January is almost over. I’m glad, because it’s more or less the most depressing month of the year – everyone keeps making you feel bad about not going to the gym by eating salads with no dressing and it’s ALWAYS dark.

It’s also the last month before most student union elections, so it’s often where editors get to take one last breather before they cover the biggest event of the year. Here’s what we spotted this week:

Police break up violent protest against KCL Israel society event

By Ryan Chang for Roar News
Image: Richard Millett

Image: Richard Millett

Police stormed up a talk held by King’s College London’s Israel Society on Tuesday when up to 25 pro-Palestinian activists began a violent protest.  

Activists smashed a window, threw chairs at the door of the lecture room, and set off fire alarms to disrupt the event.


Oxford translates Enlightenment works on tolerance to commemorate Charlie Hebdo

By James Broun for Oxford Student
Tolerance: The Beacon of the Enlightenment contains excerpts from fifty-nine 17th- and 18th-century works (cover: Heidi Coburn CC-BY).

Tolerance: The Beacon of the Enlightenment contains excerpts from fifty-nine 17th- and 18th-century works (cover: Heidi Coburn CC-BY).

Hundreds of  Oxford students and tutors translated a body of French Enlightenment works about tolerance and free speech into English last week.

Available for free online, the book was published by Open Book Publishers to commemorate the anniversary of the Charlie Hebdo attacks in Paris, which took place on 7 January 2015.


Multiple students scammed on popular ticketing Facebook group

By Edward Henderson-Howat for Epigram
Image: Epigram

Image: Epigram

What was meant to be a fun night out at Bristol nightclub Motion after exams has turned into a disaster for a number of students who were scammed by a rogue Facebook user on the popular ticketing group ‘Clifton and Stoke Bishop Tickets.’


How to get over the January blues

By Charlotte Simpson for Redbrick

This lifestyle piece from Redbrick contains all the advice you need to survive this awful month.


Impact exposure series

Featuring pictures taken by India-Jayne Trainor

We love this new photography round-up from Nottingham magazine Impact. Check it out!


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Flash Friday is a weekly round-up that aims to showcase the most engaging student news stories reported by our member publications. If you want to submit a story, share your content with us at communciations@spajournalism.com or tweet us @SPAJournalism using the hashtag #FlashFriday.

Featured image credit: India-Jayne Trainor