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Elections Chaos as Felix "Stolen"

Feb 14 2004 20:09

Nia Stevens

Following coverage in Felix that the elections committee declared a breach of the elections regulations, Felix was yesterday impounded before being re-released after discussions.

The Felix logo with it's motto "Keep the Cat Free"

Allegations of bias in yesterday's Felix prompted the elections committee to temporarily impound copies of the newspaper. This action is not within the remit of the elections committee since it is editorially independent and only the Felix editor may make decisions concerning the content and issuing of Felix. If complaints to the editor are not dealt with satisfactorily then the only remaining course of action would be to bring disciplinary action against the editor.

Alex Coby, Felix Editor, arrived to college yesterday morning to find members of elections committee guarding boxes of Felix while others were carried upstairs into the Union offices and snatching copies of Felix from people's hands. Mr Coby described these actions as "absolutely outrageous, completely out of order and quite possibly illegal" and further stated that he was currently contemplating what action he might take over the next week as a result. In a statement released this afternoon the elections committee stated "we regret the temporary impounding of Felix while we investigated these allegations."

A similar complaint was brought to against Live! but modifications to the article concerned by the editor allowed these to be resolved. According to election regulations "all media or newsletters reports or comments must mention the names of all candidates standing for a post within the body of the report". It may be argued that it is open to interpretation whether this refers to all media reports or merely those reports specifically concerning the elections.

Following discussions to it was decided to re-release Felix and copies were finally distributed by a tired looking Alex Coby late yesterday afternoon. However an appeal against the decisions of the elections committee, the full contents of which are currently unknown, was brought forward to ICU Executive committee last night. Exec however decided to uphold the decision of the elections committee. No candidates for these elections were present for the discussion and decision making portion of the meeting, which was held in closed session.

The final outcome of this decision is still unknown as it is possible an appeal to council may be made. In the meantime elections are still going ahead as planned.

Other problems dogging these elections include a the bugs associated with the inaugural use of online voting in ICU sabbatical elections. A technical problem associated with the integration of the ULU based voting website with the ICU website that caused many of the problems has now been fixed.

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Discussion about “Elections Chaos as Felix "Stolen"”

The comments below are unmoderated submissions by Live! readers. The Editor accepts no liability for their content, nor for any offence caused by them. Any complaints should be directed to the Editor.

1. alex C

Feb 14 2004 20:38

Just to clarify - I do not belive that the elections committee or the returning officer acted with malice when impounding Felix.

I think that they believed that they were acting in the best interests of democracy, and I am not calling that into question.

2. Darius

Feb 14 2004 21:07

I think that it was an absolute disgrace that Felix was impounded.

However, it is quite obvious now why the elections committee had serious cause for concern. Still this does not justify their actions.

Keep the Cat Free!

3. Ashley Brown

Feb 14 2004 22:03

I couldn't really see anything in Felix which could be a cause of concern. The front page article, which I believe the fuss is about, was a piece of factual reporting on current affairs.

Snatching copies of Felix from people's hands was a step too far.

Did the elections committee take action unilaterally, or was there a complaint from a candidate? If it was a complaint from a candidate then it reflects quite badly on that candidate - it would be a bad case of sour grapes...

4. Random student

Feb 14 2004 23:38

With regards suggestions that Felix should have information about the best events in London. Does it occur to anybody that most people cannot afford to go out to the best places in the cosmopolitan capital? I would much prefer more of the coffee break / science articles to pass the time in slow moving Friday afternoon lectures.

5. Opinion

Feb 14 2004 23:50

This looks like a case of the elections committee acting far too hastily in their attempt to "cover" this one up. The irony is that of course by trying to keep one set of rules followed they themselves break others.

As soon as Felix had first began to circulate, the committee should have realised that no amount of impounding would have kept this under wraps. Certainly snatching copies away from people should in fact be considered illegal, as that copy is now a legal property (if I read this right).

6. Darius

Feb 15 2004 00:04

Random Student,

Without doubt there are affordable events out there that will be of interest to students. London has so much to offer and I would ensure that students have some sort of information at their disposal.

Of course Felix should also be covering all the Union events (wednesday nights need Felix's support) and making sure that Felix continues to combat those Friday afternoon lecture blues (just see what I've done with Challenge Your Brains - Felix's most popular ever weekly competition).

Keep the cat free!

7. Darius

Feb 15 2004 01:02

Just to add that Felix was allowed to be distributed 30 mins after I had written a strongly worded email to the elections demanding Felix's release.

I also expressed my concern at the front page article which I knew was going to cause controversy.

8. Geoff Lay

Feb 15 2004 11:44

Darius says:

"Challenge Your Brains - Felix's most popular ever weekly competition"

A little unfounded? Have you done a full poll to check?

Personally I think Felix readers are looking more more light-hearted articles and quizzes to read in lectures.

9. Simon

Feb 15 2004 14:46

Oh how I laughed at this story from BBC News Online: "Concerns over US computer voting"!

10. alex C

Feb 15 2004 15:03

this one is quite pertinent too.

11. Darius

Feb 15 2004 16:00

I totally agree that Felix should have a light-hearted element. I am a firm proponent of quizzes and humour, as Felix Science has shown this year.

12. John Collins

Feb 15 2004 22:00

Darius,

Merely a point of information;

It is quite incorrect and misleading to the electorate for you to in any way attempt to take credit for the eventual release of Felix.

Most members of the Elections Committee had not read your complaint until Felix had been re-released.

13. darius

Feb 15 2004 22:51

Agreed - my email probably had no effect on the committee's decision. At the time I just felt it was the right thing to do.

14. Jeff

Feb 16 2004 10:18

Can people please stop saying 'Keep the Cat free' it's starting to annoy me

15. Darius

Feb 16 2004 22:35

Jeff,

I'm saying 'Keep the Cat Free' because I think it's imperative that Felix retains it's independence - not to annoy you. In the light of recent events I think that's quite important.

16. Chris Austin

Feb 17 2004 16:32

I wondered why that guy (the one from the front cover of felix 1285) gave me a bit of a "sod off and mind your own business" look/reply when I asked him where he'd got his copy of felix from (I couldn't find a copy anywhere and had just been to the union ofice to ask where I could get one and saw him on my way out)

17. ian

Feb 18 2004 18:17

He always looks miserable.

Keep The Cat Free.

18. Darth Nit

Feb 20 2004 13:43

where's felix now?

19. alex C

Feb 20 2004 14:15

It has been delayed until monday, so that the decision of council last night can be fully relayed to the people!

It's all very silly.

20. Darth Nit