Live! provides a brief refresher of the key goings on during the Autumn term.

Live! Makes a Scene

TfL apologised for problems with Oyster cards after an interview on the BBC (Photo: Vit Laurenko)

Live! made both national and local news with various escapades, starting with extracting an apology from TfL thanks to the BBC. Shortly after we were nominated for a Guardian student media award, which eventually saw us bringing back a glass trophy. Live!'s success means all of Imperial's student media ventures have brought home glassware in the last two years.

Live! wasn't alone at attracting the attention of the Guardian: Nick Simpson's Livic article on Frei Otto was linked to from the Guardian arts blog, from a post about sports stadia.

Beit Masterplan Gets Go-ahead

The Beit masterplan seemed stalled over the summer, however work towards it continued. John Collins completed his bike ride on the second attempt, raising several thousand pounds for the project. It was finally announced this week that College are supplying £1.93m and work should start in the late spring.

Phase 2 will see the new mezzanine level installed above the current Union gym, creating much-needed extra space.

Southside Shambles

Southside started the term in a bit of a state, although a lot of hard work resolved many of the problems the night before students moved in. Residents received a discount for one month as compensation for ongoing construction work, however a stoic tv report revealed problems still remained some nine weeks into term.

The combined stoic tv and Live! coverage of the problems has apparently raised eyebrows in Residences, with many involved in Southside displeased at the negative publicity and those in other halls annoyed because their problems are much greater.

NUS Reforms

The NUS "comedy sideshow" looked to reform itself, a year after Imperial narrowly voted to join the national union. This year's ICU President Stephen Brown has won a bit of a following within the "student movement", with calls for "Stevil" to run for NUS President. Described as ineffective by its own executive committee, the students present at an extraordinary conference decided that NUS reform was good.

The changes face one further barrier, as they can still be overturned at Annual Conference at the start of April.

Guilding

Sponsorship has been a success, even if elections were a bit... quiet

Guilds has got off to a mixed start this year, seemingly having communication problems with engineering students. Autumn elections were barely advertised, with no results available a week after voting closed. The Guilds President, Tristan Sherliker, was so embarrassed with the poor turnout he failed to reveal detailed results for a further few weeks. Sherliker has also been conspicuously absent at a number of committees he is required to attend, including the Representation and Welfare Board and Union Council.

The last Guilds bar night was well attended, although the executive committee abandoned the bar to the RSM by 8pm.

Higher Education Debate

This term looked set to host a huge debate on the future of higher education funding, with the first Council of the year voting to suspend all policy on HE funding until the new year. Felix readers started to engage in the debate, but the Union failed to deliver on its promise of mass consultation. The policy suspension expires in January, meaning it will have to be suspended again until the consultation materialises. Apparently things are being slowed due to last year's staff cull removing anyone who knew how ICU's survey software works.

ICU may have ignored HE funding, but the government had a good term, flogging the student loans debt to raise some cash, then appointing a Minister of Students. Also this term, the degree classification system once again came under attack.

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