Letters

Cycle clean-up objections

Dear Felix,

Hopefully, Felix can help with this campaign? Once again cyclists are being persecuted!

Apparently it seems that Imperial College doesn't like cyclists and their bicycles? We are being hidden away to keep the campus looking tidy!

This letter is for all Imperial's cyclists who dislike the new plansto remove bicycle racks around the college in favour of the bicycle park underneath the new faculty building.

I am dismayed at the college notice about removing bicycle racks from outside the SAF building. I think the reasoning behind this decision is absolutely appalling. Apparently cycles make the campus look untidy! Surely, the strong contingent of Imperial College cyclists gives the university a good impression. It demonstrates that Imperial is congestion and environment sensitive.

Ok, I agree, bike security is an issue. But I think most cyclists will agree it is up to them to lock their bikes in the correct manner and with appropriate locks to prevent thefts from occurring. Surely, stashing the bikes away in a dark, metal cage will encourage 'dodgy goings on'. The theory that the new bicycle park will decrease thefts doesn't seem very well thought out. I have recently been over to see the bike park and noticed only the one camera at the entrance, whereas the bike racks extend well away from this. Allowing for removal of 'bike bits' very easily. At least if the bikes are in the open, someone getting their tool bag out will arouse suspicion. If not from the security guards, from members of the public.

Personally, I quite like being able to check on my bike with ease and frequency during the day.

I am very disappointed that no one asked the cycling students/staff of their opinion. I am a keen cyclist, I have been riding to college for 5 years now. The thought of having to use this bike park facility is filling me with horror and despite me and my cycling buddies trying to contact the people concerned, we get no reply!

One last thing............ LEAVE OUR BIKE RACKS ALONE!!!!

Thanks

Emma Williams

PhD Student

 Green Sanity

Dear Felix:

I was amused by Mr Mustafa Arif's "State of the Union" comment in Felix last week, broadly commenting on the elections. Having written that all candidates at the extremely badly organised Hustings (which he had the pleasure of chairing) were dire, he then went on to qualify that statement for the Green Party candidate, saying he was "quite sane". Concluding in his article, he said he'd rather vote for RON (re-open nominations) as first choice, before anyone else (implying a Single Transferable Vote (STV) system).

Indeed quite sane must be the only description for Green policies, as one central policy of the Greens is the introduction of proportional representation voting. They state in their manifesto that "Of the various electoral systems available, we would consider the STV and Additional Member Systems to be entirely acceptable; we would prefer the Additional Member System for elections to the national parliament. Different systems may be appropriate for different levels of government. We consider any First-past-the-post or Supplementary Vote Systems to be wholly unacceptable, and oppose them."

So if Mr Arif was serious about wanting to vote for none of the above, as he put it, I hope he used the opportunity to vote Green!

I was also surprised to meet Mr Arif on Tuesday in a College Energy Policy Committee meeting, espousing the virtues of including Sustainable Development in curricula for all courses taught at Imperial College. Perhaps he is in fact greener than we first thought! I think we must be told.

Yours etc

Tom Tibbits

Ladies night – no more!

Dear Alex,

Further to recent discussion in the Letter's Felix page, I can report that the Union's Executive Committee has agreed that the differential entry pricing for men and women at the Union's "Ladies' Nights" is a breach of our Equal Opportunities Policy. Accordingly, staff have been instructed to charge the same entry fee to men and women, and this change came into effect on Wednesday 2nd June.

Yours,

Mustafa

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