University remains silent for three weeks after fresher fatally falls from university wall

An 18-year-old student died after falling from a wall by University of Strathclyde halls, however it has taken three weeks for the university to make an official statement regarding the student’s death. 

Campbell Hunter died in the early hours of December 9th, but until this afternoon the University of Strathclyde had not made an official statement announcing Campbell’s death. 

Students at Strathclyde have taken to social media angered at the university’s lack of acknowledgement for what happened to Campbell Hunter on university premises. Students have also voiced their concerns at the university’s silence as to what changes they will be making to the wall, which one student described as a “massive and obvious hazard”. 

John Kearns tweeted the wall, which he described as being “three feet high with a six metre drop”, is sat on regularly by students. “Students are always sat here despite having onsite security and yet there is still no signage/railings to stop people”, John tweeted. “Do the right thing, apologise & fix this before it happens again.”

Pictures on Twitter show “Campbell, forever in our hearts” written on the wall, with flowers resting at the bottom. 

Emergency services were called to Rottenrow, the location for the majority of Stathclyde’s student accommodation, around 1.50am on December 9th. Campbell was taken to Glasgow Royal Infirmary, where he died. A spokesperson for the police said there were no suspicious circumstances surrounding the 18 year old’s death.  

Campbell has been described as “inspiring” and “one of the brightest, most brilliant people who put heart and soul into everything he did.”

A spokesman for the University of Strathclyde said: “The University community is deeply saddened by the death of one of our students. Campbell was well-known and liked, and his tutors describe him as a brilliant, engaged, and enthusiastic student. He had already made an excellent start to his studies, and will be missed enormously.

“Since the tragedy, our student support services have been in touch with Campbell’s family and friends, and support remains available to anyone who has been affected. 

“The area has been assessed and work will begin shortly to modify the wall to prevent anyone from sitting on it.”

Featured image credit: Tweed Reads Facebook, Glasgow City Guy Flickr (Creative Commons License)

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