Drinking and sex warnings for students

STUDENT leaders are to mount a wide-ranging safety campaign amid mounting concern over the dangers of binge drinking, date rape drugs and street violence after dark.

Officials will also issue warnings about having unprotected sex, safety measures for shared flats and theft prevention as part of the drive, which will be launched on April 19.

Dozens of volunteers are being lined up to highlight the campaign, which will see around 2000 advice packs distributed, 1000 personal safety alarms handed out and thousands of condoms given away.

Stalls will be run at all student unions, the main halls of residence and the university’s library by Edinburgh University Students’ Association.

It will also issue around 250 posters and more than 1000 beer mats during the launch week of the campaign. It will run initially until the end of the spring term but welfare officers at the association say they may keep it going permanently because of the importance of the issues involved.

They have admitted one of the main reasons for mounting the campaign is a spate of recent attacks in and around the university area, including a vicious assault and robbery in the Meadows and a head-butt attack outside Potterrow student union.

Students will be urged to either walk home in a group from a night out, travel by taxi or stay over with friends rather than walk home alone.

Other key messages include "Think When You Drink" in a bid to curb binge drinking, "Safe as Houses", which is aimed at warning students against allowing strangers into student flats or halls of residence, and "Watch It", which warns against using cash machines after dark.

The campaign will see these and a string of other messages beamed to TV screens in student unions, on the association’s official website and on computer screen-savers across the university.

Sarah Nicholson, vice-president representation at the students’ association, said: "There’s no guide written specifically for students at the university that encompasses such a broad campaign.

"It’s a wide-ranging campaign that looks at national issues like the dangers of your drink being drugged and the problems that binge drinking can cause, but it also addresses the worrying number of attacks over the last few months.

"We don’t want anyone to panic, or feel any less confident about their personal safety, but there are sensible measures people can take to reduce the chances of being a victim of a crime.

"There have not been a lot of incidents but people should be aware they’re in a city.

"We’ve been working with the police, the council and the drugs agency Crew 2000 to put together things like general safety advice around the city and in the home, as well as over things like what you should do if you suspect your drink has been spiked or if you have overdosed. We’re also publishing numbers of taxi companies, contact numbers for police stations and advice phone lines."

Students are also being urged to be wary of the dangers of drinking more than the recommended 21 alcohol units per week for men and 14 for women.

Campaign literature will warn of dependency, liver damage, high blood pressure and brain damage.

Students are urged to draw up an escape plan from their flat in the event of a fire, ensure all corridors and stairwells are kept clear and avoid smoking either in bed or in a chair after drinking.

The campaign also warns against walking along Constitution Street and Coburg Street in Leith at night to avoid the former red-light district of the city.