Professor Sir Alan Fersht, 72, has sent an email to all students at prestigious Gonville and Caius condemning second years who “pressured” freshers into drinking “shots of liquor until they vomited.” His email came after he claimed students at the annual Freshers Week pub crawl were caught on CCTV encouraging first years to drink shots as part of an initiation ceremony.
He said freshers, “including women” were then made to drink more as further “forfeits” under the masquerade of a “Tour of the Town.” Professsor Fersht said incapacitated students were left “dumped” on other students’ floors without any regard to the consequences that they could have inhaled vomit and died. He likened the second years’ behaviour to “bullying” and said he feared they would leave the college and become “unethical pariahs like insider traders, exchange rate riggers and corrupt Volkswagen engineers.” He said the “abuse” had to be “nipped in the bud” and urged the second years to write letters of apology to their “victims.”
He also encouraged new freshers not to continue the long-standing drinking initiation tradition. In an email sent to all undergraduates he wrote: “There is a national scandal of students drinking irresponsibly, indulging in laddish behaviour and sadistic initiation rights, and men plying women with drink and abusing them.
The NUS and many universities are taking action against such behaviour.
“I was shocked to learn that Caius was at the forefront of those loutish activities. On the first Tuesday of term, in full view of the public and under the closed circuit television cameras on Queens’ Backs, freshers, including women, were pressured by some second year students to drink shots of liquor until they vomited and were then made to drink more as further forfeits, under the masquerade of a “Tour of the Town”. “Incapacitated students were dumped on other students’ floors without any regard to the consequences that there could have been a fatality because of inhalation of vomit. “Bullying, and experienced second years using their seniority to coerce first years is bullying, is one of the worst crimes in my book. “Such abuse passes down the generations and so must be nipped in the bud. The next generation of second years must not continue this bullying in the guise of an initiation ceremony and must not induce freshers to drink irresponsibly. “It is not only the perpetrators of these acts who are guilty but also the bystanders who are complicit by not preventing them. More than one of our Fellows believe that both the perpetrators and condoners of such bullying will have it long on their consciences. “I am more sanguine. I fear that these bullies will leave the College and become unethical pariahs like insider traders, exchange rate riggers and corrupt Volkswagen engineers. “But, those of you were leaders in the events on Tuesday can prove me wrong by writing letters of apology to your victims and by discussing the events with your Tutors. “Do not indulge in irresponsible drinking but take advantage of all the academic, social, sporting and cultural activities that make up our unique environment and will shape your future lives. Caius is a great place, make the most of it.”
The annual Freshers bop at the college, where Professor Hawking is a fellow, has now also been cancelled.
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