‘The Imperial Thing’: Why Comment Matters

There are people out there that are highly critical of the ethos of Imperial College and its approach to academic pursuits. Some individuals from outside the institution find it ‘lacking’ in certain qualities. They often attempt to draw parallels between ourselves and the University of Oxford or the University of Cambridge. Be it the lack of stunning architecture, the skewed gender balance or its unrealised ‘brand’ they choose to draw upon every negative fathomable and consider us gauche, unrefined and imbalanced. This provides the Raison D’être of Felix Comment; Imperial College needs to utilise every voice possible in order to ward off and rise above these criticisms. Every voice matters. Your voice matters.

Imperial has given me the opportunity to encounter people from a range of different and diverse backgrounds, all of whom are united by a desire to excel…The network I have built will remain with me long after graduation.” Abdul, MPhil Nuclear Engineering from the University of Cambridge and Imperial Alumnus

In the coming academic year Felix Comment (managed by my colleague Tessa Davey and me) will publish a number of articles in line with the contemporary developments affecting the College and indeed the wider world on a weekly basis. It will be our task to convey balanced credit and criticism in relation to any academic, socio-political or cultural developments within Imperial College; we cannot do justice to this duty as an isolated entity. The newspaper is merely a focus of the information relevant to over ten thousand students, staff and academics. Felix Comment acts as their conduit, a platform upon which their opinions and convictions can be revealed in the public arena. Past articles submitted have varied significantly. Some have been casual in tone, others have sparked controversy but all have been equally valid; it is discussion and debate that truly makes a university.

The UROP placement has given me an insight into the everyday life of an academic researcher, increased my knowledge about topics relevant to my degree…It will be a good thing to have as experience when applying for internships and jobs in the future. Simon, Materials Engineer and beneficiary of the coveted UROP programme

When analysing Imperial College as a whole it appears to be more than a school. It is a community. You might care to draw parallels with ancient Athenian democracy, which centred on the polis. It was a world founded on variety and continuous evolution, where politics and theatre were considered equals. Its fuel was debate and discussion, creating the cornerstones of sport, art, philosophy and medicine, to name but a few. A series of solitudes were connected to create the recognisable whole. It was a system that ventured into new frontiers…and yet it was more than that. To quote Dr. Richard Miles, senior lecturer in Classics at the University of Sydney,

‘The polis was something you belonged to, the place that gave you an identity.’

This is the chief strength of Imperial College; our thoughts, ideas and voices will prove to be our enduring legacy, our integral link between one another. You may be an engineer, a geologist or a medic but there are shared interests and ideals between us all. Any flaw in the university can be overcome by interaction, which can ultimately deliver progress. Felix Comment is just one of many avenues that can facilitate this.

The opportunity to study for a year abroad is definitely something I would recommend. Not only do you get to taste a different environment, for academia as well as fun times, but it does not even delay your graduation, which is both rare and valuable. Pierre, Aeronautical Engineering on a year abroad in Toulouse.

Each student inherits insane volumes of work (and if you’re a fresher, believe me, you will) and are therefore subject to common stresses andtrials. In many cases resentment spawns and it is often amassed on a College-wide, rather than Departmental, basis. A solution to a problem takes time, working its way up from the individual, through the Students’ Union and into the upper echelons of Imperial College. This process of debate often needs a catalyst; Felix Comment has recurrently provided this over the years.

While students at the College have common interests they are balanced by a rich and dynamic multiculturalism unrivalled by any academicinstitution in the UK. This, for me, epitomises the need for commentary. The students and staff possess infinitely many links to global issues and thus the need to talk about them arises. Civil war, tyranny and poverty have often affected the families of students and staff who study away from their homeland. The duty has often fallen to Felix Comment (and Felix as a whole) to galvanise condolence, sympathy or support for these people in their hour of need.

The previous academic year of 2012-2013 was riddled with tragedy, with the rapidly evolving Syrian crisis a case in point. Such events served to highlight that each and every one of us has been attracted at Imperial College for a reason, underpinned by an aspiration for self-betterment through the medium of a technical education. The buildings, the people and the community are the centrepiece of it all. Discussion in the direction of their improvement cannot fail be a good thing.

Two years ago I did my Erasmus at Imperial and I was able to experience world-class research, meet fantastic people and live in one of the coolest cities in the world. And when you have the possibility to do your Ph.D. in this place, why wouldn’t you? Richard, Prospective PhD student

Fortunately Felix Comment also deals with light-hearted matters. Previous topics of debate have ranged from that of climate change to the introduction of the ‘Grade Point Average’ system. Such vast and extensive topics have provided sumptuous material for debate. The comment section has repeatedly demonstrated that the mechanisms of discussion, that vital threshing and contention, can provide more satisfaction than the outcome itself.

In order to end on a positive note I have contacted a number of individuals from different branches of life within Imperial College, asking them to give a brief synopsis of what has made their University opportunities truly great. They bear witness to the many advantages awarded by our College and demonstrate that we can be proud of it.

It is our very own polis. By enmeshing ourselves with its ebb and flow it might just become the place that forges our future identity.

One way of doing that is to keep in touch with Felix. If you feel a need to vocalise any issue, no matter how big or small, e-mail the team at comment.felix@imperial.ac.uk and we will endeavour to help within our means.

To close I shall quote the Nobel Laureate Seamus Heaney.

Between my finger and my thumb

The Squat pen rests.

I’ll dig with it.

Eoghan J Totten tweets as @eoghantotten