The faces of next year

John Collins, former president of the City and Guilds College Union, has been elected President of Imperial College Union. The victory was a landslide with Collins receiving just over 50% of the vote after the ReOpen Nominations (RON) votes were reallocated.

Speaking to Felix Collins paid tribute to his competitors "who made this election so entertaining for everyone involved" and said students were offered a good choice of presidential candidates.

This election has made Union history as Collins is the first candidate to beat an incumbent sabbatical officer (Simon Matthews, current Deputy President (Clubs and Societies)) standing for re-election. When asked whether this will affect his plans for scrapping twoyear sabbatical terms, he confirmed that he will still aim to scrap the clause, adding, "Students don't want ICU to turn into a springboard for career politicians, getting rid of two year sabbaticals will help ensure that our Union stays focused on its members".

The losing candidates paid tribute to Collins' victory. Joseph Eldridge, a final year mathematics student, described John as having "tremendous enthusiasm and potential" for the job, and said the Union is in "very capable hands". Simon Matthews praised the new sabbatical team in general. However, he issued caution at the inexperience of the team, especially with several major issues coming up including the Beit Quad master plan, and leaving University of London.

In other elections, Eric Lai, the current chair of the Athletic Clubs Committee, was elected Deputy President (Clubs and Societies). Ben Harris beat fresher Camilla Royle to becoming the new Deputy President (Education and Welfare). Shama Rahman was elected into the much-debated Deputy President (Graduate Students) position, whilst the current Music Editor, Andrew Sykes, was elected as the new Felix Editor.

Royle told Felix that despite her defeat, she is still happy with the result, "More than 450 people agreed with what I was saying, which is fantastic". The same sentiments were reflected by Anushri Patel, who was 200 votes short of Sykes.

She described herself as being "perversely pleased" with having so much support. Sykes was "ecstatic" at the result, and said he will now "start helping Rupert on a Tuesday instead of coming into the office and laughing at him". The whole election was overshadowed by the fact that the position for Deputy President (Finance and Services) is currently unfilled due to the withdrawal of the sole candidate, Dan Lehmann. This election will be re-run in the Summer term and hopefully someone will stand. Leader, page 21

Matthew Hartfield, Politics Editor

Felix's View:

Let's hope that the incoming sabbatical team starts to turn this place into something resembling a real University. We all know that Imperial is desperately lacking in the social stakes but it doesn't have to be this bad - it really doesn't. With determination and a bit of effort the Union could, possibly, be half as good as Kings'.

The sabbaticals' roles aren't just about making the Union a fun place to be, they also have to deal with representation, academic and welfare issues. But Felix believes they put far too much emphasis on these roles and not enough on improving the entertainments which are, let's face it, the true face of the Union.

Students can't continue to complain about the state of the Union if they are not willing to change it. There was not a single candidate standing for the position of Deputy President (Finance and Services) and only one for Deputy President (Clubs and Societies). This is indicative of the general indifference with which most students view the Union.

The Union has improved this year, but it needs some fresh blood. The dramatic changes needed will not happen if the place continues to be run by the same old `hacks'. If you agree with the sentiments expressed here, stand for DP (F&S) next term.

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