A new project to raise awareness of student safety on nights out has been launched by the Guild.
The project, SenseExeter, aims to highlight issues of alcohol consumption and safety returning home at the end of the night. Chris Rootkin, VP Welfare and Community, handed out wristbands at two of the biggest student nights, Timepiece on Wednesday and the Lemon Grove on Saturday.
In a recent article in the National Student, Lee Sheriffe, a young person’s alcohol worker, discussed the common dangers associated with binge drinking and heavy use of alcohol. One of the high risks identified was that alcohol can cause “blackouts and severe memory loss”, leading to “poor decision making”.
SenseExeter aims to combat this by encouraging students to be aware of their alcohol consumption, walk in groups or take a taxi, and be considerate of local residents. Students were encouraged to enter a competition on the website, and there was a good response to the campaign.
Currently, nearly a thousand wristbands have been handed out, and the continuing project will be linked with a larger alcohol awareness campaign in the future.
Jon Craggs, fourth year Maths student, said: “Students can be vulnerable when they’re walking home after a night out, and I think it’s important that the Guild does what it can to protect them.”
Emily Hickley, an Economics student, said: “Although student safety is an issue that the Guild needs to address, I’m unsure that this is an effective way of doing so”.
Chris Rootkin, VP Welfare and Community, said: “The ‘How did I get home?’ wristband campaign was developed to encourage students to think about their personal safety as they make their way home.
“By directly and personally engaging with students I hope they have been encouraged to think about these issues and to take in the information at http://www.senseexeter.com. Following the wristband distribution the website has received over 1,100 page hits and 119 survey responses which will inform future welfare campaign planning.
“One of my priorities is to work closely with the Students’ Guild, the University and the Exeter Night-time Economy Group to ensure that our students stay safe when out at night”.
Helen Carrington, News Team
Follow @ExeposeNews on Twitter and like us here on Facebook.
exeposedev 