RAG Jailbreakers Removed from Flight to Turkey After Terror Suspicions
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ISSUE 1627 FRIDAY 19th FEBRUARY 2016 The Student Newspaper of Imperial College London How many Grammys Questions you're desperate did you get? to ask a Muslim PAGE 24 MUSIC PAGE 6 FEATURE RAG Jailbreakers removed from flight to Turkey after terror suspicions • 'Hand in Hand for Syria' charity caused confusion • Students met with armed anti-terror police • Group detained and prevented from flying ne team in RAG’s They were carrying a sign leave the plane and to bring their jailbreak competition advertising what they were doing IDs. Just outside the cabin, they found themselves £400 which mentioned one of their were met with a group of armed and down and a day behind chosen charities: “Hand in Hand plain-clothes anti-terror police. after being pulled off of a flight to for Syria”. Their passports were examined, OIstanbul by anti-terror police. Despite being allowed through with one student’s passport causing The group of students, who were airport security and explaining what particular upset due to the presence raising money for several charities, they were doing to the staff who of a police stamp necessary for a had spent the first morning of the sold them the flights, just before visa. The three students were then jailbreak fundraising around West take-off, a man dressed in a high- separated and questioned by police London. After finding themselves visibility jacket boarded the plane for forty minutes. Once it became unable to blag any free flights and approached one member of clear that they weren’t a threat to at Heathrow that evening, they the group, asking: “So what’s the anyone, the group were free to go decided to use some of the money problem?” but were not... to buy flights to Turkey. Confused, the team were told to continued on page 5 committee, the Union President and College. The news story made page ten The Standard RAG mag battle reaches of Tuesday’s Evening Standard along with an image of the union president Photoshopped over the called it a business school. The piece was national newspapers mostly a rehash of FELIX content, "dispiriting with an additional comment from Daily Mail and Evening Standard both publish the union’s interim Managing Director, who said the union had example of news stories on the banned magazine's 'sexism' “responded to students’ concerns about the magazine and RAG the creeping his week, national to raise money for Great Ormond of “harassment and bullying” against had apologised”. A short Editorial newspapers covered Street Hospital, the British Refugee the Union President. After last Comment piece on the incident the sexism row that has Council and Porridge in Rice, which Friday’s FELIX, which published featured on page 14 of the daily censorship at been raging since the works in Kenya, RAG published comment pieces responding to the newspaper, calling it a “small but union strongly advised RAG to bin a 16-page handout that included story, journalists from the Daily dispiriting example of the creeping universities" 1600T copies of a satirical magazine several pages of ‘satire’, which the Mail and Evening Standard began censorship at universities”. they’d just printed. In an attempt union has branded a sexist example to contact members of the RAG continued on page 3 th PAGE 2 THE STUDENT NEWSPAPER OF IMPERIAL COLLEGE LONDON FRIDAY 19 FEBRUARY 2016 felixonline.co.uk [email protected] Contents A word from the Editor News 3 Editor-in-Chief Grace Rahman Features 6 Comment Editors limey, what a week! We for suspicion. Tessa Davey and Vivien Hadlow Comment 7 love an exclusive here at The story’s a happy one though, FELIX, but even we were because after being released by Science Editors Jane Courtnell and Lef Apostolakis Science 8 rather surprised that real armed anti-terror police, which hacks from the Evening Standard would have made even this Great Arts Editors Film 12 and MailOnline took notice of a Ormond Street Hospital Charity Indira Mallik, Jingjie Cheng and B Max Falkenberg story that hasn’t even been on our enthusiast cry and go home, the Arts 19 front page for two weeks or so. group from RAG decided to brush Music and Games Editor And bless RAG, because whatever themselves off and hitchhike to Cale Tilford Music 23 you think of them, they’ve had a Poland. Nice. rough ride of it recently. Not only Our story on the banning of Film Editor TV 25 Fred Fyles was their publication removed and boycotts may not immediately Games 26 their arms twisted for an apology seem like an Imperial friendly Welfare Editor (always a way of getting the most one – the union haven’t voted to Noor Mulheron sincere response) it’s now come to boycott, divest from or sanction Clubs & Societies 27 Puzzles Editors light that their perfectly innocent anything since 1984, when the Hamish Beck and Roxana Radu Hangman 29 jailbreakers were removed from a college hiked prices in the Queen’s flight to Turkey for raising money Tower refectory (back then the to the national press and back again, Food Editor Sanjay Bhattacharya Puzzles 31 for a charity that helps Syrians. Bit union also held ‘porn film nights’ in let’s not forget the worst part of of a case of mistaken identity, but the QTR though, so it was a pretty this media storm: the fact that the TV Editor Sport 30 this was only realised after they'd different time). It's an important Evening Standard’s print edition Saad Ahmed been questioned under Schedule 7 right of local democracies like ours called your beloved FELIX an FELIX, Beit Quad, of the Terrorism Act 2000, which to choose who we do and don't buy “official union magazine”. Sport Editor Josh O'Donnell Prince Consort Road, means anyone can be held by police from, and without this option, local Take this if you take nowt else: we London SW7 2BB at a travel hub for up to nine hours government is weakened. are not the union’s, and we’re made Technical Babe Tel: 020 7594 8072 and be questioned without a lawyer, As the Union vs Free Speech of paper. Never have been, always Luke Granger-Brown Printed by Iliffee Print Cambridge, even if the police have no grounds debate spreads from our letters page will be! Winship Road, Cambridge Copy Editors Registered Newspaper Mattin Mir-Tahmasebi, Anthony ISSN 1040-0711 Voyage, Henry Lloyd-Laney and Copyright © FELIX 2016 Cecily Johnson Letters In response to 'Rag Mag battle skin colour, and that we only shout Having read the article I do not students. This is an important aspect RAG Vice Chair of Activities, becomes racism row', Issue 1626 ‘sexist’ when a woman is criticised believe you are ‘singled out’ because of free speech. Alicia Graham because of her gender. Anything you are a woman and in fact the This is as true for women as it is Sir/Madam, else is a shameful disservice to those article also includes commentary on for men. Whether you think they've As a former RAG Chair and who have truly suffered such abuse. other (male) sabbaticals. Freedom of speech, and messed up or not, we can all admit someone who was also heavily Ben Fernando Calling the piece sexist undermines indeed freedom of the press, are that RAG have had a hard time of mocked in the RAG Magazine, I RAG Chair, 2014-15 genuine sexism. It is true that there fundamental rights as important late. Let's just hope the union has find it disingenuous of the Union is a very distorted ratio at Imperial as the struggle for equal rights been supporting the committee to suggest that the targets of RAG’s It's madam. You know it's and as a woman I am challenged across genders. By 'banning' this through all of this as it as much satire were chosen based on their madam. Madam Editor, please. by this as well. However, this does article and threatening the RAG as it supports some of its student personal characteristics. Although And yes, it obviously wasn't not mean you can use your gender committee, the Union have trodden sabbaticals. under my tenure as RAG Chair sexist. We all know it wasn't, but to make yourself the victim in a on these freedoms in a way that goes -Ed. we may have chosen not to publish if they want to keep saying it was, case that has nothing to do with against the very principle of the such content, we must accept that as let them. Let's just hope it didn't sexism; the article does not even college's legal obligation to promote felixonline.co.uk FRIDAY 12th FEBRUARY 2016 PAGE 5 people in positions of authority we starve GOSH of an extra dialysis mention your gender. Rather it is free speech. COMMENT [email protected] become targets for public satire. machine. a satire about your opinions given I hope you realise that because of Your President speaks on RAG mag ‘sexism’ RAG has gone too far, and should take responsibility for putting women off taking on positions of responsibility To suggest that the Union -Ed. at an interview with IC radio and this dispute, a lot of charity money ho’s to blame for the to be a success, not a scandal. It is gender imbalance perverse to argue that raising money at Imperial, and can only be successful by being cruel in science and and ‘joking’ about natural tragedies.