University of Bristol Independent Student Newspaper
www.epigram.org.uk
30th November 2015
Issue 294
Features
Drugs at Bristol Uni
Sarah Redrup explains why survivors of sexual violence need to talk more
Page 6
Comment Maya Jones addresses sexism at Bristol in response to a controversial new facebok page
Page 11
57 per cent of respondents have taken a Class A drug
Travel Travel celebrate Paris after the
Sarah Newey Editor Ben Parr Investigations Editor More than a quarter of students at the University of Bristol claim to have felt pressured into taking drugs, an anonymous Epigram survey of nearly 300 students* has revealed. The survey found that 77 per cent of Bristol students have taken illegal drugs for recreational purposes and that 89 per cent of those who took drugs did so whilst at the university. The results also reveal that 26 per cent of students have felt pressured into taking drugs and of those students, 30 per cent subsequently took them. These findings come shortly after members of the university management - including the Vice Chancellor, Professor Hugh Brady
- were quizzed on Bristol’s ‘rampant drug problem’ at the University of Bristol Question Time. At the event, it was suggested that some students feel ‘pressured into taking drugs.’ The university management, however, appeared to be unaware of such issues, saying they would have to ‘look into it.’ Yet in 2013, a national survey asking students at UK universities whether they had taken illegal drugs listed the University of Bristol eighth. The results, reported in the Mail Online, found that 75 per cent of Bristol students had used illicit substances. One student who said they do not take drugs commented that not doing so made them feel like an ‘outsider’ at Bristol. ‘Most unsettling is the number of people who, upon coming to Bristol, had either never taken any recreational drugs, or had only used cannabis, who have now moved on to class A drugs,’ they said. This suggestion is consistent with
the Epigram survey results, which found 39 per cent of drug users have tried cocaine. The survey also revealed that only 7 per cent of students claimed that they did not know about the side effects of drugs before they took them. However, this figure appears to be at odds with the 27 per cent of students who said that had they known more about the side effects, they would not have taken certain drugs. Student’s comments about the safety of drug use was mixed. One student claimed that if you ‘take part in horse riding you are more than 28 times more likely to be harmed’ than if you take ecstasy. Not all respondent comments reflected this sort of statement however. ‘I wish I’d known about the depression that come downs could trigger, I’m not sure I would have been so quick to try,’ said one student. A spokesman from Anyone’s Child, a charity campaigning for legal changes in the status of drugs in
horrific events of Friday 13th Epigram
26 per cent have felt pressured to take drugs
order to promote safer drug control, suggested that there is ‘a need for accurate and honest information’ about the potential consequences of drug use. ‘We see the vast amounts of money being spent on punishment and enforcement and the inadequacy of prevention and risk minimisation education - it seems clear that reallocation is urgently needed if we are serious about protecting the health and wellbeing of young people. If your survey shows anything, it is that lots of young people are using drugs - and policy responses have to deal with reality to minimise any potential harms,’ they told Epigram. The majority of respondents appeared comfortable with the number of drug users in Bristol and striking the balance between this and their work. However, more than a third of students still said that they have regretted taking drugs at some point. continued on page 3
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Style
Stay safe and stylish while cycling with East Cycle Studios Page 24
Music Sam Mason-Jones reviews Foals, who didn’t put a hoof wrong in their performance at the Anson Rooms
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