attended. You will meet new people, new environments and come up against other enthusiastic, motivated candidates who are after the same job. You may be put through several interviews, intelligence tests, group exercises and talking to a wide range of recent recruits and potential managers. • Group exercises—these are specifically designed to observe how you get on with people and your ability to work as a team. A leader may be appointed and a chosen topic debated while assessors observe how you perform. They are looking for effective contributors who can sway the discussion. This may also be done through role-playing where each person is given a position of responsibility with a role to play. In these situations the case study is unlikely to have any 'right' outcome as the assesors are looking at the first interview will probably be held way you operate and how in a departmental room if it is on effectively you are thinking. behalf of a 'milk round company'. •Written tests—there are several It will last about 30 minutes which sorts of written test. Some test your gives just enough time for the intelligence while others try to test interviewer to gauge if you are your personality! You may have to worth asking back for a second, undergo verbal reasoning tests, much longer, interview. Always numerical tests or even motivation appear interested (even though you tests. It may come as a relief to may be bored out of your mind by know that you cannot fail a the questions the interviewer is personality test. These tests, asking) and remember that he/she however, are designed to tell you will usually have made up his/her and the employer if you are mind after thefirst5 minutes of the manager or dustman material. It's interview—good interviewers spend always possible to cheat in such the next 25 checking out their first tests but you may end up with a job impression. which is totally unsuited to you. • Second interview—most second
Friday October 23rd 1987
YOU MIGHT M A K E MENSA. BUT WOULD YOU EVER GET INTO ERNST &WHINNEY? The Stationmaster's Watch. T o while away a few minutes in between trains, the stationmaster at Abergavenny sets himself a little problem. With two straight lines, can he divide the face of his pocket watch so that the sums of the numbers in each part are equal? He has until the arrival of the 10.18 from Llandrindod Wells to work out the answer.
Which Twin is the Liar? Owing to an obscure physiological trauma at birth, one of these twins has always told the truth, the 'other has always lied. You are asked to discover for certain which is which by asking either of them one question. What is the question?
The Wolf, the Goat and the Cabbage. O n the banks of Loch Linnhe, the local boatman is faced with a wee quandary. He has undertaken the transport ofa wo If a neighbour's goat and a prize-winning cabbage across to the opposite shore. A s all this might suggest, Ernst &. W h i n n e y are However, his vessel has only enough room to take either the wolf or the goat, or the cabbage as passenger. looking for graduate recruits w i t h a somewhat u n c o n ventional turn of m i n d . To complicate matters further, if he takes the cabbage, W h i c h is to be expected, really. W e are a somewhat the wolf will devour the goat on the spot. unconventional firm of accountants. And if he takes the wolf, the W e see our business role going far, far beyond the goat will set upon the cabbage job o f auditing accounts. with equal gusto. We like to increase our clients' profits, not simply Only when the boatman is pretot them up. sent are both goat and prize-winning S o we will expect y o u to have a brain o f unusual cabbage safe from their respective power and imagination. ^predators. T h e kind that can apply itself to seemingly imposHow should the boatman sible problems and come up with brilliantly obvious convey all three across the Loch solutions. unscathed? JST?^'Y o u think y o u like the sound of Ernst &. Whinney? W e think we might like the sound of you. C o n t a c t T i m C u r r y o n 01-928 2000. A s well as having the answers to all the puzzles here, he may well have the solution to your career.
Ernst &Whinney Accountants, Advisers, Consultants.
Becket House, 1 Lambeth Palace Road, London SE1 7EU. Tel: 01-928 2000.
^ Arm..
ACCOUNTANCY Retail & Management The Institute of Chartered Accountants requires you to train, under contract, with an authorised training office of chartered accountants. During training you gain practical experience and prepare for the professional exams. This contract requires the firm to provide experience, training and to arrange tuition. The firm will usually pay all your tuition fees for your first attempt at the exams and gives you study leave to prepare for them throughout the contract. FELIX
Success in retail management is immediately visible in the High Street. The astonishing growth of groups in various sectors of the retail market reflects the ambitions, organisational skills and good fortune of their senior management teams and the men and women who lead them. Habitat, founded by Terence Conran, drew its strength from his background and instincts in design; Kwikfit-Euro Exhausts grew rapidly under Tom Farmer and his hard Scottish leadership; Rymans was transformed by Jennifer D'Abo and is now part of the Athena group, headed by Terry Maher, whose personal background is accountancy. Equally striking have been the
reversals in ailing giants, notably the turnaround achieved at Woolworths by Geoff Mulcalvy and his team. Each of these successful companies and indeed every supermarket group, department store and independent retail chain relies on its managers and their skills for the continuing efficiency of current trading and future expansion. There are undoubtedly many opportunities for those with management and professional skills and who can demonstrate their willingness to use and develop their talents in the retail sector. Larger companies such as Sainsburys and Marks and Spencers have proven and respected internal management training schemes, many with
graduate-level entry. Other skills can be studied externally, leading to qualifications with professional organisations, such as the Institute of Personal Management, IPM, or the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants, CIMA. Experience, training or individual aptitude in the retail sector will ultimately lead to specialisation in such areas as distribution, sales, marketing, purchasing, market research, personnel, finance or administration. These aspects are similar to those encountered in all other business organisations. The pressures for performance and results do tend to be more intense and this is reflected in the rewards and bonuses for those who succeed.
The Pros & Cons of Accounting So how do you summarise the pros and cons of a career in accounting in such a short article? A good start would be to forget the pros, as they are dealt with in great detail in the reams of recruitment literature that you've no doubt been avidly studying (or should that be halfheartedly skimming?). The first problem to be faced is that the traditional starting time of September seems to fall at the start of the slackest period in the audit calendar, with the result that the new graduate may well spend a depressing proportion of his or her first few months doing the office photocopying, filing and other mundane tasks. Whatever the various firms' brochures and adverts may say, everyone I've spoken to has been through the same enthusiam-sapping phase (that should be consoling, but it isn't). Once you escape from the office things improve, but only slightly. For thefirstyear much of the work
Possibly the hardest thing to take is the amount of academic work that has to be done. Up to 15 hours studying a week may not sound too hard, but it can become difficult to maintain a reasonable social life, especially when increased commitments at work start cutting into evenings and occasionally weekends. At the end of all this one faces the prospect of sitting timepressured exams for which the passrates are ridiculously low. This may seem to be a rather jaundiced view of accountancy, but I would prefer to think of it as realistic—after all, most trainees think fairly seriously about leaving at some point in their first year. Some do go, either because they aren't motivated enough to get is repetitive and dull, but you learn through, or simply because they fast and responsibility should follow realise that they chose the wrong quickly together with more career, but most stay. You only interesting work. Variety can be a have to look at the opportunities great help, but unless you are lucky open to qualified chartered accountants to understand why. you may have to push for it.
Friday October 23rd 1987
C a r e e r s
* >>1V *^ ,a),-,V
HOW TO IMPRESS YOUR POTENTIAL EMPLOYER Application Forms If you really want the job you are applying for then you must impress your potential employer with your letter of application, application form and/or curriculum vitae. There are obvious do's and dont's such as legibility and appearance—try to type your application (although some application forms ask you expressly to fill them in in your own handwriting) and lay it out sensibly.
• Always read any information on the job you are applying for—find out about the company and the kind of people they employ. Larger companes will produce recruitment brochures which are ideal for this information. Most brochures can be obtained by telephoning the company or sending a stamped addressed envelope. The careers library on Level 3 of the Sherfield Building has a large number of these brochures which you can browse through at your leisure. • Read the form carefully before filling it in. It's a good idea to take a photocopy of it first and fill that in before completing thefinalcopy. (This may sound tedious but you'll always remember things you should have put in after you'vefilledup the space allowed!) The copy will come in useful before you go into the interview so that you don't contradict yourself. • You should answer all the questions the form asks even if some do not apply to you. It is better to write N/A (not applicable) than leave a blank. • When answering open questions such as 'why are you applying for this job?', try not to use cliches. Employers are looking for that someone who is slightly different; someone who can use their brain in an original way. Most employers will use such questions to sort the 'definites' from the 'maybes'. For the same reason, never look at a friend's application form to check what they're putting. Two forms with the same ideas stick out a mile. • Always include as much relevant information as you can. List all your 0- and A-levels as most employers still regard them as important. List all your vacation
experience—even if you only worked at the till in the Union Snack Bar; it still shows that you can use mental arithmetic. • The questions such as 'what are your leisure interests?' are designed to discover your practical skills, leadership abilities or if you like working as a team. When answering these questions, think of what attributes the job needs and gear your answers towards them. You should never give negative information about yourself—always
Friday October 23rd 1987
sell yourself. •As appearance is particularly important, don't include spelling mistakes or crossing-out. You should try to lay out your answers well in the area available—never put all the words crammed at the top of the white space. If you are not applying for a specific job then you may have to include your own application form. It is best to model this on one of the forms you can obtain from the College Careers Office. FELIX
C h r i s t o p h e r John J o n e s
5 6 H o l l a n d Park A v e n u e ,
London W 8 . HOME ADDRESS:
Curriculum Vitae Your curriculum vitae is one of the most important ways to make a good first impression. It is always asked for if a company does not have its own application form. It is useful for speculative applications and can be photocopied when you are making multiple applications. A CV should be concise and not more than two pages long. Employers who have hundreds of CVs to read through will never get past the second page. Again, as with application forms, the appearance is essential: Either use a typewriter, word processor or have it typeset. The last two methods have the added advantage that small changes can be made in order to stress different points. There should be five sections to your CV. • Personal details—this should include your name, address, date of birth, contact numbers and marital status. If you are a foreign student you must give details about working permits. • Education—This is best listed in chronological order although reverse chronology is a good way of emphasising your degree course. Mention the major subjects studied at degree level as well as your Oand A-level subjects but avoid boring lists packed with too much information. • Previous employment—you are not expected to have vast experience as an undergraduate but all previous jobs should be listed. You should try to include a little more information about the jobs you have had which have any relevance to the one you are applying for. • Leisure interests and achievements —this is your chance to sell your abilities. Employers don't want one-dimensional people FELIX
2 1 , Silverdale, W e s t C u c k h a m , B e r k s h i r e.
01-737 2888
9 t h February 1 9 6 6
B e r k s h i r e, U K
EDUCATION Cuckham High School, Cuckham, Berkshire.
1978-1983 1983
0 ' levels in M a t h e m a t i c s , P h y s i c s , C h e m i s t r y , F r e n c h ,
G e o g r a p h y , H i s t o r y , L a t i n a n d E n g l i s h Literature. 1984
G C E ' A O ' levels i n E n g l i s h a n d G e r m a n ,
Levimore College, Dalrimpte, Berkshire.
G C E ' A ' levels in P h y s i c s , C h e m i s t r y a n d M a t h e m a t i c s .
University of London-Imperial College.
B S c (Hons) degree in P h y s i c s s p e c i a l i s i n g in a t m o s p h e r i c s .
VACATION EMPLOYMENT Summer 1 9 8 6 E m p l o y e r : Imperial C o l l e g e Duties: Barman
OTHER SKILLS C l e a n driving l i c e n c e
INTERESTS M e d i a - h a v e w o r k e d o n t h e C o l l e g e n e w s p a p e r 3nd b r o a d c a s t regularly o n Imperial C o l l e g e Radio.
Squash-member of IC S q u a s h T e a m . Debating-Have led d e b a t e s o n s u c h t o p i c s a s ' T h i s h o u s e b e l i e v e s t h a t n o e m b r y o s h o u l d b e aborted'.
REFEREES Dr B D Andelton,
Mr J D Henryss,
Physics Department,
10 Dove Lane,
imperial C o l l e g e , University of L o n d o n .
who come across as boring academics. You should mention any Union clubs you are an active member of and any posts you have held eg Union President. Try to include anything which shows that you are capable of getting a job done or of taking initiatives. • References—employers' will often want to ask a third party about you. It is best to include the name of two referees at the bottom of your CV. Always ask your intended referees if they mind being asked to give a reference. One of your referees should be in a senior position such as your personal tutor or head of department, who has worked with you for the last few years.
B e r k s h i r e.
Application letters
FELIX CV SERVICE Most CV agencies charge £25
Always apply for a job by letter and use this letter to tell your prospective employer why you want the job and your relevant skills. If you are responding to an advertisement which details the person they are looking for, respond to every point and give relevant evidence. The letter should be brief, but informative, and should be kept down to one A4 page. Employers will use this letter to judge what sort of person you are and how well you express yourself on paper.
Friday October 23rd 1987
upwards to prepare and typeset your curriculum vitae. FELIX offer a special CV service to any member of Imperial College Union. For around £5 we can take your handwritten CV and turn it into a typeset version to make your CV stand out from the rest. If you'd like a quality curriculum vitae just pop into the FELIX Office any Friday morning and ask for Judith.
a r e e r s EMPLOYING YOURSELF
DBSS—how a group of Imperial students decided to go it alone Spot a need, and fill it: this is the essence of starting up your own business. The launch of the DBSS Liquid Handling System illustrates this option as carried out by three studentsPatrick ShawStewart of IC, James Duguid from Loughborough University, and Peter Baldock, also at I C .
The idea for the business originated when models of a motorised syringe device developed by Shaw-Stewart for his M.Phil, project in biotechnology were requested by researchers at Imperial and Sheffield University. Shaw-Stewart
the DBSS Syringe Drive Unit, Peristaltic Drive Unit, and Motorised Valve Unit—controlled by a computer running the software, sTALK, which is provided as part of the package. The hardware can be linked to almost any computer;
decided to set up a business and picked as partners an ergonomist, Duguid, and an electronics expert, Baldock—who is still working on his Ph.D. at Imperial. They decided to form a partnership rather than a limited company in order to avoid large amounts of red tape and the corresponding waste of time and money. As long as they were VAT registered, they believe, their credibility will not be improved by their having 'Limited' status.
the software should run on any IBM-compatible microcomputer. Up to sixty-four devices can be run from a single PC, and continuous flow applications can be handled with varying degrees of accuracy depending on which of the devices are used. The whole system has been highly praised by Dr Dennis Meader at Imperial: 'This system outperforms systems from the mainline manufacturers costing many times as much,' he says, and adds that the multi-syringe configuration allows a greater Starting on a small scale, each experimental flexibility than partner contributed an initial £1000. possible by any other means. A The aim was to limit the need for recipe for success, they hope. external funding, so that the fledgling company could grow in its Scheme, which also provided a useful source of advice and own time. Duguid and Baldock information through the went on the Enterprise Allowance Friday October 23rd 1987
Government's Small Firm Advisory Service. Shaw-Stewart had a job and devoted his time after work to the business. The product they are making is a system designed to increase accuracy, eliminate errors and save researchers' time in chemical experiments. Half the sales so far have been to large industrial companies, the other half to universities. The partners prefer a low key style, depending for sales on direct approaches to the customers or on interest generated by reports in the laboratory press. The lack of extensive advertising or 'marketing hype' means that the product can be sold for a quarter to a third of the price of equivalent competing products. As for technical details: the system comprises three devices—
SELF EMPLOYMENT Most graduates at present seem to want, and eventually enter, regularly paid employment. But in the future it is quite possible that ever more graduates will adopt alternative occupations rather than conventional forms of employment. This is largely due to technology changes which are beginning to change the pattern and organisation of work. So you may start thinking of 'alternative' work-styles either because you can't find a job, or simply because another pattern of working and living appears more satisfying. The main alternative to paid employment is self-employment, either as an entrepreneur running your own business or perhaps as a member of a cooperative group. An unemployed graduate mayfindthat some types of self-employment require too much capital, experience or expertise to be feasible, but there are other types which require only imagination to think up a viable idea, and time and effort to put it into practice. Sources of information, advice and available assistance are listed in the Association of Graduate Careers Advisory Services booklet 'Self Employment and Alternative Work Styles'. FELIX
Choosing a By the end of January 1987 "Holographies International" (Hi) career is never was an idea. By the end of March it had a name and a post office box, easy, but for notepaper and business cards. the name was actually more Sunny Bains it Getting difficult than it sounds. Sunny had prove to Companies House in was easier than toCardiff that the magazine would be truly international before they for most. would give her permission to use Instead of the name, due to some 1825 law. Fortunately, with most of her wandering readers expected to be in the United States, this was not a problem. In around Careers May, letters were sent out to prospective advertisers. In June Fair looking for letters were sent to the United States where Sunny was going to promote a job that the magazine. The holographic community seemed enthusiastic and seemed suitable by August Hi had acquired a reasonable amount of material. in the right part Paris and Cambridge provided a of the country few more contacts and by October 1st, just about all the copy was in. with a decent Pasting up was done in five days flat and on October 19th the magazine company, Sunny was launched with smoked salmon decided she and champagne. Though it may sound wanted to be straightforward, there were a lot of difficult decisions to be made about different. So, in the price, the run and the quality of the product Sunny and her deputy the middle of editor were about to produce. They had to choose a run which was big her second year, enough to interest advertisers but small enough for them to be able to she decided send them out. They needed a price that would cover costs while not what her real being too expensive even for ambition was: to students to buy and, most of all, they needed to find a printer who combine her would give them a good enough deal for them to afford colour, once enthusiasm for they had decided that it was necessary. Advertising rates had to journalism with be considered: were they too high or too low? What incentives should her love for they give to advertisers? Was it a idea to send the magazines out holography. good free? Who should they send it to? FELIX
Who did the advertisers want them to send it to? How heavy could the magazine be for the postage to be affordable? On the subject of money, Sunny said simply, "I'm not getting paid at the moment and not really able to temp enough to make ends meet.
is any other student newspaper with the facilities FELIX has. Without FELIX I would never have gotten the experience to make Hi happen. "Not only that, but FELIX staff will be playing an important role in her publication in the future, some of them will be staff writers for Hi, and, once Hi can afford it, they may even get paid. And Sunny is not the only one who owes her career to experience gained at FELIX. There are many ex-writers and editors of FELIX who now have jobs in science journalism. Pallab Ghosh, editor in the academic year beginning 1983 will be working for New Scientist as of next month. David Rowe (1984) and Steve Marshall (1980) are now doing freelance subediting and writing. Mike J L Williams (1974) and Richard Weissenberg (staff, 1984) are in Advertising and PR. Mark Smith (1982) is now writing for publishing company Morgan Grampian. Since 1985, however, there has been an explosion of FELIX staff who have successfully entered journalism. Of Hugh Southey's (1985) staff, 7 are now working for publishing companies as writers and editors, although Hugh Southey is not now in "available from journalism. He is becoming a the IC Bookshop!" lawyer. The success of Imperial College in turning out that supposedly rare breed, scientists who can write, can largely be put Obviously, this will change should down to the fact that at FELIX enough people buy the magazine." students have a sabbatical editor The whole thing might never who can help them to improve their have happened had Sunny not been skills, as well as access to at Imperial as opposed to almost any professional standard equipment. other college. Sunny explained Whether Sunny's venture will "It's not just a question of Imperial actually succeed or not is impossible having good research projects in to tell, although initial signs are holography, although that is why I good. If it does, she will have built came to IC in the first place. In most an interesting and challenging colleges the student newspaper is career from almost nothing. Even run by students in the art faculties, if it doesn't she will have fulfilled and they have a tendency to pull on of her ambitions: to be an editor rank over science and engineering and publisher before turning 20. students, and I do not believe there
Friday October 23rd 1987
w e d
s There's one thing a spell at University always guarantees. Plenty of'milkround' visits from company executives. Each and every one of them has well-paid jobs to offer. But before signing on the dotted line, think very carefully. W i l l the promises turn out to be empty? W i l l the job suit your particular abilities and skills? These are not the sort of questions you can answer in 3 minutes. So why not take 3 years to decide your future - as an Army Officer? O n completion of your training at Sandhurst you will be commissioned as a Lieutenant earning ,ÂŁ11,074. Naturally you will learn how to command and care for a group of bright young soldiers and to handle our sophisticated weapons and equipment. A n d if you are posted abroad at short
notice to lead soldiers in unfamiliar surroundings you'd have to cope. No wonder many leading industrialists regard an A r m y Commission as the best management training a young man or woman can have. Whether you make the Army your long-term career or leave earlier is up to you. Either way it promises not to sour your future. Quite the opposite in fact. A n d you'll gain unrivalled executive training at our expense. So if you need a little more time to decide, see your Careers Staff and pick up an Introduction Form. Through this we will arrange for a Liaison Officer to see you at your University, Polytechnic, or College of Higher Education.
Army Officer
AND DUTY FREE FAGS! For many graduates, and undergraduates, considering their future career, the prospect of life in the armed services is not one which instantly springs to mind. However, the armed forces continue to admit a greater and greater proportion of graduate officers, and the opportunities which the services offer make them an attractive option in the hunt for a job. First, however, it is best to point out that all three branches have common features which the wouldbe applicant must be aware of. Most obvious, is the realisation that they are primarily 'fighting services'. Medical and physical fitness are most important, moving hand in hand with a fundamental commitment to the aims of the Services, the Crown as Head of the Armed Forces, defence of British territory, the support of NATO, and the implementation of Government policy. Clearly, those with set political ideas which they put above all else need not apply. Membership of the armed forces also carries with it an automatic acceptance of Service Law and discipline. Once you take on this sort of responsibility you will take on not just a job, but a whole way of life. It makes great demands on the individual, but the rewards can be enormous. Officers are managers of men. Leadership ability is not inherent in all. However, if it is not immediately apparent that you are the sort of person to lead, this should not discourage you. If you have the capability, it will be brought out in training. There is a social and communal life centred around the Officers' Mess which manyfindattractive, as well as almost unlimited sport and leisure pursuits. Frequently changing working environments, undeniable comradeship, and a sense of belonging are all valuable considerations in looking at a career in the forces. The lack of a settled family life FELIX
is a problem which may not be considered at first, but is bound to cause great strain in later life. This may not affect the new graduate, but the sudden immersion in a highly disciplined setting, and the harsh regime of basic training, are all barriers he or she must overcome.
you feel about the job. Promotion up to Lieutenant-Commander is automatic, and 65% of Officers progress past this stage. The Royal Navy offers the greatest prospect of travel in any of the armed services. It is more a way of life than any other, and can give the greatest returns.
The Royal Navy Eighty-seven per cent of this country's imports and exports are moved by sea. The role of the Royal Navy is of vital importance in maintaining this life blood. The sea is the major difference between the navy and the other services. Life at sea is radically different from any other way of life. For long periods, you are living and working in what is essentially an alien environment. In no other career are you forced to know your employees as well, have such a huge range of professional knowledge, or take on so much responsibility for your fellow man at such an early age. With as many as a thousand servicemen on a single ship, the need for this is clear.
The Royal Air Force Flying, and aircraft is what the Royal Air Force is concerned with. Whatever the chosen branch within the profession, a strong interest in aviation is essential. Aircrew pilots and navigators are in great demand and hold a crucial position. Team work is still at the fore though, an RAF station with two squadrons of aircraft can be staffed by more than 1000 personnel. With the rapidly changing state of aviation technology, the RAF is strongly in the graduate market, and graduate entry is on the increase.
women. Women graduates are also needed in the education and engineering areas. The sheer cost of training calls for the highest standards of achievement. Total interdependence is the hallmark of operating aircraft. Consequently there is, once again, a high communal spirit within the RAF. The standard of training received places you in a good position not only within the service, but upon leaving as well. The Army The major problem facing the graduate about to apply for a commission in the army is the vast multiplicity of corps and regiments in which one can work. The army is subdivided into these 'family' units, and fierce pride is actively encouraged within each of these units. An applicant does not apply
to the army in general, but must get 'sponsorship' or 'cap badging' from Application can be made initially a regiment, and is given through the University Air familiarisation with that regiment Squadron. There are sixteen of before his or her RCB (Regular these, with a total of 689 Commissions Board), the army undergraduate flying students, interview. although as in all aspects of RAF If you are successful at your entry, competition is fierce. For the graduate entrant to the RCB, you will go on to a twentyThose accepted for entry into eight week graduate course at Royal Navy, training starts at officer training, having been Sandhurst. Once again, great Britannia Royal Naval College in Dartmouth, Devon. After an initial successful at the aircrew selection physical demands are made during six week new entry period, during centre in Biggin Hill, go on to the training, aiming to produce both which sheer fatigue rather than Initial Training Course for officers physical and intellectual at the Royal Air Force College, competence under stress. mental pressure is at the fore, you will be taught all aspects of Cranwell in Lincolnshire, for The army officer's traditional aim seamanship, engineering, eighteen weeks. It is a short and is to rise to command of his navigation, and the basics that all highly intensive course, regiment by the age of about forty. naval officers must know. At the incorporating general and character This type of staff work can occur end of the first thirteen weeks, all training to enable the new recruits after about four or five years of entrants, except pilots, go on to to fill posts successfully after their service, and the army officer's spend nine weeks in the Dartmouth specialist training. career then alternates between staff training ship, learning how ratings At this point, the various work and tours of active duty within live, and reinforcing the lessons of branches split up to pursue their the regiment. This lends great past weeks. Graduates go on to a own specialisations. There are variety to a career in the army. Fleet Board, after which they are opportunities for fighter controllers, Once again, an army officer is streamed off into their engineers, supply officers, on top required to develop an 'esprit de specialisations. of aircrew. As with all services, the corps', be gregarious, and have the There are opportunities for graduate assumes his professional capability of making decisions in engineers in the weapon's and management roles at an early quickly changing situations. engineering and marine engineering stage in his career, and the Foreign travel is almost guaranteed, branch, any graduate can join the associated responsibility for but you should expect to be sent to executive branch as a Seaman millions of pounds worth of serve in Northern Ireland and be Officer, and in administration as a equipment. Promotion is rapid, prepared for this. Supply Officer. Many graduates go with squadron leader rank being It is the characteristic of caring into the Instructor Officer attained by about the age of thirty, for others reinforced by the family specialisation, the 'schoolies' as and further advancement probable. atmosphere of the regiment which they are known. The opportunities for women in is at the core of things. This sense Commissions can commit you to three years service or up to twentytwo years depending on how certain
the RAF abound. Half the air traffic control, secretarial and fighter control posts are occupied by
Friday October 23rd 1987
of belonging serves to counter balance a way of life full of travel and family moves. 23
H Y o u r student days are nearly o v e r and y o u ' r e l o o k i n g f o r t h e next step. H e w l e t t - P a c k a r d may have t h e answer. C o m e and find o u t w h a t m a k e s o n e o f t h e w o r l d ' s leading high t e c h c o m p a n i e s stand o u t f r o m t h e rest.
See us at the Roadshow on 16 November 1987 at 6 pm in the Ante Room, Sherfield Building. In t h e m e a n t i m e , p i c k u p o u r b r o c h u r e a n d a n a p p l i c a t i o n f o r m f r o m y ou r careers office. Alternatively, write t o Lynda Jones, H e w l e t t - P a c k a r d Limited, Miller H o u s e , T h e Ring, Bracknell, Berks R G 1 2
H e w l e t t - P a c k a r d is an e q u a l o p p o r t u n i t y e m p l o y e r .
The Hewlett Packard way
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C a r e e r s
A POSTGRADUATE COURSE (BUT ONLY IF YOU'RE SURE) You're finishing your first degree. You've enjoyed your chosen subject, done fairly well in all your exams and you're on for a reasonably good degree. Your first few years at University have been intellectually stimulating and enjoyable, so you'd like to spend some more time at college. You certainly don't feel ready to start a job quite yet, so you think about doing a postgraduate course. Why not, you think?
Well, one very good reason for not doing a postgraduate degree is that you can't think of anything better. Once the PG money has run out, you are going to be in exactly the same situtation again, but, (if you're lucky) with an extra qualification of dubious value, or without one (if you're not). In this case, to have tried and failed is worse than to have never have tried at all.
qualification for your chosen career. You may feel it will be easier to get a job with the extra letters after your name. You may want to change to another field (eg Information Technology). Beware, however, as admissions tutors can be prone to exaggerate how vocational their courses are. Be sure to ask what their previous scholars are now doing; whether they have jobs and in which areas. You could,
One even worse reason for doing a PhD is falling prey to flattery. You may feel that you're immune, but come July and the degree results are out, and famous professors ask if you would like to do a degree with them; it is all too easy to become overwhelmed by pride. Professors have reasons of their own for wanting PhD students, some of which are not at all attractive. If you have enjoyed yourself as an undergraduate, consider whether the things you have enjoyed will continue as a PG. Postgraduate life is many miles away from that of undergraduates; most of the suprises are pleasant, but be ready for some shocks. Think, for example, whether you could live for another three years on the money you get at the moment (a PG grant is no more per week than an undergradute gets), especially when it comes to accommodation; how much has accommodation risen in the last three years, and what nasty shocks have HM Government got in store? You can say bye bye now to housing benefit.
information about postgraduate life. Obviously what is written is biased towards life at IC, but much of it applies to other places as well. It is due to be published before Christmas, but for those in a hurry there are plenty of copies of last year's edition available (free!) in the IC Union office. Last year's edition contains information on courses, choosing a supervisor, money as a PG, and personal views of PG life from all sides of the fence. It also contains useful information on life as a woman PG, and life as an overseas PG at Imperial. Secondly, you must get about and ask current PG's, preferably in your chosenfield,about PG life. Sit them down, buy them a burger or a few drinks. You will learn more like this than by reading a hundred books. OK, so you have your heart set on a PG course. What courses are available? The Careers Office in Sherfield keeps a reference copy of 'Graduate Studies', which lists all the PhD, Masters and many of the Diploma courses available in the UK. They also have information on studying abroad. Ask around in your department. Consider whether you want to stay here, or move away.
Before you get the idea that I am dead set against PG's, there are some positive reasons why you should continue.
of course, ask the employers in your chosen field (Careers Fair is a good time for this), or talk to a careers advisor. The important thing when deciding about postgraduate study is to have positive reasons for staying at university. Enjoying the atmosphere is not enough, and is unlikely to provide enough motivation to get you through the course. Not only is this a waste of your time, but it stops someone who is interested in taking your place.
The timetable: you can leave it really late (June even), but don't be surprised if you ending up taking an enforced year out! To be safe, start making enquiries now. For most PhD's and Masters, the prudent apply around Christmas, but for many vocational courses like teaching, you will need to apply now. The main deadlines are those to do with applying for grants: see the Careers service and PG Handbook for more details.
Perhaps you have some special interest gained as an undergraduate, and you want to continue in this field. Many a Masters course caters for this need (eg Astrophysics). The most obvious choice is vocational; you actually need the
If you are thinking about a PG course, then there are two things that will really help you. The first is to get hold of a copy of the 'Postgraduate Handbook'. This is a booklet produced by postgraduates at IC that gives advice and
One last bit of advice; being a PG can be great, and if you think you may be even remotely interested, apply. If you get an offer of a place, you can always turn it down, and it may well save you waiting a year because you dithered for too long.
Friday October 23rd 1987
CAREERS FAIR The Imperial College Careers Fair, taking place on Tuesday 27th October and Wednesday 28th October, is one of the largest events o f its kind in the U K . It is an opportunity to meet the representatives o f 100 companies in the informal setting o f the Great H a l l and J C R . There are accountancy firms, pharmaceutical producers, small business advisory services, government departments, mining engineers, software h o u s e s . . . a l l degree courses are represented. T o offer students the most variety 50 different organisations are participating each day. It is therefore definitely worthwhile coming on both the Tuesday and Wednesday. The Fair offers final year students the ability to begin the 'milk-round' by collecting all their literature from one convenient location. Many o f the organisations offer vacation workexperience and so first and second year students are also invited to attend. A l s o providing advice and information w i l l be the Careers A d v i s o r y Service.
Neville Nelkon
Wednesday 28th October Great Hall
Lutron Electronics
Stand No
Allied Steel & Wire
Steel making & processing FJKNPQ
Arthur Anderson
Management consultants A l l departments
Domestic & international banking A l l departments
Northern Telecom
Perkin Elmer
Building Research Establishment
Research i n building construction and the prevention and control o f fire , FGIJKLMOPQW
Aeronautical Engineering A p p l i e d Biology Biochemistry Biology Biotechnology Chemical Engineering Chemistry Chemistry & Biochemistry C i v i l Engineering Computer Science Electrical & Electronic Engineering Environmental Technology Geology Management Science Mathematics Mechanical Engineering Metallurgy & Materials Microbiology M i n e r a l Process Engineering M i n i n g Engineering M i n i n g Geology Petroleum Engineering Physics Plant Science Social & Economic Studies Software Engineering Zoologv
Data General
Computer m a n u f a c t u r e software development, sales, marketing, service and support JOWZ
Communications research and development JKOWZ
Grant Thornton
Chartered accountants A l l departments
Hays Allan
Information systems A l l departments
Johnson Matthey
Specialists in precious metals and advanced materials FGJKPQW
K L A Instruments
Air Products
Production o f high-speed image processing systems for producing micro-circuits JKOWZ
Arthur Young
Chartered accountants A l l departments
Telecommunications research and development JK
Telecommunications, electronic systems, defence electronics and semiconductor technology AJKNOPQW
Industrial and medical gases, medical equipment and vacuum technology BCDEFGHJKNPWYZ
British Gas
Supply o f gas FGJKLMNQOPTVWY
British Nuclear Fuels 50
Nuclear steam-raising plant for navy submarines FGJKOPQWZ
Production and reprocessing o f nuclear fuel JGIKLMNOPQWY
Civil Service—Science Divisionl4
Royal Electrical & Mechanical Engineers 36
Chartered accountants A l l departments
Industrial gases and plant manufacture A l l departments
Electronic components, consumer electronics, electronics business and professional systems GJKOPWZ
Rolls Royce
Research in nuclear power and safety. O i l recovery and reservoir studies GJPW
Junior Common Room Tuesday 27th October 1987
Manufacturer o f advanced analytical instrumentation for medical, industrial and academic fields
Philips Electronics
Tioxide Manufacture o f titanium dioxide and allied products FGJKOPW
Telecommunications/data systems manufacture JKNWYZ
Engineering design and construction services to the process plant industries FJKPV
Research in radar, avionics, communications, I T , robotics and electronic materials, components and devices GJKOPQWZ
Pension administration and actuarial A l l departments esp. O
O i l and gas production A l l departments A B C D E F G H I J K
Marconi Research
Noble Lowndes
Barclays Bank
Design and manufacture o f lighting controls and systems. A l l positions in the U S A KPW
A l l departments
Responsible for advanced military hardware AFIKPQTW
O i l exploration and production A l l departments esp. numerate
Management consultants A l l departments
Computing services A l l departments
Ernst & Whinney
Teaching as a Career Unit
Tax Inspectorate
Administering direct taxes and determining personal and business liabilities A l l departments
Manufacture o f taper roller bearings
Friday October 23rd 1987
Deloitte Haskins & Sells
Chartered accountants A l l departments
Chemical manufacture A l l departments
PA Consulting Group
Management and technology consultant A l l departments FELIX
a r e e r Pilkington Glass manufacture A l l departments
Procter & Gamble 11 Development o f soap, detergent, healthcare and food products BCDFGHLQR* Rowntree International food group A l l departments esp. F J K P Z
Royal Air Force National defence A l l departments
Royal Navy, Royal Marines & WRNS 8 Maritime defence A l l departments Schlumberger Electronics Electronic equipment DGJKOPWZ
O i l , gas and chemical industry A l l departments Spicer & Pegler Chartered accountants A l l departments
STC 12 Communications and information systems A l l departments esp J K O P W Z Systems Designers 17 International software consultancy AJKOWZ Tuesday 27th October 1987 Great Hall British Coal A l l departments British Steel A l l departments
Cadbury Schweppes 24 Research, development and manufacture o f a wide range o f products A l l departments Cargill UK 41 Commodity trading and processing A l l departments Chartered Accountant Student Introduction Service 44 A l l departments CEGB Electrically generation and transmission A l l departments Civil Service-Technology Div Engineering and surveying AFIJKPQWZ Coopers & Lybrand Chartered accountants and management consultants A l l departments FELIX
Courtaulds 32 Manufacture o f fibres, chemicals, paints and packaging A l l departments 35
Dow Chemical Co FGHIJ
Esso 49 O i l and chemical production and manufacture A l l departments, esp F G J K P Q V Z Avionics 25 GEC Design, development and manufacture of .aircraft electronic systems and allied technology JKNOWY Gencor 27 M i n i n g o f g61d, platinum and coal FGKMPQSTU Hewlett Packard Computer and electronic instrumentation JKO HM Govt Communications Centre Design and development o f electronic and communication equipment KW
National Physical Lab 46 N P L is the U K national standards laboratory, also undertaking research i n physics, engineering materials and information technology GJKOPWZ Peat Marwick McLintock Chartered accountants and management consultants A l l departments
Penny & Giles Blackwood 48 Marketing, design and manufacture of precision electro/mechanical instrumentation AKPW Pilkington Electro-Optical Division 23 Design, development and manufacture o f electro-optical systems for defence, communication and medical fields AJKOPQWZ Price Waterhouse Chartered Accountants A l l departments
R Watson & Sons Consulting actuaries FGIJKOPW Schlumberger Cambridge Research O i l research AFGIKOPQSTUVW
Sun Alliance 38 General insurance, business development, accounting, investment analysis, actuarial work and systems analysis A l l departments esp. J O Touche Ross Chartered accountants A l l departments
Unilever Manufacture consumer goods, including detergents, food and toiletry products A l l departments
British Petroleum 12 O i l and natural energy resources group FGUKMNOPQSTUVWZ British Telecom 14 Provision o f national and international telecommunications service A l l departments Electricity Council Research Centre Research in support o f A r e a Electricity Boards FGKOPQW
Lloyds Bank Banking and financial services A l l departments
Foster Wheeler Energy Process plant engineering contractors FUKP
GEC Research Research and development AIKOPQ
Logica 5 Custom-built systems, software products and systems kernels and consultancy and project management UKOPZ Marconi Defence Systems 8 Design, development and manufacture o f advanced systems for electronic warning and counter measures, radar missile guidance and sattelite communications JKOWZ Metropolitan Police A l l departments
M - 0 Valve Co Manufacture o f electronic components and devices FGKPQW
Mobil Oil Exploration, refining and marketing o f o i l FGIJKMNOPQSTUVWZ
Wednesday 28th October 1987 Junior Common Room
Mars 28 Manufacture o f food products. A l s o electronics, drink systems, computer services and market research A l l departments MOD Science Group Research development and implementation o f new defence technology ACFGUKOPQVWZ
Royal Engineers 34 A l l aspects o f practical engineering in wartime and peacetime scenario IJKMOPQTUW
National Audit Office 17 External auditors to central government, quasi-bodies and some international organisations A l l departments Ove Arup 21 Consulting engineers and architects IKP Price Waterhouse Management consultants A l l departments
Reckitt & Oilman 15 Manufacture food, wire, toiletries, pharmaceuticals, industrial pigments and artists materials A l l departments Ricardo 16 Consulting engineers to the engine manufacturing industry—wide covering engine research, design and development AJKPZ
Glaxo Group Research 20 Research, development, manufacture and marketing o f ethical pharmaceutical products BCDEFGHJR
Small Firms Service 18 Gives advice and information to people starting and running a small business A l l departments
Eurotherm 3 Design, manufacture and marketing o f electronic and related products for industry JKP
United Biscuits 8 Manufacture o f confectionary and frozen foods. Restauranteurs especially fast food and destination sectors A l l departments
Jones Long Wootton Chartered Surveyors A l l departments Kodak
Photographic materials manufacturer A l l departments Friday October 23rd 1987
Correct. The answer is Touche Ross. As one of the fastest growing of The Big Eight' firms with 23 offices covering the UK and over 450 offices in 90 countries world-wide, our advice is sought for a very wide variety of projects, including some of the biggest flotations ever. One of the reasons for our success is that w e believe in recruiting graduates of the highest calibre. And, having recruited them, w e encourage them to exercise their skills to the full. Next year, we would like to attract even more. If you're one of them, you will start with the benefit of our training programme. This is carefully structured to achieve the maximum
Which partnership was selected to advise on the flotations of British Gas, the British Airports Authority and Rolls Royce?
result in the minimum time; to make sure you know all you need to know but no more - we won't clutter your mind with useless information. The programme is geared as much to management as it is to accountancy because, unless you understand the former, you'll never be outstanding at the latter. You'll quickly find yourself working with a very broad range of businesses, covering most industries and ranging from international corporations to start-ups. And, once your training is complete, you'll have the opportunity to develop your career as fast as we're developing our business: the road to a partnership could be shorter than you think.
For further details on becoming an accountant with Touche Ross, just fill in the coupon. '
To: James Phillips, Touche Ross, Hill House, 1 Little N e w Street, London EC4A 3TR. Telephone: 01 353 8011. Please send me further details on becoming an accountant with Touche Ross. Name_ University_
_Faculty_ _/VJdress_
& Touche Ross
This is a chance for you to discover the wide range of Engineering opportunities typically available within a large industrial organisation. Come and see us either at the Careers Fair from 10am-4pm, or at an evening presentation - 6pm on 27th October at the Read Lecture Theatre, 5th Floor, Sherfield Building. (Buffet provided).
(the Bible is more concise because paper was short when it was written). In scientific terminology, the soul is a product o f the complexity o f the human brian and the w a y it i s organised. If you believe i n G o d , there is no problem in believing that he could recreate a soul by repeating the way a particular brain was organised. So individuality could survive death without there being an independent thing called soul.
Genesis The opinion article on genesis, life, the universe and everything in last week's F E L I X would have been more interesting i f its facts were accurate. The opinions expressed on the relationship between religion and science are commonly held, but are, nevertheless, based on erroneous information.
though they won the case at first (and the verdict was later overturned on a technicality). A g a i n there was no great confrontation between the forces of reason and superstition. (The background to the Scopes trial is discussed i n Stephen Jay Gould's
this life. Deathbed conversions are regarded as cynical, insincere and superstitious. Most popular debate on the truth of Christianity seems to happen i n complete ignorance o f what Christians actually believe. Literalist parodies (only 144,000 peoplefiti n heaven, f o r example) o f what the Bible says or of what people believe, are set up to be clearly ridiculous. I f any religion contained such nonsense then we would have to reject it.
Biblically speaking, the important thing about people is that they can But, i f you disbelieve because of the make moral decisions and choose parody, then y o u are deluding between good and evil. L i f e after yourself. I f you care about the truth, A sort of anti-religious mythology death is almost a side issue to this then you w i l l find out what a religion has been built up among scientists. choice. It only becomes a b i g issue really says, before you reject it as This was started by T H Huxley (as when churches try to sell a happy ridiculous. I f religions are a l l in Huxley Building) who, i n his book Hen's Teeth and Horse's Toes.) eternity for money or obedience now. superstitious junk, then we do not memoirs, gave an account o f his Mainstream Christianity has mostly Even the suppression of Galileo's need parodies of them to show that famous debate with the then Bishop concentrated on encouraging people they are untrue. ideas was more to do with politics of Oxford. The Bishop opposed the to make the correct moral choice in than any actual conflict between Steve Black, Chem PG. truth o f Darwin's idea and lost. science and religion. Galileo was an Huxley was the only person to record undiplomatic character who insisted his memories of the debate, and, in on taking the piss out of the Pope i n the manner of autobiographies written some o f h i s publications. T h e y e a r s after the e v e n t , v a s t l y mythology surrounding his trial has exaggerated his side o f the story. H e more to d o with the (possibly M a n ' s search fo r his soul (and told me how his mother came to his made the Bishop out to be a villain s u b c o n s c i o u s ) d e s i r e o f some woman's for hers) is too widespread room in England and talked with him of unreason, while he, of course, was relationists to demonstrate the and long-standing to be abandoned for for about half an hour. Everything in a knight in shining armour fighting irrationality of religion, than it has to the materialistic and rationalistic his beliefs and upbringing told h i m only for the truth. In reality evolution, do with any actual conflict between arguments o f R G Fincher's article that was impossible, yet it had in one form or another, had been a science and religion. Soul Searching. Most o f the human happened. H e was forced to consider popular idea for years (the Greeks Only extremists believe that every race for most of history has believed that i f dialectical materialism was thought it up, but the Victorians liked in survival after death so strongly that word of the Bible was dictated by G o d wrong about something so important, it because it gave credence to the idea and has to be taken literally. M o s t they have developed elaborate it might also be wrong about a whole that the world was slowly getting others accept that the Bible is a procedures to make sure dead soul go lot else. better). Darwin was just the first collection o f different works by to their appointed place and don't get Why are we so hung up about the person to attempt to give it scientific different people with different insights lost, or worse, hang around making particular set of molecules we happen credence. His theory, however, had into truth. It claims no special degree trouble for the living. Sceptics are a to be carrying around at the moment big holes in it and some people were of historial accuracy, and it is full of tiny monority in the human concensus anyway? They are in constant flux bound to question it on scientific on this matter. That doesn't mean they images and symbolism. T o demand and exchange. While you are reading grounds alone. The conflict is not literal interpretation of all parts (even must be wrong, but they might pause this, part of your breakfast today is between irrational r e l i g i o n and to consider that the rest of humankind the visionary acid-trips of Revelation) now part of the brain with which you r a t i o n a l s c i e n c e , b u t between might be aware o f something they and then to reject the ridiculous understand these words. W e replace individuals who disagree about the have overlooked. implications, says more about the every cell in our body in a seven year interpretation of the evidence. mind of the sceptic than it does about cycle, so you have already undergone The existence o f souls, like the the l i k e l y truth o f anything i n T h e supposed suppression o f total atomic translocation three times existence of G o d , cannot be proved Christianity. evolution i n the U S A has also since you were born—some o f us or disproved. W e can only weigh the attracted its o w n obscuring mass o f more. Another conflict that is more evidence and make a judgement on mythology. The Tennessee anticontrived than real is the supposed the balance of probability. There is I am not my molecules, I am a evolution law was only passed, in the Christian belief of the existence of the some evidence around to suggest that pattern o f information carried by first place, because o f a serious soul as an entity independent of the human personality can exist and be molecules which are constantly being political cock-up. The State assembly body. Lots of people, Christian and aware o f itself apart f r o m the body. picked up and discarded. In this only voted for it to please the voters, otherwise, still believe that the soul There is a whole literature on the 'outCollege we are fully aware that in the calm assurance that the state and body are separate, but the idea is of-body' experiences of people who information can be stored in a vareity governor would veto it. In some not a Christian one. The idea is Greek have been very i l l , resuscitated after of ways, on magnetic tape, optical m u d d l e o f p o l i t i c a l ineptitude in origin and derives from platonic 'dying' on the operating table, or after disc, bubble memories, or as words (probably because he thought the b i l l dualism. The biblical concept of soul drowning. T h e impression o f the in a book, and can be transferred from would be ruled unconstitutional by is more sophisticated and in no way ' s e l f leaving the body and looking one medium to another. St Paul said someone else) he passed it. It is clear conflicts with science (though some down on it in these circumstances of the body before and after death, "It from the records of the time that no distinguished neuroscientists have seems to be common. That doesn't is sown a natural body and it is raised politician took it seriously (the wanted to believe that the mind is prove anything either, but it might a spiritual b o d y " or to put it in our governor said that the law would independent o f the brain in the make us question whether personality jargon rather than his, the set o f never be used). The Scopes trial, platonic sense, but this is impossible is as closely tied to physical molecules information which is me is expressed where a teacher was tried under the to refute o r check). In Hebrew as the materialists think. I did have in a new medium with further law (for teaching evolution), was thought, people do not have souls they one student from mainland China, a potential for development when the staged to gain publicity for a small are souls: the word is a description party member and dyed in the wool molecular storage system crashes. It town that needed the business. This of the nature o f our existence; w e communist, who came to me with a is an interesting possibility I rather ploy worked well, and incidentally the would say we were conscious, strange story. While he was studying hope to explore for myself creationists were humiliated even sentient beings capable o f free w i l l here, his mother died i n China. H e
Still soul searching...
David Ashforth
Friday October 23rd 1987
D i a r y Ii, M U M
O n
FRIDAY Circuit Training Union Gym with Cross Country and Athletics Club. Everyone welcome. Free. Orienteering Brown/Green Committee Room (top fl o o r of Union Building). Arrangements for following Sunday's event.
Recitation of Holy Qur'an7.00pm. 9 Prince's Gardens. See Islamic Society. Advanced Ballroom JCR. 80p. See Dance Club. Shotokan Karate Southside Gym. Beginners welcome. £1. Beginners Ballroom JCR. 80p. See Dance Club.
MethSoc Speaker Chaplains Office, Basement, 10 Prince's Garden. Barry Homer will be speaking. Free to everyone. Beginners Ballroom JCR. 80p. See Dance Club. Blank's Psychedelic ShowS.OOpm. IC Radio. Music programme with Indie and psychedelic music.
Halloween Disco Holland Club Function Room. Bar extension till 1am (dress optional). Tickets £1.50 from Anneke Westra, Rm 034, Biotech Centre. Latin American Society. Union Building Lounge. Enjoy Latin American food and music.
SATURDAY Shotokan Karate Southside Gym. Beginners welcome. £1. Singaround SCR (1st Floor Union Building). Bring y o u r s e l f , your beer and your enthusiasm. Free! See IC Folk Club.
SUNDAY London to Brighton Run See Bo's trip to Brighton. Coach and lunch. Wargames Meeting Senior Common Room.
MONDAY Curry Soc Weekly meeting. Southside Upper Lounge. Artsoc Meeting SCR Union. Come to sign up and pay your money for tickets for forthcoming events, eat biscuits and drink coffee. Free to members (membership £1.50).
Ski Club Above Southside Bar. Sign up for lessons, racing team and the holiday at Christmas.
IC CathSoc Mass Chemistry 2 3 1 . Quiet a n d contemplation between lectures or exams. Food provided (50p). A l l welcome.
SFSOC Libary Meeting Green Committee Room, Union Building. Borrow books from our vast library, help plan future events and generally enjoy the only democroanarchic dictatorship at IC! Members only.
Ski Club Above Southside Bar, sign up for lessons and recreational skiing.
Holy Qur'an Recitation Prayer Room. See Islamic Society. Islamic Circle Prayer Room. See Islamic Society. Group Meeting Brown Committee Room. Everyone welcome. See Amnesty International. Wine Tasting Union SCR. Fine wines from N e w Zealand. £2 m e m b e r s , £3 non-members. I Mech E Informal reception at the Institution, 1 Birdcage Walk. Talk by Peter McCann of Tomorrow's World about the Virgin Atlantic Crossing. Free buffet. Judo Union Gym. Beginners welcome. Caving Club Meeting Southside Upper Lounge. Intermediate Ballroom J C R . 80p. See Dance Club The Fly SFSoc show David award winning film.
Chamber Music Society. Freshers' Concert. Music Room, 53 Prince's Gate. £1 (75p members), includes glass of wine. OpSoc Tour Rehearsal 53 Princes Gate. See OpSoc.
ICYHA Meeting Southside Upper Lounge.
Socialist Soc Meeting. Brown Committee Room. All welcome. Contact Adrian Grainger (Maths 3).
Audio Soc SCR. Cheap records and CDs.
Lunch-Hour Programme. Read Theatre, Sherfield Building. The Oman Wahiba Sands Project by Dr Paul Munton.
MethSoc Speaker Huxley 413. Gordon Barritt, expresident of National Childrens' Home will be sharing his thoughts. Lunch 50p.
C&G Motor Club Meeting7.00pm. Civ Eng Foyer. Scrutineering starts at 7pm at Kart Garage. If you don't have a drive please marshal. Free to marshals.
Christianity Course Mech Eng SCR (Rm 702). Title: Who is Jesus?
Audio Soc SCR. Cheap records and CDs.
Dai Rocking IC Radio on 999kHz. The best in hard rock music thro' midnight including the featured album every week with David Williams. FREE!
Friday Prayers 9 Princes Gardens (Basement): DHUHR (1.10pm), A S R and Christian Union MAGHRIB. See Islamic Society. Chemistry 2 1 3 . See Steve Clark, 5-a-side Football Christian Union. Volleyball Court. See Islamic Society Christian Union Music Room, 53 Prince's Gate. 'Living Love' speaker: Paul Boughton. Free buffet.
Motor Club Night Above Southside Bar. Free.
WEDNESDAY IC Gay Okay Green Committee Room, Top Floor of the Union Building. Circuit Training Union Gym. Free to Keep Fit Club members. Ski Club Above Southside Bar. Meet for trip to dry s k i slope f o r l e s s o n s and recreational skiing. Bring gloves and thick socks. Caving Club Meeting Union Snack Bar.
Gliding Club Meeting Aero 254. Arrange trial flights, lifts to Lasham, talks and then to the bar. Orienteering Training Union Gym. Social meeting held from 6.30pm onwards. IC Choir Room 342 Mech Eng. Everyone welcome.
Judo Union Gym. Beginners Welcome.
Sailing Meet outside Southside. Acting
Beginners Rock n Roll UDH. 80p. See Dance Club. Shotokan Karate Southside Gym. Beginners welcome. £1. Advanced Rock n Roll UDH. 80p. See Dance Club. ULU Meditation Group Room 3 A , University of London Union, Malet Street. Traditional breathing meditation. Everyone welcome. No charge.
Friday October 23rd 1987
Arabic Classes Prayer Room. See Islamic Society.
Bridge UDH. Pairs event. All welcome, partnerships arranged if necessary.
Wargames Meeting Senior Common Room.
DramSoc DramSoc Storeroom. workshop on mime.
Lunch Hour Concert The Music Room, 5 3 Prince's Gate. Penelope Roskell (piano).
Real Ale Soc Union Crush Bar. Your chance to taste immaculate beer at cost price. Gay/Lesbian Group ULU Building, Malet Street. Mens group room 3a, womens group room 2e. Meet weekly for speakers and booze. The Lover Speaks The Lounge. £2 adv, £2.50 on the door. ICCAG Soup Run Weeks Hall Basement. See Imperial College Community Action Group (ICCAG).
Libel KENSINGTON GORE SW7 • A L A N R O S E , hapless I C U Deputy P r e s i d e n t , has b e e n complaining in the bar recently that he hasn't been getting enough bad press in F E L I X . Sorry to disappoint you, A l a n ! We've been racking our brians and can't think of a single thing you've done recently!
• ' C U T E ' R O B E R T G E E , Athletics Clubs Committee ( A C C ) Chairman, didn't think very much of his five star rating in last week's Kensington Gore. Number one fan, Chris Martin, meanwhile was undaunted and has set up a Robert Gee is Cute Society. The new club has 25 signatures including the Top 3. It is still unclear whether this new club w i l l be part o f A C C , R C C or S C C . • That's all for this week folks, Chris Jones...
PRE VIEWS There seems to be a lot o f Soviet material on the box this week: two films and an arts review on the Beeb and documentaries on I T V and C 4 . Saturday evening o n B B C 2 (9.45-12.45pm) sees a film doubleb i l l , opening with The Swimmer,a humorous allegory of life under three political regimes, only released in its
is Plumbum, or a Dangerous Game; the story of ace scholar, Ruslan, who dreams o f being a supercop, and infiltrates criminal gangs to pull off some amazing coups. Review ( B B C 2 , Sunday, 5.30pm) asks how far has the openness o f the Gorbachev regime a l l o w e d the p o p u l a r arts t o f l o u r i s h . T h e Guardian's M a r t i n Walker reports from M o s c o w on fashion, cars, theatre, rock music, architecture and breakdancing! The Soviet theme continues over on I T V on Tuesday at 10.30pm with a look at the work of Pravda journalists all over the U S S R . T h e final contribution to the week is another documentary, taking the l i d off Soviet youth; punks, hippies and war veterans, called Is it Easy to be Young FELIX
'Hurry up, Baron!' called J o h n Secretary to Derek Dash as he passed Derek's office, 'or you'll be late to say goodbye to another group of citizens'. Derek w a s getting ready to attend the citizens' leaving ceremony, held at the Royal A l a n Ball. Today w a s the d a y w h e n lots of citizens moved from Cheapskate to take up their jobs as money counters. Nearly all the citizens became money counters w h e n they left Cheapskate; the only one w h o had not yet got-a money counting job w a s still working in the citizens' bar. DereK w a s trying to work out w h y all the citizens wanted to become money counters. The best explanation that he could com e up with w a s that they were all to unimaginative t o d o anything else. It w a s certainly true that Cheapskate citizens were mostly very dull. In fact, if they had been any duller, Derek reflected, they w o u l d only be able to get jobs in Cheapskate itself. Expanding this argument in his usual logical manner, Derek w a s just working out h o w long it w o u l d be before there w a s only enough standing room for all the incredibly tedious people in Cheapskate, w h e n J o h n Secretary called to him to hurry up.
(C4, Thursday, 10.15pm) Ochen Glasnost! Those o l d enough to remember Columbo, that wonderfully clever 70s U S detective series with Peter Falk in the grubby raincoat, w i l l find the 1971 pilot film Ransom for a Dead Derek sighed, put on his silly cloak and left his office, picking up a copy Man ( I T V , Saturday, 8.30pm) of the Cheapskate Annual on his w a y out. Derek enjoyed reading the n e w unmissable. Cheapskate A n n u a l , w h i c h had only just been delivered. A s usual it Unlikeliest scheduling of the week contained lots of articles about w h a t a wonderful place Cheapskate w a s goes to C 4 for Equinox: Command & and lots of pictures of people smiling a lot as well as three photo-love Control at 10am Sunday. A repeat o f stories and a Dennis the Menace cartoon strip. Derek had particularly liked yesterday's programme which looks his o w n introduction to the A n n u a l . 'I a m continually a m a z e d ' , he had at how nuclear missiles arefired,andwritten, 'at h o w wonderful Cheapskate is. There is no doubt that it w a s what stops them going off by mistake. really wonderful before I became Baron, and, if indeed it is possible, I think The excellent South Bank Show it is becoming even more wonderful. There are bound to be huge numbers of people wanting to become C h e a p s k a t e citizens w h e n they see h o w (ITV, Sunday, 10.30pm) follows last good the pictures are in our A n n u a l ' . week's brilliant programme on The Smiths (shame on you i f you missed it!) with a celebration o f the life and work of pop art legend Andy Warhol, who died earlier this year.
u n c e n s o r e d f o r m because o f Gorbachev's reforms. Following this
Derek admired his work for a few minutes whilst on his w a y to the Royal A l a n Ball, and then put the A nnua l inside his cloak s o that he w o u l d be able to read the Dennis the Menace cartoon during the goodbye ceremony. M e a n w h i l e , while Derek w a s reading the Dennis the M e n a c e cartoon, there w a s lots of rushing about going o n elsewhere in Cheapskate. A l l the important members of the citizens' Factories Club were getting ready for next w e e k ' s fun-packed ' h o w to become a money counter' fair. There w o u l d be lots of exciting things going o n ; the citizen's w o u l d be able t o play 'try to get the 1 Op piece out of the chief money counter's hand' and lots of other jolly games. The citizens in the Factories Club tried to convince all the other citizens that they w e r e helping t h e m t o get jobs as money counters; in fact, everyone in Factories Club w a s being very very nice to all the important money counters w h o were visiting Cheapskate so that they could get better paid jobs counting money. (Everyone at Cheapskate w a s very dull, but members of the Factories Club enjoyed being dull).
This year, a f e w citizens had decided that they did not really w a n t to be money counters after all. One of these w a s the head citizen, Whygate, w h o enjoyed his job so m u c h that he w a s trying make it last longer than the usual one year. A t the last meeting of the citizens' committee Whygate had swept into the room very proudly (all 2 0 0 0 sequins perfectly in position on his new dress) and announced ' w e have decided to carry o n running the citizens' office for an extra month'. The rest of the citizen's could not The C 4 documentary series The work out whether he had actually asked anyone else about it, or if he w a s Eleventh Hour continues on Monday using the royal ' w e ' . . . . at 11pm (when else?) with The First Betrayal; tracing the history o f the Is Whygate going to marry Prince Edward? British working class and socialist Will the PHALIX Editor print a nasty article about the Factories Club movement from 1914-1931. this year? M y personal highlight of the week is another episode o f that classic What happened to Dennis the Menace? cartoon series Wacky Races ( B B C 1 , Why wasn't Arthur Michael mentioned? Wednesday, 4.10pm). N o t to be missed at any cost! Find out in the next episode of 'The Baron of Cheapskate'.
Friday October 23rd 1987
The Witches of Eastwick The sleepy N e w England town o f Eastwick is a dull place, for three women lving there, all single and strongly independent, life has lost its sparkle. Jane (Susan Sarandon) has just finalised her divorce, Alexandra (Cher) is a widow and mother who sculpts dolls, and Sukie (Michelle Pfeiffer) is a successful journalist who was deserted by her husband who left her with six children. Every Thursday they meet to relax and share their problems and a few drinks. 'If men aren't the answer, why do we always end up talking about them?' concludes Jane. Together they conjure up their ideal man. Soon they learn o f the arrival i n town o f a wealthy eccentric, Daryl V a n H o m e (Jack N i c h o l s o n ) . Intrigued by the stranger about whom everyone is gossiping, they soon fall prey to hjs charm when he claims to be 'just your average horny little d e v i l ' . H e seduces all three women and they move into his huge mansion. However, back in town the rumours fly and after the local snoop Felicia (Veronica Cartwright) meets a sticky end the women decide the menage a trois must come to an end. Realising their power, the witches and V a n H o m e set the stage for a battle of the
Vegetarian and under £3
Omnivorious and under £3
Polio B a r 20 O l d Compton Street W l
(Leicester Square tube) Neal's Y a r d Around the corner from Food for Thought, off Shorts Gardens
R i c e a n d Spice Stoke Newington H i g h Street, near Church Street N16
(Covent Garden tube)
(73 bus)
The food is not quite as good o r v a r i e d as Food for Thought. However, it is cheap and usually less crowded.
V e r y plain decor but good Indian food. Bring your own bottle. There are also other, more expansive places nearby on Church Street.
Bunjies 27 Litchfield Street W C 2
Sole M i o 23 Gillingham Street SW1
U n l i k e Fatso's, Polio gives y o u enough pasta the first time round so you don't need seconds and the price stays under £3! Get there early or face a long queue.
Omnivorious and under £6 Cafe Pacifico Langly Street
(Leicester Square tube)
(Victoria tube)
(Covent Garden tube)
Good food and folk music after 8pm for £2.
A r o u n d the corner from the Seafresh Fish Bar. Varied menu with pastas and omelettes under £2; a hearty daily special for £3.
It is a shame M e x i c a n food must be so expensive. This place is better than Chi-Chi 's at Leicester Square and a bit cheaper.
The Jazz Cafe Newington Green Road, across from Newington Green
(73, 141 and 171 buses) V e r y good, moderately priced food. The music is free though the place is very small.
J.B. Gaby's 30 Charing Cross Road W C 2
(Leicester Square tube) Selection o f vegetarian and M i d d l e Eastern food. Very much like an American diner.
L a Pergola 138 Gloucester Road
flLH sexes. Although outnumbered three to one, V a n Home is an ideal vehicle for Nicholson to play his devilish best. Here he has perfected the lunatic character from The Shining and he is simply superb as the manic demon, who asks ' A r e women one of God's mistakes, like tidal waves?' when the witches start to get the better of him. O f course Nicholson steals the show, given the ability to run amok and snarl at the shocked townfolk. Underneath his charm is a spoiled teenager at odds with women, and in the three witches he meets h i s m a t c h . S t r o n g performances by all three witches (in particular Cher continuing her diverse career) are enough to make this f i l m great entertainment, but what I found unnecessary were the special effects which today are almost obligatory. I suppose they're a throwback to director George M i l l e r ' s Mad. Max days but here they are nothing more than old hat. Eventually the f i l m dissolves into a flurry of special effects which round off the plot, but somehow the characters deserve better. G o o d entertainment with Nicholson at his best.
M y companion's complaints to the elusive waiter, speaking i n Italian commanded the attention of the chef: Yes, he admitted, the ravioli had come from a tin. The apparently reasonable prices, which had enticed us there for lunch, are misleading: Unordered, the two salads which appeared with our main course—seemingly i n c l u d e d — a r e extra (£1.50 each). Bread rolls are 65p per person (normally included in real Italian restaurants). W i t h the obligatory 15% service charge it all adds up to make a light lunch into an expensive mistake. Since the Pergola, Bellavista (132 C r o m w e l l Road) and Vecchiomondo Restaurants (118 Cromwell Road) are all owned by Lorenzo's, you would be advised to be very wary about trying the other two (unless you're prepared to argue in Italian). s.G.
(Gloucester Road tube) If you've ever eaten Italian food before, La Pergola's selection w i l l not excite you.
Friday October 23rd 1987
Jon Burden Simon Griffin Alex Noble FELIX
Horror story Windy races The F l y , Tuesday October 27, 7pm, M e c h Eng 220 Admission 50p members, £1.50 nonmembers (including membership) David Cronenberg's version o f the story about a scientist who finds himself turning into a gigantic f l y in this case, following a mingling at the genetic level by a teleport device he is developing.
The first round of the City and Guilds Motor Club championship tookplace last Saturday (17th October) in a galedevastated Essex.
treasure. Four more crews arrived during the next fifty minutes, the only n o n finisher being the Citroen G S of M a x Kallios and Henry Taylor whose hydraulic suspension failed. Second was the M G Midget o f M i k e Putts and Club Captain J o n Stout with the late-starting 'Team Guilds' of Murray Williamson, Dave Osborne, N i g e l Street and Guilds President Dave Tyler a fine third.
Messrs Hobbs and Bourne head the championship table on twenty points each, with Putts, Stout, organisers T i m Clark and Vanessa Palmer joint third on fifteen. The next round o f the championship is the Freshers' R a l l y , taking place tonight i n Hampshire. N e w members to the Club are always welcome, contact us via the Guilds Office.
A secret
A certainty
The six crews that entered the Country Treasure Hunt were faced with fallen trees and minor floods along large sections o f the 35 mile route from powerless Billercay to South Woodham Ferrers. A t one point the two leading crews had to wait for workmen to remove a tree before continuing.
Films coming also include Scanners and, as a Christmas treat, Star Trek IV. Members w i l l be informed personally o f these, also details w i l l The object o f the event was to be in F E L I X , every week, in What's answer questions about buildings ' along the route and collect 'treasure' On. such as apples, hay, brambles,.dririks A l s o , all members are entitled to cans and an 'original item' as a use the Society's megastic library; at tie-breaker. the library meetings, 1 p m , Thursdays, top floor o f the U n i o n Building; this is also the best way to find out what your Society is doing, and to suggest what you'd like it to do.
The first crew to finish, only two minutes late, were the eventual winners Dave Hobbs and Adrian Bourne in a M i n i 1000, with a traffic cone as their original piece o f
There are two Love-Gods in the world today: Emmanuel - one of Jesus'
The aim of "Emmanuelle"-sex is the opposite - "Get what you can, take what
names meaning 'God with us' - and
you want, gratify your sexual urges now.
"Emmanuelle" - a twentieth century
And don't thinktoofar ahead. Continue
substitute for the real thing.
the liaison for only as long as it is
You can't shock God over anything to enjoyable." But instant kicks have long-term do with sex. He invented it! Emmanuel knows how sex works best and he gave us the maker's instructions -
kick-backs; and everyone loses out. the deception of "Emmanuelle" and the
relationship of unconditional
debasement of God's gifts.
A series of events in week eight, Nov 23-28 'I have come in order that you might have life - life organised by Imperial College Christian Union in all its fullness'John 10:10
IC F i l m Society presents The Sure Thing, a romantic comedy from the director of the highly acclaimed film
Stand By-Me. Walter ' G i b ' Gibson is an 18 year old student pre-occupied with junk food and sex. A l i s o n Bradbury is .a studious well organised ail-American firmly lady who has her future planned. She loathes him- on sight. But then they find themselves h i t c h hiking across America, he for an encounter with what his best friend promises is 'the sure thing', she to rendezvous with her boyfriend. The Sure Thing w i l l be shown on October 29, at 7pm, in M e c h E n g 220. Admission is 50p to members, £1 to non-members. Membership is available, and a bargain at the price!
What's in a curry?
Emmanuel comestoset us free from
unparalleled enjoyment of sex within a commitment.
W e l l boys, the militia are back! Q T Soc is the biggest and zaniest club i n I C , and we're on the look out for some new recruits. Meetings have been arranged to occur on Tuesday lunchtimes i n Southside U p p e r Lounge at 1pm. First on the list o f events is an alternative disco—to be held i n a very unusual and secret location, and we have a comedy night in the pipeline. F o r the anarchists there w i l l be Q T stunts to liven-up U G M s , mascotry, .kidnapping, infiltration, etc. Anyone interested in producing alternative videos, o r writing and/or performing in the Q T smoking concert sketch should turn up on Tuesday. Good on ya!
Curry Soc's second outing takes place next Friday—a trip to the Paramount, one of the better curry establishments in the South Kensington area. Anyone interested i n coming along should meet in Southside Upper Lounge at 12.30pm Monday lunchtime or on
Friday October 23rd 1987
Friday at 9pm. W e look forward to seeing you. Thanks to everyone who dropped a note asking about membership to either B i l l Goodwin or Richard Wiles in the M e c h E n g pigeonholes—we w i l l be in touch shortly. 33
o r t HOCKEY
Jolly hockey sticks: Part 1
First match drawn
IC 1st X I - 2 Thames Valley 1st X I — 1 Imperial College Hockey 1st X I opened their Middlesex League (1st division) account with an excellent w i n o v e r T h a m e s V a l l e y at Harlington on Saturday. The win was all the more impressive because it was the first time that the new squad had played together. Unusually for I C , the defence and new reshuffled midfield were the most influential units. The attack did, however, show bursts o f the magic which won last year's University o f London League title.
IC l s t — 3 Goldsmiths—3 A f t e r just one trial we faced our first match against Goldsmiths College. W e were all a little unfit and rusty at first. Consequently we conceded a goal i n the 24th minute. Periodically we started playing the ball about which was reminiscent of later years style of play. Then in the 39th minute we managed to breakthrough Goldsmith's defence to make it 1—1. W e started the second half a lot more confident and began to dominate the game. Against the run o f play Goldsmiths managed to sneak a goal on the break.
Coaching first
Once the attack has settled down together, an d i f the influential Vamadevan can recover his o l d 'wobble', this new-look side should Last Sunday, the Orienteering C l u b stock up the Hockey C l u b ' s trophy achieved a first! Their first coach! Enthusiasm has grown over the past shelf again this season. few years and because o f the number of new members, a coach was hired for the day instead o f the usual minibus.
This is different to a normal course in that parts o f the course are given at each control and can either be memorised or drawn onto the map.
Everyone managed to complete their course without getting severely lost, the only major problem being biros lost en route. The days outing was to Gloucester IC lst X I - 0 The day was considered quite P a r k i n B a s i l d o n an d was a n Spencer-Jennings Select X I — 0 successful and the vast majority O n Sunday the College's premier introductory event for those new to hockey side travelled to Earlsfield to the sport. The courses were set o n expressed an interest i n continuing orienteering. be entertained by a Spencer X I mainly open land which was a little Anyone who is interested in trying specially selected from the London marshy due to recent rain. T h e orienteering can come to the training League C lub' s 2nd and 3rd teams by courses were of different lengths and session on Thursday at 5.30pm in the ex-IC impressario D a v i d Jennings. different degrees o f difficulty; the Union Gym. The side included several ex-IC hardest being a 9.1km Norwegian superstars and were expected to course f o r experienced orienteers. present stiff opposition.
Part 2
Skipper Justin Brooking, rueing the night before (or was it morning Anne?), sat out the first half, but was ably replaced by U L U player Brendan F a r m e r . T h e defence remained otherwise unchanged from Saturday, but the attack sorted three new faces in Gary Knartborough, Julian Firth and Richard Preston. Spencer opened with a flurry o f superb team hockey, pinning I C into their own half for nearly ten minutes. Were it not for excellent defending by Stonham and Garside, and tight marketing by the half-backs, centred on Paul Coleman, Spencer could have put the game out o f reach i n the first period. However, inspired by Brooking at half time and marshalled by the brilliant Coleman, I C took the game to Spencer i n the second half. Despite creating many more goal chances, I C failed to snatch victory, but can be pleased with a draw against p o s s i b l y this y e a r ' s toughest opposition.
FIXTURES HOME FOOTBALL MATCHES Saturday 24th October: Wednesday 28th October 1st XI, Goldsmiths C u p
4 t h XI, K C H
2nd XI, Q H C IV Cup
6th XI, K C H II
YACHT CLUB WEEKEND 13 places free for a cruise out of S o u t h a m p t o n . C o n t a c t Chris Stubbs (ME 2) for further information.
RESULTS FOOTBALL IC 1st X I — 3
IC 2 n d X I — 3
2 - S t Mary's
IC 2 n d X I - 1
0 - S t Mary's
HOCKEY IC 1st X I - 2
1 - T h a m e s Valley
IC 1st X I - 0
0 - S . J . Select
Friday October 23rd 1987
In the 70th minute I C hit back. It was a text book move: the goalie threw the ball to the right touch line, the ball was laid square to Paul Dyson who took it up the pitch and passed it through the defence where N i g e l C o l l i e r ran on to it and finished the move. In the 76th minute I C went i n front from a solo effort by Paul Olden. In the last 10 minutes, with I C tiring rapidly, Goldsmiths equalised with a far post header to make the final score 3 — 3
Paul Dyson (Captain).
Spring Regatta After the racing on Saturday was cancelled due to damage from the gales on Thursday the two crews entered turned up for Sunday's racing still in good spirits. In one of the first races of the day the Colleges Senior A coxless four comfortably w o n their heat and so getting a place in the final. The other crew an Elite eight followed suit, w i n n i n g a p l a c e i n the f i n a l comfortably. The Senior A coxless four had a good start in their final and from this led the field for the whole race to win w e l l . T h e Elite eight were not so lucky and lost to an Under 23 G o l d M e d a l winning crew by just over a second.
Rent party
ANNOUNCEMENT S • Wanted—people
to t a k e part in a
p s y c h o l o g y e x p e r i m e n t lookin g at t h e u s e o f c o l o u r in c o m p u t e r d i s p l a y s . F r e e c u p o f c o f f e e C o n t a c t D a r r e n V a n Laar, S c h o o l of M a n a g e m e n t ext 7 1 3 6 . • G u i l d s Rally J a c k e t s will be available from the Guilds Office from
today. O n l y £ 2 8 e a c h . • C a r s p a r k e d in C o l l e g e — I f y o u
a c a r parked in t h e c a r park next to Queen's
L a w n IC B i k e C l u b w o u l d
v e r y g r a t e f u l if y o u w o u l d m o v e it o n Saturday night ' c o s w e ' v e got a n autotest on Sunday.
• B e a n ' s C l u b E G M . W o u l d all c l u b m e m b e r s , p le a se c o n t a c t o n e of t h e following immediately:
H o u g h t o n , C h a i r m a n ( M a t h s 3), Paul Stanley, S e c r e t a r y ( M a t h s 2), C h r i s S t a p l e t o n , Treasurer (Aero 2). o r v i a Holbein
• B e e t l e S o c — p a r t s and service discounts. All V W
owners welcome
n o n - o w n e r s w e l c o m e t o love t h e bug. C o n t a c t A d r i a n B r i m e r (EE 2). ACCOMMODATION • S m a l l r o o m in s h a r e d h o u s e a v a i l a b l e from Nov
1 for P G . S t r e a t h a m
£130 pern exlusive C o n t a c t Paul ( P & A Biology) ext 7 4 3 9 or Ray (Biotechnology)
• A v a i l a b l e now. Flats for 4 , 6 a n d in S o u t h K e n , L e x h a m G a r d e n s
Hamlet G a r d e n s — £ 3 0 . per person
C o n t a c t A c c o m m o d a t i o n Office, 15 Prince's
• Single room
in l a r g e f l a t . S h a r e
4 m a l e s , nr Ealing C o m m o n t u b e
with (40
m i n s t o C o l l e g e ) £ 2 6 p/w e x c l u s i v e . Tel: D o u g 9 9 2 6 8 7 0 after 6 p m . • One
f e m a l e in double r o o m . Excellent
c o o k i n g / w a s h i n g facilities, TV, lounge
£ 2 8 p/w e x c l u s i v e C o n t a c t
Godfrey (Maths FOR SALE &
Dear Judith, Five years ago, when I first arrived i n College and moved into Southside, rent was £25 a week, which for 30 weeks was £750 out o f a 1982 £2,000 grant—about 35 %. Nowadays a room in Southside will cost £35 a week, and with the grant at about £2,300, 30 weeks rent w i l l take a huge 45 % off the grant. The rise in private residence is even worse. Every year students are paying an increasing proportion o f their grant for the privilege o f living in Central London. The situation is alleviated slightly with housing benefit, but plans are well advanced to remove this benefit from students.
Council chaos
What can be done? Arguing with the College is useless—they have their hands tied by the Government. What we need is effective London-wide campaigning for accommodation NOW! A s a first step, what do you think the effect would be i f the body representing the students of the foremost science and engineering college publically announced that they are actively to discourage new students from coming to London, because o f the accommodation crisis?
Chris Martin.
amplifier, 2 4 0 W Telefunken speakers, 1 A r m s t r o n g t u n e r a l l in g o o d o r d e r . P r i c e negotiable C o n t a c t M S e d g w i c k via
Musical rooms
Physics pigeonholes. • I C E n t s D i s c o for hire £ 2 5 .
Ian M o r r i s v i a E n t s p i g e o n h o l e in U n i o n Office PERSONAL • Sunday
C l u b (after H a m m y
J e z d e m o n s t r a t e s a novel m e t h o d
help girlies w h o run for c h a i r p e r s o n . • H u g a heffie today. whoever found
• Thankyou,
h a n d e d in m y grant c h e q u e C S
• L o n e l y R C S hack seeks female hairdressers (suitably qualified). M u s t h a v e t u r b o c h a r g e d hairdryer. A p p l y 130
• Fun-loving male student seeks female c o m p a n y . Interests: w o m e n . Flat 1 3 0 Hamlet
• L o n e l y ? sexually unfulfilled? Kate Bush? Call at 130 Hamlet Gdns. I will solve at least o n e of t h e
• B u s h l i n e — D o you think you m a y Kate Bush? K n o w s o m e o n e w h o
B u s h l i n e is o p e n 2 4 h o u r s a d a y a t 1 3 0 H a m l e t G d n s , g e n u i n e callers only.
Dear Judith, W e would like to draw attention to the lack o f communication between the communication experts. Imagine our surprise, having booked the music room, in writing, last July, to be told, on our return to College, that there was no record of this. W e were informed that this was due to the change of control in 53, Prince's Gate. N o one on the new Management Sciences staff had thought to enquire whether there were any standing bookings. However, they were very helpful and agreed to honour our reservation. Unfortunately, this did not resolve the problems caused by the departmental switch as we were told, one working day before the rehearsal, that the room had been double booked. Fortunately, on this occasion, the club which had booked the only Union room containing a piano was willing to let us take over use o f it. W e consider that severe disruption was caused to our Freshers' event due to this gross error on the part o f Management Science.
College's financial ambitions. The lucrative industrial connections o f Management Science may create revenue to fill the gap left in their budget when I C U regained control of the profits from the Harlington gravel. Part of the reorganisation has involved the removal of one practice piano from general use and o f two others to the Sherfield Building. It w i l l also include the refurbishment of the M u s i c Room during the spring term, resulting i n total exclusion o f all users. It is unlikely that student societies w i l l ever regain full use of this facility as Management Science have let it be known that they do not welcome student use o f this room during office hours; extending until ten i n the evening.
W o r k on the building appears already to be in progress, as we discovered to our cost when we went to make some coffee for the rehearsal and found that our whole store cupboard had vanished. Although this may seem trivial in the face o f all the points above, the loss o f a valuable In addition, i f this week's London Student is to be urn could be seen as a financial disaster to a College believed, the Government plans to open up the rented society. accommodation sector, abolishing fair rents and making Yours sincerely, the renting-out of property widespread are going to push ICOS Committee 1987/88 up rents by 200 or 300% . Property currently only rented G Sturck (Chairman), M Lucking (Treasurer), out to students to avoid legal hassles w i l l , i f the law on G Turner (Secretary), P Murphy (Publicity Officer). renting is relaxed, be let out at 'market rates' in line with property values. L i v i n g i n central London as an undergraduate (postgraduates can still claim travel back and so live further out) is going to be impossible. Accommodation w i l l rise to cost more than the whole grant. London colleges w i l l increasingly only attract 'affluent' students, never mind the Robbins principle (higher education for all who w i l l benefit). Market forces Dear Judith, and Thatcherism i n higher education by the back door! I would like to reply to your editorial i n F E L I X 780
• 1 T h o r e n s turntable, 1 Ferrograph
L e t t e r
I C O S wonders whether the transfer o f the Humanities Department to the Mechanical Engineering building is i n the interest of I C U students or merely to further Imperial
Friday October 23rd 1987
concerning the cancellation o f last Monday's Council Meeting. That Monday I walked into the Union Office to enquire whether the notifications and agendae for the meeting had been sent out, and was told by Chas Jackson ( I C U H o n Sec) that he had not yet had time to print and distribute them. In view o f this, and knowing that very few Council members would turn up as a result, I asked the three executive members for their opinions. Having heard what they had to say I, as Council Chairman, decided to postpone Council until the following Monday. In the light of the recent " N o t the Freshers' U G M " fiasco, I hope you w i l l agree that it was more sensible to postpone the meeting until everyone knew about it, rather than have another inquorate, unrepresentative meeting. I take full responsibility for this decision, and I apologise profoundly to those that had already set the evening aside for this meeting (I'm included i n this category).
Yours, Alastair J Seymour, ICU Council Chairman.
Wet and dry Dear Judith, I would like to pour out gems of wisdom to your readers like the sky is currently pouring out water, but I can't. I can, however, give out one pearl: I have noticed that when I press the little silver button near the handle o f my umbrella that it springs open and covers me thus, miraculously, keeping me in a state of dryness even when it is raining. I hope your readers find this information useful and perhaps use it themselves.
Yours, A no-longer wet ex-physicist. 35
]Vot so ^riyial
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Published on Feb 14, 2011