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THE UNIVERSITY OF SHEFFIELD’S INDEPENDENT STUDENT NEWSPAPER
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ISSUE 124 | WEDNESDAY 3RD OCTOBER 2018 | FREE
Students’ Union defends providing safe drug taking advice on website Ewan Somerville
Sheffield Students’ Union has defended publishing drug advice on its website, insisting that they are not ‘normalising’ drug use after coming under fire in the national press. A post on the website directed students to guidance from Loop, a company which provides drug safety testing, welfare and harm reduction services, and included advice on the safest ways to take crystallised MDMA. It suggested crushing pills into smaller amounts, avoiding mixing with other substances, and to “chill out and drink water”. In an opinion article for Metro last Friday Katharine Swindells, SU Welfare Officer, criticised the national coverage of The Telegraph, Metro and the Daily Mail, as ‘inaccurate and wrong’. She said: “This isn’t the Students’ Union normalising drug-taking; it is us taking precautions to reduce risk. In an ideal world, students won’t touch drugs, but we know in reality things are often different.” The webpage also advised
students on correct dosages for class A drugs MDMA and ecstasy. Speaking to The Telegraph, Bliss Hunter, a drama student at the University of Sheffield, said: “The Students’ Union should be looking at protecting students and deferring them away from the drug scene, not encouraging them to take them.” Sab Jones, a final year Spanish student, said: “I’m ashamed that this policy is real and on their website.” The SU brought in stricter drug policies following the death of his is Sheffield Hallam student Joana Burns, 22, who fell ill after taking £7 worth of MDMA at Tuesday Club in their venue in 2017. In her article Katharine reaffirmed the SU’s zero-tolerance policy on drugs, and the non-judgemental approach taken to students feeling unwell on SU nights out. She also pointed to the SU’s collaboration with Sheffield DACT, a support service for drug, alcohol and domestic abuse issues. The SU Welfare Officer also added: “Too many young people experiment with drugs without any knowledge of what they do, how they... (cont. on p7)
Image: Juliet Cookson
Sheffield’s Supertram network could be closed down without £230m more funding Lucas Mentken
A consultation on the future of the Sheffield Supertram network has sparked fears about the service being terminated if not enough funding is secured to maintain it. The South Yorkshire Passenger Transport Executive (SYPTE) found that around £230m of investment is needed to keep the network running
for at least another 30 years. In 2014, a study found that after 20 years of continuous operation, parts of the current Supertram network and vehicles are ‘approaching the end of their working life’. Until now, the tram’s operator Stagecoach has been covering maintenance costs but for a longterm plan monetary support from the Department for Transport funding will be required.
Supetram’s current contract will run until 2024, ensuring at least another six years of service in Sheffield. A spokesperson for Supertram said: We will continue to work closely with the Department for Transport and South Yorkshire Passenger Transport Executive until then to deliver high quality tram services for the people of Sheffield. The decision... (cont. on p7)
JUST USE CODE: THE OFFICAL FOOD OF
SHEFFIELD STUDENT LIFE
PIZZA241 EVERY SINGLE DAY
*Buy one get one free on medium & large pizza only. Valid online only. Free pizza must be equal or lesser value than the first. Not valid with any other offer. Offer can be withdrawn without notice. Available in participating stores only. Student ID required. EXP 31-5-19
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