Pubdate: Wed, 11 Oct 2006
Source: Oxford Student (UK Edu)
Copyright: 2006 Oxford Student Services Limited
Contact: http://www.oxfordstudent.com/contact/
Website: http://www.oxfordstudent.com
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/4154
Author: Kate Mcmullen

WADHAM DRUGS HORROR

Two students were hospitalised on Friday night after taking a 
potentially deadly cocktail of alcohol and drugs. Wadham's Dean has 
subsequently threatened to ban the college's infamous Queer Bop. The 
pair were found convulsing outside the bop, with one slipping in and 
out of consciousness, the other talking incoherently. Emergency 
services were immediately summoned when one, a fourth year from 
Keble, collapsed whilst shaking uncontrollably.

"His eyes were rolled up into the back of his head so they looked 
white, and his head kept lolling around," said one eye-witness. "It 
was creepy. He looked like he'd been having a fit and was coming in 
and out of consciousness." Friends feared that the pair had taken a 
lethal dose of Ecstasy.

The Keble fourth-year was dragged from the dance floor to the college 
lodge, where porters made the emergency call. Meanwhile, as the 
traditional final song, "Free Nelson Mandela", played inside the bop, 
revellers rushed to help a female Wadham student who had become 
violently ill and fainted. A witness said, "She suddenly collapsed on 
the dance floor and everyone rushed over to help." The woman retained 
consciousness as she too was taken outside and helped onto a bench.

One student was disturbed by her physical and mental state: "She was 
writhing around and kept falling off the bench. She kept putting her 
leg over her head and doing strange things with her body, as well as 
talking gibberish." Showing no signs of recovery, she was taken to 
the lodge by friends. By this point, three ambulances and a team of 
paramedics had arrived on the scene. The students were rushed to the 
John Radcliffe Hospital, where they were treated throughout the night.

Paramedics quickly discovered that a third man was involved: a male 
Wadham fourth-year, who had not been seen since earlier in the 
evening. He was believed to have taken Ecstasy from the same source. 
The porters searched for the missing student, who was eventually 
found in a friend's room in a stable condition.

A Wadham student said, "He was off his face, but he was physically 
unharmed. Maybe he'd taken less than the others. Maybe he was just 
lucky." Paramedics insisted that he was also taken to hospital to 
undergo precautionary tests that evening. The Keble student, who 
suffered a more severe reaction, spent two nights at hospital, and 
returned home on Sunday evening.

Helen Robinson, an NHS spokeswoman, said: "A crew from the South 
Central Ambulance Service attended the college at approx 01:30 hours 
last Saturday. They found three students requiring hospital treatment 
and so they were assessed on scene and taken into the JR." The woman 
was kept in hospital overnight, but returned home on Saturday 
morning. She told The Oxford Student, "Most of the evening was a 
complete blank. I'm fine now it's just not nice for Wadham."

The college have said that they are taking the matter very seriously. 
Dr Robin McCleery, the Wadham College Dean, said, "A drugs related 
incident ocurred in the early hours of the morning of Saturday 7th 
October 2006 at Wadham. This matter is now under formal investigation 
by the College and by the police." Several students have expressed 
annoyance that the Keble student had been allowed access to the bop.

Normally students' library cards are checked at the lodge to keep out 
non-members of the college. A witness said, "The porters were quite 
angry that he'd managed to get in. They kept asking, 'Who are you and 
where are you fromUKP', but he was unconscious." "He shouldn't have 
been there", said one student. "I'm blaming him if we lose our bop 
rights." Some Wadham students expressed anger that the behaviour 
might lead to a shut-down of organised events in college.

Nadira Wallace, a second-year, said: "It's really shocking. It goes 
against everything Wadham stands for. The college should contain and 
expel bad incidents and move on, not punish the whole college." The 
students will be disciplined for the incident this week. Wadham's 
Disciplinary Code outlines the college's drug policy. "No member of 
the college shall intentionally or recklessly offer, sell or give to 
any person drugs or other substances, the possession or use of which 
is illegal." Keble Dean Dr Alisdair Rogers said, "The college is 
dealing with the incident. Our drugs policy is the same as that of 
the University." Breach of the University Statutes through drug use 
may result in rustication, fining or even banning from college.
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MAP posted-by: Elaine