Strapped for cash
The new cash machine in Beit has set off a silent alarm several times, drawing the attention of police armed response units. Photo: Felix/VL
College remove all Walkway cash machines
For many years, Imperial has been suffering from a 'cash machine crisis', with only four machines servicing the whole of the South Kensington campus. To make matters worse, College have recently removed all the cash machines from the walkway. Things looked set to improve with new machines installed in the Union, Sherfield lobby and the Library, but the new machines have been plagued with faults.
The new Lloyds ATM in Beit Quad has been out-of-action for most of the past fortnight. When in action, it has frequently set off alarms, which have been misinterpreted by Union staff as the female toilets emergency alarm. The silent alarm has also been repeatedly triggered, causing armed police units to arrive.
Worryingly, an Imperial security officer told Felix that the new Nationwide cash machine on the ground floor of Sherfield has been "giving money to anyone". Apparently, one student received money from the machine without even inserting his card. College had no records of such a fault, but have now informed Nationwide.
Nigel Buck, the Assistant Director of Estates, told Felix that the existing cluster of three machines have been removed from the Sherfield walkway in an effort to reduce congestion. He said that in the longterm, the "change is great news ? by the end of the installation process, South Kensington will have six cash machines instead of four, which we believe will more suitably cater for our students." To reach the total of six machines, two more machines, Barclays and NatWest, will be installed in the Sherfield lobby.
Beit Hall resident, Lidia Medhin, told us, "Being able to walk across to the Union to get cash, instead of going all the way to Sherfield, is extremely convenient."
Anna Ma, a third year microbiology student, said "It's nice to be able to get out cash without having to walk so far. I like the idea of different locations. But they should really put one in SAF as well".
Felix's View:
We have suffered from this `cash crisis' for far too long now; it's great that College have finally got round to improving the situation. But wouldn't it have been more prudent to ensure the new machines worked before removing the old ones?
