Fresher’s Week has been marred by a series of violent incidents involving students from several colleges, with JCRs warning students about the dangers of alcohol.
One student from Jesus college was attacked on Wednesday of 0th week and was taken to hospital by ambulance.
Henry Freeland, a second year at St Anne’s, witnessed the incident.
He said, “I was walking away from Park End at about 2.30am when I saw a student lying on the floor. I assumed that he was drunk, but on closer inspection it became clear that this was not the case.”
“The attacker and a friend were still there, they seemed to find the whole thing very funny and explained that the student had kicked one of them whilst urinating, so he was punched by one of the guys, a professional boxer.”
“The punch knocked him to the floor and probably broke his nose. It was at this point that they left and we called an ambulance.”
A St Hilda’s student, who wished to remain anonymous, was also chased and assaulted while returning to her house in Cowley after a night out.
“My friend and I were chased by a white male in a hoody until we got to our house where we stopped and he hit me. We really did not expect it to end that way,” she said.
“It was unprovoked – all we did was ignore whatever they were shouting at us from the car they pulled up in,” she continued.
“It’s true that people just don’t think it will ever happen to them, until it does. I admit that now I am worried about the rest of the year living in the area.”
In the same week, a group of St John’s students were reportedly chased into the college by an Oxford resident, which is now under investigation by the college authorities.
The JCR Entz Officer, William Deller, circulated an email to St John’s students telling them that, “whilst the matter is currently being investigated by the porters, and we are not looking to apportion blame, this sort of behaviour is unacceptable.
“We have been warned that should such an incident happen again there could be severe repercussions.
“Please think carefully about your actions this week,” Deller continued, “and indeed on any night out. We all want to have a good time but your safety is of course of paramount importance.”
St Hilda’s JCR Committee has also sent out safety advice to members of the JCR. It includes suggestions to limit “alcohol intake and not getting involved in any fights” and warning that “any incidents where students initiate or incite violence will be treated as student disciplinary offences by the college.”
