A University College Student Association Magazine
BUBBLE
7
Mo Wings, Mo Problem: Who Fell Off W Roof? by Matt Cockram
Was the reason you fell this time be- I was extremely fortunate that I only broke cause you were drinking? my leg. The whole time I was in the hospital I was quite scared that I could have been I was also drinking the other times I’d been paralyzed. I also want to discourage any of up so I think I was just unlucky. I almost my friends from doing that. blame it on not having drunk enough, because I wasn’t super drunk so I felt the fear How is recovery going? more. In the early hours of the 17th September, It’s going good. I’m getting pretty quick with rumours spread round campus that some- What do you think of the response the crutches. I think in a couple of weeks I’ll one at the ABP party had fallen off the roof. from the emergency services? be fully recovered. Everyone thinks they know the story: the climb, the fall, the break. But what exactly is the truth behind the rumours? Who is the boy that fell off the roof of Building W? Matt Cockram speaks to Moritz Hake about what happened that night, and his new found fame on campus.
Moritz Hake was just a normal UCU student. He majored in Earth, Environment and Geography and was from Berlin. He liked bouldering, playing basketball, drawing and hanging out with friends. Most of that hasn’t changed, but overnight Mo and his broken leg also became the topic on everyone’s lips. Overnight you became what in the UK we call a BNOC - a Big Name on Campus. How do you think people knew of you here before the fall? I think people saw me around and knew that I existed, but they maybe didn’t know my name. I wasn’t very well known before.
It was really quick. The first people to help me were the UCSA board, and when the ambulance came they struggled to put the IV in my arm and I was a little annoyed about that but I was in shock. They did a fantastic job, also at the hospital. I was really glad they were there. I don’t fully remember everything. I don’t know if they loved me. I was on a lot of painkillers and I was saying a lot of stupid things to them while they were trying to do their job. I think I was a bit annoying. I was thanking them a lot.
The following morning, Martin Diedrix sent an email to the student body criticising the party culture on campus. What’s your take on the topic? It seems like Corona is slowing down and we’re all young and it feels like we’ve lost a lot of our social time. At least for me, as a third year, we had this semester and a half where party culture was very prominent and then nothing happened for a full year. And now that things have opened up again I think everyone is excited and we want to have fun as well. It is part of the experience of going to university.
Illustration © Avantika Bhowmik
What misconceptions did people have You’re a third year now, heading out about what happened? into the real world. What’s next for We’ve all done stupid things when I heard a lot of things. I heard some peo- Mo Hake? we’re drunk. You fell off a building. ple thought I’d died. Some people thought I How did that happen? broke both of my legs. Some people thought That’s a good question. I have no idea! There I fell on purpose. All of that is not true. I are a couple of programs I’ve looked at at I was at a party and I was hanging out with do feel a little bit bad because some people the UU that are all based around sustainability, sustainable development, sustainable a friend. We knew that another friend had didn’t take it very well. business and innovation. Or a gap year. climbed onto the roof of W, so we joined him. I already knew that it was going to be How has life changed for you since First of all, once I heal, I’d like to get back scary climbing down because I’d done it be- the fall? into bouldering. I’ve developed a bit of a fore. I wanted to get off of the roof as quickly as possible, I didn’t want to stay there too It wasn’t a positive experience but a positive fear of heights, but I’m looking forward to long. I kind of just fell. thing that I’ve taken out of it is that I never building my confidence back up again. want to do anything stupid like that again.
