Felix

20/01/2025

WHAT DO THE STARS HAVE IN STORE THIS WEEK? HUH? WHAT DO THEY?


Catnip editor, Issue 1863

17/01/2025

What do the stars have in store for you this week? (Probably a pop culture reference.)

The weekly horoscopes from last week's issue, 1862.

To read more horoscopes and Catnip, read this week's issue, 1863, out today on campus, or via our website felixonline.co.uk, found in the link in our bio.

Catnip editor, Issue 1862

Image via The New York Public Library

24/12/2024

ALERT has received a temporary installation to mark the Christmas period. The new installation, “ROTUND” features two baubles hung from ALERT’s “knees”, and will remain in place until the new year.

The baubles are approximately 50 centimetres in diameter and made of a “trademark ceramic compound”. They are secured to the statue with steel wire.
The feature has been designed by Hungarian artist FASOD, and was commissioned by the College following an “internal consultation, comprising both students and staff” earlier this year in August 2024.

A source familiar with the matter told Felix that it was agreed upon following low student satisfaction across departments. Felix was also told that College supremos sought to fix the PR errors caused by” last [college] year’s rejected mural application and logo redesign”, which attracted the ire of students, staff, and alumni alike.
“I think they’re really hoping this will fix the last few art cock–ups”, the source added.

Barnaby Hilton-Royce, Issue 1861

To read more news and catnip, go to our website, felixonline.co.uk, and read our 75th anniversary special, Issue 1861 (a pdf is available).

20/12/2024

Felix Newspaper announced its strict no artificial intelligence policy to protect the “integrity of journalism and its creatives” in a statement on Instagram last year. However, this week, it has been revealed why the College newspaper felt no need to dabble in ChatGPT – they have an office of 64 monkeys on typewriters in West Basement.

Ex-Editor-in-Chief, Barbary HiltonRoyce, told NegaFelix that “this operation has been going on for years. It started as a student’s PhD experiment to see how long it would take the monkeys to type out some classic literature, but then they started coming up with some really good material that just couldn’t be wasted for the monkeys’ sake.”

To read more on this exclusive go to our website felixonline.co.uk

Negafelix, Issue 1861

Illustration by Ruby Lydford

13/12/2024

Two students were able to stop the attempted robbery of another student near Gloucester Road station on the night of Thursday 28th November. The students, who wish to remain anonymous, were on their way to the tube station when they ran into an altercation between another Imperial student and a member of the public.

The would–be victim, who also wishes to remain anonymous, called for help as the students approached the scene, causing the attempted phone–jacker to flee from the scene, dropping the phone. Returning later to try and recover the phone, the thief claimed the dropped phone was his, until the students verified that the phone belonged to the Imperial student using the phone’s facial recognition software.

The attacker then began to apologise and “kept yapping on”, trying to disarm the situation, until he finally left the area.

The would-be victim says they will not conduct press charges or notify police about the incident. They also believe the incident was “isolated and unlikely to happen” but will “definitely be more vigilant” [sic].

After ensuring the student whose phone was almost stolen was safe and passing along their contact details, the students were then questioned by the police who had arrived on the scene to investigate the disturbance a few minutes after the attacker had fled.

The students all said the attacker was acting erratically, or under the influence of some kind of drug.

78,000 phones or bags were sn**ched in 2023, a 150% increase from 2022. Almost 64,000 phone thefts occurred in London alone. Early in September 2024, the government announced a crackdown to reduce the number of phone thefts occurring in the UK.

Policing Minister Diane Johnson said: “As part of our Safer Streets mission, this new government is determined to crack down on sn**ch theft, knife-enabled robbery, and other crimes that make people feel unsafe in our communities,” and pledged to increase policing and working with phone manufacturers to make it harder to reset phones to sell second–hand after they had been stolen.

13/12/2024

Members of the UK Bangladeshi community gathered outside the Banwgladeshi High Commission on Queen’s Gate to protest the detaining of an influential Hindu leader in Dhaka on Tuesday 26th November. Approximately 50 members of the public joined the protest chanting and holding placards calling for the release of Hindu priest Chinmoy Krishna Das outside the main entrance to the Huxley Building.

The protestors chants were loud enough to be heard on Elvaston Place and Queen’s Gate Terrace. The chants were not in English, but the phrase “Jai Shri Ram” could be heard, a Sanskrit phrase that roughly translates to “Glory/ Victory to Lord Ram”, and is an expression of faith in Hinduism. Variations of the phrase are used as greetings for Hindus across India but it was popularised by India’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party in the 1980s in its campaign to rebuild the Ayodhya temple on the site of the Babri mosque. The temple is believed by Hindus to be situated at the site of the god Rama’s birth.

Das was arrested at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in Dhaka for sedition at 4:30pm local time on Monday 25th November. He is the newly appointed spokesperson for Sanatan Jagatan Mancha, an advocacy group for Bangladeshi Hindus. He was previously affiliated with the Internatioanl Society for Krishna Consciousness. His arrest has sparked protests across the country as members of Bangladesh’s Hindu minority, which accounts for 8% of the population, demand for his release. The incident is the latest in a period of religious unrest within the country, following former president Sheikh Hasina’s self–imposed exile.

13/12/2024

Ho! Ho! Ho!

What does the Christmas star have in store for you this week?

Image via Wyron A on Unsplash

01/12/2024

What do the stars have in store for you this week?

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Catnip, 1860

Image via Scott Rodgerson, Upsplash

30/11/2024

Is there a better way to spend your Sunday? ☕️

To read all the reviews and find your new favourite caffeine fix go to felixonline.co.uk or pick up issue 1860 at the library café (or anywhere else on the felix map) which even has its own review in the guide.

Coffee crawl?

• • •

Mohammad Majlisi, Gilbert Anthony Jackson, Charlotte Probstel, Barnaby Hilton-Royce, Juliette Flatau, Aditi Mehta, James Desmet, Feb Senton, Lila Harrison, Ruby Lydford, Issue 1860.

A special thanks to all the copyeditors.

Design by Juliette Flatau and Ruby Lydford
Illustrations by Ruby Lydford

28/11/2024

Answer the annual Imperial traditional Felix S*x Survey 24/25 using the link in our bio, or via the QR code in tomorrow's paper on the back cover.

Will The Weeknd top the top listening once again?

To read last year's results, and previous s*x survey results, go to our website felixonline.co.uk, under the tab s*x!

Illustration by Ruby Lydford

28/11/2024

Chancellor Rachel Reeves and Minister for Pensions Emma Reynolds visited Quell Ther**eutics, a biotechnology spinout based in Imperial’s Translation and Innovation Hub (I-HUB) at White City. They were also joined by Steve Bates OBE, CEO of UK Bioindustry Association, and Kristin Macleod CBE, Chief Strategy Officer of British Business Bank.

The Chancellor toured Quell’s lab facilities and spoke on the UK Government’s plans regarding pension funds ahead of her Mansion House Speech on Thursday 14th November. Quell Ther**eutics is a biotech company that aims to create treatment for immune–mediated and inflammatory diseases using Tregs (a type of regulatory white blood cell). Earlier this year, Science Minister Dr Peter Kyle visited White City campus’ I-HUB after the launch of the government’s Regulatory Innovation Office, a key manifesto promise of the Labour government that aims to “reduce the burden for businesses hoping to bring new products and services to the market in some of the UK’s fastest-growing sectors through innovation,” according to a government press release.

📸PLP Architecture International Ltd

26/11/2024

25/11/2024

London’s most prominent gay nightclub, Heaven, has been forced to close after a member of security was charged with r**e, the Metropolitan Police said.

Westminster City Council’s licensing committee ruled that Heaven’s alcohol license should be suspended for 28 days after an alleged r**e in the vicinity of the venue on Friday 1st November.

The 28-day suspension started on last Wednesday, and will last until the full hearing, due to take place no later than Wednesday 11th December. A man was charged on Wednesday 13th November in relation to the crime, according to the Met.

A Westminster Council spokesperson said: “Following a request from the Metropolitan Police and considering evidence from both the police and the operator, the council’s licensing committee has decided to suspend Heaven’s licence for 28 days.

“We recognise this venue’s cultural significance, but the committee agreed this step is necessary to and protect the public. This follows a report of an alleged r**e made to police on Friday, 1 November.

“A full licensing hearing will be held in December where both the police and venue management will have the opportunity to present new evidence.

“This case is currently subject of an ongoing police investigation, and we are unable to comment further at this stage.”

Heaven’s owner Jeremy Joseph said the club was considering its position with regards to an appeal, according to his Instagram page.

Mohammad Majlisi, 1859

Feature image: Entrance to Heaven. Nick Cooper at English Wikipedia, CC-BY-SA 3.0

18/11/2024

An investigation by Pearson VUE and University Admissions Tests UK (UAT-UK) has not found any evidence of suspicious results among Test for Mathematics University Applications (TMUA) candidates, despite earlier reports of a “security incident” after its first sitting on 16th and 17th October. Imperial College will use the results the October sitting “with full confidence” for 2025 entry.

Rumours that there had been unauthorised sharing of test content in China were confirmed in an official statement by Imperial College, however the scope of this misconduct “has been limited”. Imperial have also confirmed that “appropriate action will be taken by any offending parties” following the investigation undertaken by Pearson VUE and UAT-UK.

16/11/2024

Felix interviews Nico about his ambitious year full of promises and what it’s like to work as an Officer Trustee as someone who hasn’t historically engaged with IC Union

Nico Henry was never someone who was engaged with the Union during his time as an undergrad. He “didn’t have any roles” on a Club or Society Committee, and he “wasn’t involved in any societies”. But during third year, as he wrote his dissertation, Nico decided to run for Deputy President (Welfare). “I realized I chose physics because I wanted to kind of create an impact with the work I do,” he says on our call. “But then I realized I was doing my dissertation on calibrating neutrino detectors, and by the end of it by after spending hours– many, many days in a dark lab with no lights. I thought you know what? I might as well work somewhere else doing something else, and I thought what would be the job that would give me that I’d have the most positive impact with.”

📸Imperial College Union

16/11/2024

Imperial College Union Council has voted 37–1 on a paper that calls for Imperial College to be “transparent about costs associated with student halls”, as well as lobbying to prevent the cost of decarbonisation being “paid for by students”. There was only a single abstention. The paper also supports hall seniors receiving fair compensation for “their time and contributions” and introducing discounted rents for hall wardens and sub–wardens.

Additionally, the paper calls for the Union:

• “To take the stance that all profits from student hall summer rentals should be reinvested into student accommodation, and subsidising rents in the event there are surpluses.”

• “To take the stance that no Imperial halls should make a profit from student rental income (i.e. students should only be charged the cost to run and maintain the halls).”

The motion was brought forward by Union President Camille Boutrolle, and Deputy President (Welfare) Nico Henry, and was seconded by the three other Officer Trustees. According to the paper, Imperial’s initial proposal for rent featured an average rent increase of 30%. People familiar with the matter have said Imperial has already amended the increase to 25%. However, 35% of rooms are facing a proposed increase of 58%.

Rents are organised under three categories: affordable pricing, which is 55% of the maximum maintenance loan students can currently receive and is set by the Mayor of London; peer, which are rents below the rents offered by competing London universities, and market, which are rents set 10% below market rate. Currently, 71% of affordable rooms are twin rooms. Only 15% of single rooms within Imperial’s portfolio are classed as affordable.

Imperial’s decarbonisation plan, produced as part of their “Our journey to a net zero estate”, was released earlier this year.

The plan, a joint venture between Imperial’s Property and Major Projects team and consultancy firm ARUP, aims for all buildings including residential buildings to fall in line with net zero legal requirements by 2040.

15/11/2024

This week's horoscopes from today's paper!

Catnip, Issue 1858

15/11/2024

A temporary pause on overnight guests at Beit Hall has caused frustration among freshers. The pause, put into effect from Monday 4th November after an announcement to residents through the hall’s WhatsApp chat, is due to repair works on some of the doors within the residence.

The measure is temporary, preventing guests from staying to ensure security standards are met across the hall. However, students were caught unawares, with students speaking to Felix pointing out that the change was not publicly discussed beforehand and was not announced via email or through the warden team. One resident commented that “there has been zero official communication… this is all through the gr**evine”.

Students were only told that the ban
was enforced due to “safety and security”, with another student describing the reasoning as “very vague and quite unreasonable”. Discontent with the change, with residents launching a petition on their WhatsApp group chat titled “Petition against this decision,” which amassed 101 “yes” votes and no dissenters, revealing widespread dissatisfaction. “That was our petition, basically,” one resident said, noting that each vote represented a signature against the policy.

According to Imperial College’s license agreement for student halls, overnight guests are not permitted in
accommodation unless expressly allowed by the Residential Support/Services team for individual halls or residences.

The minimal notice has left Beit residence upset – some confirming that friends and family abroad have had to cancel pre-booked flights because they cannot seek alternative accommodation.

Students have not been told when the pause will end. Frustration among residents is palpable. One student described the ban as a “gross overreach of power,” while another likened it to “putting us in a cage. “We are all adults,” they told Felix, noting the rule is applied to residents but not to wardens. Another student said that the decision felt like they “were [going] back to boarding school”.

Mohammad Majlisi, Nadeen Daka, Rujula Pawarova, Issue 1858