WADHAM DRUGS HORROR

Two students were hospitalised on Friday night after taking a
potentially deadly cocktail of alcohol and drugs. Wadham's Dean has
subsequently threatened to ban the college's infamous Queer Bop. The
pair were found convulsing outside the bop, with one slipping in and
out of consciousness, the other talking incoherently. Emergency
services were immediately summoned when one, a fourth year from
Keble, collapsed whilst shaking uncontrollably.

"His eyes were rolled up into the back of his head so they looked
white, and his head kept lolling around," said one eye-witness. "It
was creepy. He looked like he'd been having a fit and was coming in
and out of consciousness." Friends feared that the pair had taken a
lethal dose of Ecstasy.

The Keble fourth-year was dragged from the dance floor to the college
lodge, where porters made the emergency call. Meanwhile, as the
traditional final song, "Free Nelson Mandela", played inside the bop,
revellers rushed to help a female Wadham student who had become
violently ill and fainted. A witness said, "She suddenly collapsed on
the dance floor and everyone rushed over to help." The woman retained
consciousness as she too was taken outside and helped onto a bench.

One student was disturbed by her physical and mental state: "She was
writhing around and kept falling off the bench. She kept putting her
leg over her head and doing strange things with her body, as well as
talking gibberish." Showing no signs of recovery, she was taken to
the lodge by friends. By this point, three ambulances and a team of
paramedics had arrived on the scene. The students were rushed to the
John Radcliffe Hospital, where they were treated throughout the night.

Paramedics quickly discovered that a third man was involved: a male
Wadham fourth-year, who had not been seen since earlier in the
evening. He was believed to have taken Ecstasy from the same source.
The porters searched for the missing student, who was eventually
found in a friend's room in a stable condition.

A Wadham student said, "He was off his face, but he was physically
unharmed. Maybe he'd taken less than the others. Maybe he was just
lucky." Paramedics insisted that he was also taken to hospital to
undergo precautionary tests that evening. The Keble student, who
suffered a more severe reaction, spent two nights at hospital, and
returned home on Sunday evening.

Helen Robinson, an NHS spokeswoman, said: "A crew from the South
Central Ambulance Service attended the college at approx 01:30 hours
last Saturday. They found three students requiring hospital treatment
and so they were assessed on scene and taken into the JR." The woman
was kept in hospital overnight, but returned home on Saturday
morning. She told The Oxford Student, "Most of the evening was a
complete blank. I'm fine now it's just not nice for Wadham."

The college have said that they are taking the matter very seriously.
Dr Robin McCleery, the Wadham College Dean, said, "A drugs related
incident ocurred in the early hours of the morning of Saturday 7th
October 2006 at Wadham. This matter is now under formal investigation
by the College and by the police." Several students have expressed
annoyance that the Keble student had been allowed access to the bop.

Normally students' library cards are checked at the lodge to keep out
non-members of the college. A witness said, "The porters were quite
angry that he'd managed to get in. They kept asking, 'Who are you and
where are you fromUKP', but he was unconscious." "He shouldn't have
been there", said one student. "I'm blaming him if we lose our bop
rights." Some Wadham students expressed anger that the behaviour
might lead to a shut-down of organised events in college.

Nadira Wallace, a second-year, said: "It's really shocking. It goes
against everything Wadham stands for. The college should contain and
expel bad incidents and move on, not punish the whole college." The
students will be disciplined for the incident this week. Wadham's
Disciplinary Code outlines the college's drug policy. "No member of
the college shall intentionally or recklessly offer, sell or give to
any person drugs or other substances, the possession or use of which
is illegal." Keble Dean Dr Alisdair Rogers said, "The college is
dealing with the incident. Our drugs policy is the same as that of
the University." Breach of the University Statutes through drug use
may result in rustication, fining or even banning from college.