Killjoys! Lancaster Uni fines students £200 if they are drunk
Uni jobsworths launch War on Fun with fines for drunkenness.
Killjoy uni bigwigs are threatening Lancaster students with £200 fines if they are caught getting drunk in a campus bar.
The puritanical new rules would also slap students with a £250 fine if they buy or sell a drink for someone.
The diktat – handed down by college Administrator Juli Shorrock – will apply to the traditionally cheap Lonsdale Bar.
In an email, she said: “Students found in Lonsdale Bar or coming out of Lonsdale Bar who appear to be drunk to a Porter, College Officer or Assistant Dean will be required to identify themselves and will be summoned to a disciplinary hearing.”
Lancaster students could be hit with £200 fines if they are drunk in Lonsdale bar (pictured)
Her jobsworth email sparked anger among students – protests were held, shots were drunk, and objections were voiced at the bar in question on Friday.
In response to the booze-busting measure the college’s Facebook page posted: “Lonsdalions are you a parking ticket? Because you’ve got fineeeeeeee written all over you. Get your beautiful faces down to the bar tonight to show Lancaster what Lonnie students are made of.”
One protestor held a sign saying “Fuck the fine it’s drinking time.”
A wave of Twitter users also expressed their unhappiness about the measure:
One Senior Law lecturer posted: “CPS prosecution guide for drunkenness in Public Order Offences is ‘to have lost self control’! Good luck!”
Lancaster University Students’ Union (LUSU) President, Joel Pullan, said: “While LUSU holds no jurisdiction over the college bars we are striving to find out more information on the reasons behind these fines.
“Though we advocate sensible drinking, we feel such policies could damage the college bar system which we, with students have fought so hard to preserve.”
Today the uni played down the ban. A spokesman told The Independent: “One-off campaign… to raise awareness of UK law on getting drunk and the potential consequences”.
They added: “The ban was not enforced and the bar operated normally. There was a great atmosphere from very early in the evening with large numbers having a great time with their friends and enjoying a drink. Lonsdale bar has been praised by the police for being run responsibly and we intend to keep it that way.
“The university only fines students where there is damage to property or persons.”