Goodbye from me

Well here we are. Nearly 30 issues later and we have come to the end. It’s pretty emotional really. I’ve invested an entire year of my life into this newspaper and I’m not sure what I can say that will do justice to how strange this feels. I will say that I hope you have enjoyed this year of Felix. I hope you have laughed, learnt, been shocked, been happy, and all feelings in between, while you casually flick through these pages on a Friday. I would first of all like to thank everyone involved in the production of the paper, especially the editorial team. Thanks for putting up with me for a year! Now, most importantly, I would like to thank you, the reader. You see, you are the lifeblood of this newspaper. You are what makes it great, not me. This paper would be nothing without you; it would be words whispered into the wind.

This year has had its highs and lows. Then there are the odd lows that are also highs as they are useful: the never-ending deadline is one. To borrow a phrase from a past Felix Editor: nothing focuses the mind like a hanging in the morning. I am pleased to confirm that the highs outweigh the lows by a considerable degree. It’s like Mike Tyson in his prime fighting Amir Khan when he was an amateur. I can happily tell you that I would leap at the chance to rewind the clock and do it all again. Considering this is being written at 4am on a Thursday morning, I think that shows you how much I’ve enjoyed it. Felix is the reason that I have ultimately not hated my time here, and it showcases what students can do when left to their own devices.

My advice for you would be to work hard and play hard. Remember that at the end of it all, you’re not here to make a twat out of yourself in Fabric (or even brave it and go to Piccadilly Institute, or whatever it’s called now), you are ultimately at this university to get a degree and learn about science, engineering, maths, or medicine. At the same time make sure you let off some steam in some way. Getting wasted, having a quiet cup of tea and contemplating your existence, doing backflips, whatever floats your boat – as long as it makes you happy. Don’t have any regrets when you finish. You only get one go at this, so make it a good one.

That goes for your early years of life in general. The Roman poet Horace said that you should enjoy your youth while it lasts in his Ode to Youth. I agree with him on that. Some of the filthier stuff he wrote, well, you’re on your own H man. Ready for pretentious quote number two. You better be, because it’s like Cleopatra, it’s coming atcha. Omar Khayyam put it more delicately than I ever could. Although that’s not saying much really is it? He said: “make the most of what we yet may spend, before we too into the dust descend”. What I’m saying is that you are only young once and only a student once. Never again will you have such relatively small responsibility and such a (sort of) flexible timetable. Go out on weeknights, see all the sights of London, laugh in the back of lectures at the penis someone has drawn on your notes. Very importantly, though, don’t take yourself too seriously and be pompous. When you’re old and have white hair, you probably won’t be looking back thinking you wish you were more serious about everything. You’ll probably be too busy laughing at the great memories you have. Remember that the great joke that life plays on us is that it’s so short.

I can happily tell you that I would leap at the chance to rewind the clock and do it all again

When it comes to your course and your education at Imperial there is a simple bit of advice from me: do everything you can to make a difference to this place. You can change things for the better. Are you a first year going into your second year? Well, you can shape the course and make the third year better than it was going to be. Remember, the lecturers and markers on the course have an immense amount of power. They set exams and the syllabus. They are the ones who can easily change things for the next year, including the courses that you take. If you’re into not being completely selfish, which, hopefully some of you are, then you can help just to make things better for the next generation. That’s the idea of the betterment of humanity. It should be like the song by The Beatles, getting better all the time.

Imperial is a funny old university really. I think it is a great institution, but has the potential to be so much more. What I think makes Imperial great isthe people here. The students are incredible, well, perhaps barring this one guy who was the Editor of the newspaper for a year. Honestly they are. It’s a privilege to get to meet some of the people here: you know what sort of people I mean – the ones that make you think “crap, I’m really not that good at anything”.

Imperial needs to stop the rampant commercialisation and start realising it’s not a crime to be nice, and it’s not illegal to spend some money on students. I understand things need to make an overall profit, but investing that money – as it is an investment in all meanings of the word – into the students is worth it in the end. There needs to be a greater community spirit at Imperial and better interaction between staff and students. There needs to be more honesty and plain talking, especially from the upper management. There’s not enough space here to really go into it, and it’s the end of term so I’ll spare you the essay on higher education and soforth. I will say this: the on-the-ground effects of changes are what really count. Broad strategies are needed and great, but sometimes you just need to shake things up a bit. Here’s an example of something that I think would be a good start and create a fast change that students would see and feel. Have a university-wide benchmark on lectures and lecture note quality, enforced with “editorial boards” that allow freedom of expression for the lecturers as well as making sure they adhere to a high standard. Plus having random students plucked out of a computerised hat to consult on College policy and decisions could help getting a diverse range of opinions. I’ll stop now before I delete every page to talk about this stuff.

The Union: well, that has so much potential too. They need to loosen up a bit and not worry about their image as much. This is a problem that College also shares. Remember the advice that your mother gave you as a child: it’s what you think of yourself that counts. Again I’ll spare an essay on all the things that could be changed (e.g. the food) and say one interesting idea: how about having staff roles being sabbatical students instead. That is the whole point of a students’ union after all. Of course the staff are there for stability but students here are a clever bunch, I’m sure they could make it work. That said, the staff deserve a quick clap for supporting and helping students, and the Union has had quite a good year I think.

Anyway, that’s enough from me. Have a great summer and good luck for the future.