Anyone who has read London Student recently will have seen just how much the editor, Jen Izaakson, enjoyed her holiday to Australia. Publishing exactly the same article twice in the 4th and 18th Februrary editions of the paper, Izaakson writes “Aus- tralia was… a place I’d return to tomorrow if I had the opportunity”. What follows is a bi- zarrely detailed three-page spread on exactly where she stayed, what she did and the food she ate, replete with stock photos of food and hotel rooms. At first glance the article looks like filler quickly put together by the editor for lack of better content; however, with a bit of digging The Cheese Grater dis- covered a more interesting explanation.
As is tradition at London Student, Izaak- son’s trip was almost certainly all-expenses paid by the Australian tourist board. Two ex-editors of London Student, Hesham Zakai (2011-12) and Hilary Aked (2009- 10) have confirmed that, as editor, they were offered the trip by the Australian tourist board on the condition that they ad- vertised Australia in the newspaper. Aked told us that she had accepted the holiday and written about it in the newspaper, adding that Kat Lay, editor 2008-09, had done the same. Lamenting, Aked told us “it is pretty unethical”. Aked, like Izaakson, failed to mention to the readers that they were reading an advertisement. Hesham Zakai, editor 2011-12, said that he received an offer of a trip but turned it down.
Aked told us that although she had been compelled to write two articles about Australia, she was free to choose the content. “I tried to make amends by writ- ing about the glaring anti-Aboriginal rac- ism I witnessed out there”, Aked said. Izaakson’s article, on the other hand, had nothing but praise for the subcon- tinent – nowhere was there a mention of colonial Australia’s dark history of geno- cide and repression towards the aboriginal people, or endemic current day racism. Furthermore, despite being elected on the platform of left-wing “cam- paigning”, Izaakson’s lauding of expensive travel – £350 for a three night stay in a hostel with shark diving, which she refers to as a “bargain!” – just stinks of hy- pocrisy.