yeah, great, nice one guys.

it's a real shame that in a time when there's actually increased communication and cooperation between medic and ic union events, that something like this should happen.

you're part of imperial. deal with it.

Handbags at six paces...

If they are both planned for the same week (though as far as I know, a date hasn't been announced for the Medics) then they will have to compete for my custom. If IC put on a better-looking event then they will doubtless get medics in their droves.

Anyhow, I'll probably go to both.

Personally I've always thought you shouldn't attribute to malificence what is more likely to be coincedence.

The other spin you could put on this story is that that both balls will damage each other's ticket sales, rather than a one-way street. If this is malicious, the organisers of the medic's ball would have to be very cocky to be sure that their ticket sales wouldn't be hurt too.

I quite agree. Sounds more like a communications cock-up than anything malicious.

The last time the ICSM and IC balls were in the same week they both made a big loss (and the following year's ICU President, Tasha Newton, had to go grovelling to College to ask for an £x0,000 bail-out!)

No doubt someone will chip-in to the discussion to remind me what 'x' was.

I think this once again comes down to internal communication. And if it is true then there is a major cock up.

What has become of the "Communications" working group the President setup after that disciplinary thing?

Who cares when each ball is. The only people who really have to make a choice over which event to attend would be first year medics. Alternatively, if neither date is set in stone, why not move one?

To be fair, the Medics Summer Ball is on the last day of term, which is the date it has been on for the last 5 years at least. Traditionally, the IC Summer Ball is much earlier. Fault lies at their door, not the medics.

Last year the 1st year medics, chemists and chem eng I believe, couldn't make the ICBall as it took place during our exams. Good to see you've thought of us this year :)

I'm going to expand on what I said earlier.

The Medics Summer Ball is always set to coincide with Finals Result Day - as a way of saying "farewell" to the medical school - and I declare an interest, as this will be my last Summer Ball.

A senior ICSMSU source tells me that the date for the medic Summer Ball has therefore been set, in stone, for the last three months. can we be enlightened as to when the IC Summer Ball Committee set a date?

There is a whole extra week in the non-medic term so it could be moved it back if the ICU Executive feel that it would suffer by comparison with the medic ball. However, they are catering to very different markets: ICSM have a sit down black tie dinner; the IC equivalent is much more a mega-carnival; more of a party.

The venue for the Medic Ball, by the way, has not been fully decided; the choice is currently between a hotel in Docklands and the St Georges Hospital Medical School sports fields, not "an undisclosed IC sports ground". This is because, like in so many other aspects at Imperial, there would be plenty of barriers put up by Union and College.

The date of the "IC" summer ball has been 21st June for as long as I am aware this year. So i suspect that would have been sometime in October, if not the last week in spetember that i would have asked about it

Now, we could have the ball earlier. 'cept then it is during exams. So it got moved to its current position to make everyone happy. As Far As I Know

Cheers,

Eddie.

Well, you could argue that the date of the ICSM Summer Ball has been set since this year's term dates were set, probably two or three years ago.

However you look at it though, the Medics have 'sabotaged' nothing; and The Mole should retract that assertion in his article.

I just don't get this "evil medics try to wreck everything" take on stuff; we were fed it about the Reynolds bar debacle, last year's summer ball, various sab elections, etc, etc. Why on earth would a quarter of the college's UG population see it as their collective goal to c*** on the remaining 3/4?

It seems to me that the people with the problem are those who peddle this trash.

There are two ways you can view the medic/non medic debate generally:

1) The medics are delibrately obstructive because they don't want to be tarred with the malaise and apathy sweeping the rest of the union.

2) the non medics are jealous of a group of students who can get actually organised and focus on things and are interested in helping their members rather than dithering.

Personally as an ex-non-medic, I think its a bit of both. I've always thought the medics have got a bum deal because they are spread around london and the focus is always south ken (especially in elections 14 boxes for south ken, 1 for the medics? thats hardly fair.).

On the other hand I've always thought the medics have been a little heavy handed in their determination (not quite Rumsfeld-esque but hey), and the problems tend to stem for personality clashes and communication problems more than anything.

Then again, with the current president in charge, can you blame them for not wanting to get further away...

Gus, if you're an ex-non-medic, are you saying you're a medic now?

He wishes! :o)

The assertion of "sabbotage" by ICSMSU in the headline of this article has been moderated. We apologise for this slip-up.

Sorry Andy, I'm too much of a people person to be a medic, as evidenced by my job in an investment bank ;-)

Now come on children, play nice.

I think you should all just accept the fact that, whether it was done on purpose or by accident, it's happened.

To the Medics: We've "suffered" the merger to and we're slowly dealing with it. We know what it's like.

To the rest: They may be part of the IC family, but there has to be a bit of give and take in all the mergers. They haven't just joined you, you've joined them as well so just deal.

Er, the medical school(s) merger was quite a long time ago (in student terms) now. I don't think anyone considers it an issue any more.

We're just left with the classic medics v. everyone else debate that's prevalent everywhere :-)

Don't suppose anyone else has heard about the de-merger?

Sounds promising already, although my suggestion of 'St Charing Cross' as a name for the new place was cruelly rebutted.

I'll send you all a postcard from the new place.

How about St Mary's Cross?

Why is Mary cross? what have you done?

Which dept. wants the medics building then?

Maybe big ric wants to move suite 5 into the medics building. After all I heard a rumour he doesn't like the Sherfield building ;o)

Isn't that why he's building the new building? Or "The Marketing Department" as I've heard some people call it.