Police poised to stop drunken freshers Raisin too much hell

Published on Saturday 9 August 2008 19:56

IT IS a student lecture with a sobering difference.

Freshers at St Andrews are to be given anti-drinking lessons from the police in a bid to safeguard the future of an iconic academic tradition.

The annual Raisin Week foam fight, which sees dozens of students engaging in boisterous revelry in St Salvator's Quadrangle, is considered the social highlight of the year at Scotland's oldest university.

But in recent years the event's image has been tarnished by yobbish behaviour fuelled by binge-drinking.

Student leaders fear that an increase in drink-fuelled criminal conduct could lead campus officials to pull the plug on the traditional November event.

Now freshers at Prince William's alma mater are to be warned by officers that drunken anti-social conduct will lead to them being arrested. They will also be told that a criminal record could harm their career prospects.

Inspector Alastair Topen, of Fife Constabulary, said: "Police in St Andrews will work with the university's student support services and associations to curb antisocial behaviour during events such as Raisin Week. Officers, including our own university liaison officer, will run a series of roadshows during freshers' week to explain the consequences of drinking excessively with regard to personal safety and what effects having a criminal record could have on their chances of getting a job or visa application."

A university spokesman denied they had any plans to halt the pageant, but stressed it could be taken out of their hands if the police felt it was fuelling antisocial behaviour.

He said: "The student community is aware that excessively drunken or criminal behaviour would naturally jeopardise the future of the celebrations – not so much because the university might take action, but because Fife Constabulary would arrest them."

Andrew Keenan, the president of St Andrews Student Association, said steps would be taken to ensure the tradition endures for centuries to come.

"The university and police are trying to calm down the wilder aspects of Raisin Week. The main problem was simply people drinking too much," he said. "We are going to be giving Raisin Week leaflets to every student, which will advise them to enjoy themselves while drinking and acting sensibly."