Elitismat
Drugs survey
2016
OXBRIDGE
by Lillie Coles
>Inside
>P11
12th January 2016 Issue 319
concrete-online.co.uk @Concrete_UEA ConcreteNewspaper
UEA to give scholarships to Syrian refugees EXCLUSIVE Dan Falvey Editor-in-Chief UEA has announced that it is planning to provide a small number of scholarships for Syrian refugees. The announcement comes shortly after a petition created by the Union of UEA Students’ Migrant Solidarity Campaign began to circulate online. TYhe Migrant Solidarity Campaign was set up at the beginning of the academic year. Since then, it has tried to help Syrian refugees through campaign efforts such as organising clothing collections for refugees in Calais. On 1st January, the society started a petition asking for UEA to offer scholarships to Syrian migrants. Written as an open letter to UEA’s Vice Chancellor, Professor David Richardson, the petition, started by Robyn Sands, the campaign’s president, called upon the university to “please consider offering five [article 26] scholarships for the academic Continued on page 5
Photo: Flickr, Cabrera Photo
Survey reveals UEA’s drug habits >> Annual Concrete Drugs and Alcohol survey shows multiple-drug taking at all time high Peter Sheehan Deputy editor Two thirds of students at UEA have taken illegal drugs according to Concrete’s annual Drugs and Alcohol Survey. Only 2% of students are daily smokers – part of the 39% who smoke more infrequently – but 95% say that they drink alcohol. Of those who have taken drugs, cannabis is by far the most popular, having been smoked by 96% of drug-takers. Ecstasy and cocaine have been taken by 62% and 38% of drug-takers respectively, whereas heroin, which 58% of students consider to be the most dangerous narcotic, has been tried by only 1.2% of drug-takers. Of the 37% who have not taken drugs, nearly seven in ten say that they would not consider doing so in the future. These students are also far more likely to worry about the possible consuquences of drugtaking (90%) than their peers who have tried
drugs (56%). In general, and in contrast the the pillpopping reputation of students, there does not seem to be a marked culture of encourgaing drug use at UEA. 93% of drugtakers and 88% of their sober coursemates say that they do not feel under more pressure to take drugs since coming to university, although a large number of respondents commented that their attitude towards drugs had softened. The opposite appears to be true of drinking. 77% of students drink more, and 62% drink more frequently, since starting university; 53% of drinkers think that drinking games put pressure on students to drink to excess. However, only 29% claim to have themselves drunk to impress others. For the first time, Concrete asked nondrinkers whether they used to drink: 44% said that they did, with most saying they gave up because they never really enjoyed it. A third of former drinkers gave up because of health concerns, while 20% said that they
95
% drink
62
% take drugs
24
% take legal highs
had a bad experience. Now in its 14th year, the surveys reveal interesting long-term trends about drug and alcohol consumption at UEA. In 2003, 20% of drug-takers said they had taken more than one substance at the same time. According to this year’s survey, that proportion has more than doubled to 44%. More generally, however, incidence of drug use appears to be more stable. In 2003, 68% of respondents had taken drugs. In 2005, this figure had fallen to 58%, but rose to 72% six years ago. Worryingly – but perhaps also questionably – the 2003 survey found that 13% of students had operated heavy machinery while under the influence of drugs, the same percentage as claimed to have driven a car while high. Just over a third said they enjoyed taking drugs; today, 70% of drug-takers describe their experiences as good or very good. Older surveys did not cover alcohol in such detail, but the percentage of drinkers consuming alcohol every few days had fallen from 54% in 2010 to 44% in 2016.