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Back where they left off! The women’s hockey team is now 2-0 on the season after this weekend >> pg. 7
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TUESDAY, OCTOBER 8, 2013
Courtesy of tarekandjohn.com
TAREK AND JOHN FREE AT LAST. Western professor Tarek Loubani (right) and York University professor John Greyson have been freed from an Egyptian prison. The pair had been held without charges since August 16. However, they have been prevented from leaving the country.
Tarek Loubani and John Greyson were freed on Saturday after being held for 51 days in Egyptian prison. But their journey is far from over — the pair is barred from leaving the country and is grounded in Egypt. Loubani, a Western professor, and Greyson, a York University professor, checked in for their flight to Frankfurt on Sunday but were prevented from boarding because they were on a “stop list” issued by prosecutors, the CBC reported. It is speculated that the two may have a long wait in Egypt ahead of them, although in a hotel room instead of a jail cell. The CBC reported there are rumours the pair will be grounded until charges against all 600 protestors arrested with Loubani and Greyson are processed. The two Canadians were released from prison at 10:58 p.m. on Saturday October 5. Benjamin Thompson, a friend and colleague of Loubani, described his reaction as “elated.” “After witnessing horrendous crimes, suffering arbitrary and unjust arrest, torture, disrespect, beatings, ludicrous accusations, repeated slandering and unjust imprisonment, Tarek and John have been released,” Thompson said in
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CANADA’S ONLY DAILY STUDENT NEWSPAPER • FOUNDED 1906
Loubani and Greyson released from prison
Megan Devlin NEWS EDITOR
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an e-mail. Loubani and Greyson were arrested on August 16 in Cairo while en route to Gaza. Loubani, an emergency room doctor and professor at Western’s Schulich school of medicine, was going to train medics at a Gaza hospital. Greyson, a film professor at York, was prepping to make a documentary on Loubani’s work. The two were detained and held without charge for seven weeks in Egyptian prison in squalid conditions — in a recent letter, they described sleeping “packed like sardines” on a cockroach infested floor. Western president Amit Chakma released a statement Sunday expressing his appreciation for Loubani and Greyson’s release. “We appreciate the efforts by the Canadian government to secure the release of Loubani and Greyson. I also want to say how proud I am of the members of Western’s community for their vigilance in maintaining a heightened awareness of the plight of these two men,” Chakma said in the release. “As friends and colleagues, we look forward to the welcoming Dr. Loubani back to Western,” he continued. Thompson said Loubani and Greyson’s release marked one victory against tyranny.
However he expressed his outrage at the ongoing “tyrannical” practices of the Egyptian government. “That we would say ‘The Egyptians came to their senses’ would be ignoring their ongoing devotion to psychological warfare, by the Egyptian prosecutor placing them on a no-fly list then implying that they could not be released until the fate of 600 other prisoners was determined,” Thompson said. He also said he believed the Egyptian government could not be acquitted of holding hundreds of other prisoners on “likely bogus or nonexistent charges.” “That we would say ‘The Egyptians came to their senses’ would be forgetting the crimes against humanity the military committed against their own citizens,” Thompson said. A rally was planned to take place in the University Community Centre this Thursday to welcome Loubani and Greyson home. But with the pair’s uncertain date of arrival, the celebrations have been put on hold. “Tarek and John – we await you in Canada. There are many hugs, kisses, high fives, chest bumps, smiles, tears and more tears that await you,” Thompson said.
VOLUME 107, ISSUE 20
Spoke speaks: Use our travel mugs Richard Raycraft NEWS EDITOR Have you purchased your Spoke mug yet? Starting in January of next year, Spoke customers will only receive an environmental discount if they fill up with one of their new branded mugs. The travel mugs are available for purchase at the restaurant for $10 plus tax. Students refilling using it can get their coffee at a price of $1.49, but starting January 1 students who choose to refill with a different mug will lose the discount they previously received. According to a sign hanging in the Spoke, however, the Spoke will not refill any mugs that are not sold there. Spencer Brown, vice-president finance at the University Students’ Council, explained that the sign was meant to inform students of the promotion prior to its implementation, though the information contained on it may not be completely correct. “There will be more promotion leading up to January 1, and we wanted to give some lead time for students to not get upset about it, basically,” he said. Brown clarified that the Spoke will still fill up other mugs, but without the discount. “When you buy a Spoke mug, you get a free refill with the first time you buy it, but then you get about 25 per cent off of the coffee,” he explained. “If you bring in, say, a Tim Hortons mug, we’ll still fill it up, but the environmental discount will stop, starting January 1.” “You see Starbucks mugs around, you see Tim Hortons mugs around — we want to have the Spoke brand mug, so to incentivize people to buy this, we’re having a cheaper coffee for those who have Spoke mugs,” he continued. Jayne Clarke, a fourthyear film studies student at Western, fills up her mug three times daily at the Spoke. She said that while she’ll purchase a mug, it would be an inconvenience. “I guess if I had no other
option I would, but I wouldn’t be very happy about it,” she said. “I guess it’s just another way to try to make money — to get more money out of the students.” The mug also comes in a nonbranded variety, which will also qualify for the discount. Brown emphasized the Spoke offers fair trade coffee, which is unavailable elsewhere on campus. “We are the only ones who offer 100 per cent fair trade coffee [on campus], and we want to make sure that we give a discount to regular Spoke customers,” he explained. Brown explained that the USC would pay heed to students’ feedback. “It’s a promotion we’re running with right now, and with every promotion you need to look at the feedback — the numbers and how people receive it,” he said. “If students like it, great, if students don’t like it, then we’ll have to switch it.” “We’re always open to feedback.”
Taylor Lasota GAZETTE