# Felix (newspaper)

Felix is the student newspaper of Imperial College London. The newspaper is published weekly during term time with approximately 30 issues per year, and is distributed around the various Imperial College campuses.
The Felix motto, "Keep The Cat Free" (first adopted in 1974), refers to the policy of distributing the newspaper free of charge but more importantly to the tradition of free speech: unlike many students' newspapers Felix is free to criticise union policy whenever the editor sees fit, although during Spring Term 2008 Imperial College Union constitution controversially prevented some news articles from being published.
In addition to news, Felix also carries comic strips, features, opinions, puzzles and reviews, plus reports of trips and Imperial College sporting events. As a student newspaper, it is read by a large proportion of the student body, as well as other members of the Imperial College community. Consequently, it provides an opportunity for advertising to both students and staff.
The editorial offices are located at the Imperial College Union Media Centre in Beit Quad. The editor is elected by members of the students' union as a paid sabbatical officer.
The paper won the Guardian Student Newspaper of the Year award in 2006 and 2008.

## History

The publication that preceded Felix in covering student interests was called The Phoenix. In 1886, writer H. G. Wells founded the literary magazine Science Schools Journal, later renamed The Royal College of Science Magazine in 1891 and finally The Phoenix in 1904. The latter continues to be published as the annual Students' Union arts newsletter.
The first issue of Felix was released on 9 December 1949, taking over the duty of reporting college activities from The Phoenix. In 1995, the university established an official newspaper, Reporter, published every three weeks, but this is primarily aimed at academics and staff. In 2005, I, Science, produced in association with Felix, went on to become the first university science magazine to be short-listed for Student magazine of the year in the Guardian Student Media Awards.

### Cat logo
#### Origin

Traditionally, a cat has been incorporated into the Felix logo. There have been various iterations, ranging from a cute domestic cat to a roaring tiger. The original appeared as the main image on the cover of the first issue.

#### Replacements

During the 1980s and 1990s, the most widely used cat logo was the knight. In 1999, this was controversially replaced by a barely recognisable silhouette of a leaping cat (reminiscent of the Puma sportswear logo), then, in 2000, by a scowling pair of human eyes. These changes proved so unpopular among readers that, while running for election, two successive editors promised to "bring the cat back". In 2001, the cat returned in the form of a sabre-tooth tabby cat, designed by the creator of the freakfighter! comic strip. In 2004, the knight was restored, albeit as silhouette since 2006. In February 2008, Felix reported that it was unable to write about everything that affected students due to the constitution of the union. As a result, the logo has been modified so that the cat is now gagged with a red snooker ball.
A change in the cat logo has often accompanied the annual redesign to the newspaper layout, corresponding with a change in the production team.
The academic year starting October 2009 sees the original logo from 1949 reinstated and redesigned, to celebrate Felix's 60th anniversary.

## Editors

* E.M. "Ted" Hughes (1949–1950, issues 1–9)
* Clifford M. Hargreaves (1950–1951, issues 10–19)
* John W. Midgley (March–November 1951, issues 20–27)
* Stephen H. Wearne (1951–1952, issues 28–34)
* Kenneth Percy Eldridge (May–June 1952, issues 35–38)
* Stephen H. Wearne (October–November 1952, issues 39–41)
* A. Robin Bray (1952–1953, issues 42–48)
* Dinesh C. Kale (1953, issue 49–56)
* Geoff H. Starmer (January-June 1954, issues 57–64)
* John S. Seeley (1954–1955, issues 65–74)
* Peter A.E. Southgate (1955, issues 75–82)
* Les Ebdon (1969)
* Dave Sugden (1971–1972)
* David Hobman (1972)
* Oliver Dowson (1972–1973)
* Alasdhair Campbell (1973)
* Paul Wadsworth (1974)
* Michael J.L. Williams (1974–1975)
* Steve Marshall (1980-1981)
* Mark Smith (1981–1982)
* Martin S Taylor (1982-1983)
* Pallab Ghosh (1983–1984)
* David Jones(1986–1987)
* Judith Hackney(1987–1988)
* Bill Goodwin (1988–1989)
* David Roberts (1999–2000)
* John Clifford (2000–2001)
* Andrew Sykes (2006–2007)
* Thomas Roberts (2007–2008)
* Calum Drysdale (2020-2021)
* Sam Lovatt (2021-2022)
* Ameena Hassan (2022) Jamie John, Isabella Ward, Zanna Buckland (2022-2023)
* Jamie John (2023-2024)
* Mohammad Majlisi (2024-)