Universities should allow students to report initiations anonymously

Universities should allow students to report initiations anonymously, says new guidance.

The new advice said universities may want to offer students the opportunity to make an anonymous report regarding dangerous initiations.

The document adds that systems to report such cases should be advertised so that they “reach all members of student and staff bodies”.

Published by Universities UK in collaboration with Newcastle University, the guidance is part of work done in response to the death of Ed Farmer, who died in December 2016 after taking part in an initiation event.

An inquest found that the 20-year-old Newcastle University student's death had resulted from the "toxic effects" of excessive drinking in a short period of time.

In her ruling, the coroner called for first-year students to be given better teaching on the dangers of binge-drinking.

In a foreword to the document, Mr Farmer's parents Jeremy and Helen said: "If students were made aware of the dangers of drinking large volumes of spirits in short periods of time, and maybe aware of the signs of someone that is no longer just drunk but in a life-limiting state and use the example of Ed to give the message some relevance, then possibly just one student might be luckier on a night out than Ed."

The document has been published as freshers' week begins to take place at universities across the UK.

It contains a list of recommendations for universities, including raising awareness of initiations among students and staff and being clear on what constitutes an initiation involving risky behaviour.

Professor Chris Day, vice-chancellor of Newcastle University said that it is thought many initiation activities go unreported and that is is important to define a "harmful initiation".

He said the guidance concerned events that involve “coercion or bullying students” and this could be encouraging them to drink excess alcohol, “ingesting something horrible and toxic” or even “getting them to walk along the parapet of a bridge”.