Whatever your attitude is towards drugs, we want you to be aware of the risks. This includes risks to your health and wellbeing, as well as legal consequences.

The best way to stay safe is to avoid drugs but here are some things to consider:

• Everyone’s tolerance to drugs is different
• Mixing substances (including alcohol) can be unpredictable and dangerous
• You can never be sure of an illegal drug’s strength or content
• Tell your friends if you have taken drugs in case of any difficulties. Also, if you know one of your friends has taken drugs, look out for them to help keep them safe.

For more drugs related advice, visit the Talk to Frank website.

Warning: Public Health England has recently issued a warning about particularly dangerous drugs, which mimic cannabis and MDMA (ecstasy), in circulation in the region. Users have experienced life threatening symptoms including agitation, delirium and loss of consciousness. Read the full Public Health Statement.

The truth about legal highs

Legal or herbal highs are designed to mimic drugs (e.g. cocaine or cannabis) but may not have been tested for human consumption. New drugs are developed all the time but we don’t know the long-term effects on the brain and body.

The new ‘Psychoactive Substances Act’ means that it’s now illegal to supply any ‘legal highs’ or ‘herbal highs’ for human consumption. This includes selling or giving psychoactive substances to anyone for free, even to friends.

Punishments range from a formal warning to seven years in prison.

Get support

If you need support, you can speak to one of our trained advisers in the Wellbeing Team. Other places you can go for advice include:

• University Medical Centre
• Talk to Frank
• Kent Union’s Advice Centre

The University’s Policy

We also recommend you familiarise yourself with the University’s Drugs Policy.

Image credit: Pills by Grumpy-Puddin. CC BY 2.0.

The University has a code of practice that underpins its commitment to freedom of speech within the law. The code is available on the policies and procedures page of the University’s governance website. This code replaces a previous version that had been put in place to meet the requirements of the Education Act 1986.

The aims of the code are: to provide guidance on freedom of speech within the law; to ensure that any restrictions are kept to a minimum; and to outline measures that might be put in place to support freedom of speech in circumstances where there may be concerns about the maintenance of order or health and safety.

It is the responsibility of the Senate, faculties and academic schools to ensure freedom of speech within the law is protected for academic-led events, research and teaching. If you have concerns that an event needs extra measures to ensure that it goes ahead, for instance that there may be disruptive protests; or that an event may go beyond the law, for instance by inciting racial or religious hatred; please contact Keith Lampard, Secretary to the Council and the Court, at the earliest opportunity so that a course of appropriate action may be agreed.

Annex A of the code sets out procedures for student and Kent Union bookings.

An annual report of the operation of the code is submitted to Council every year. The report for 2016-17 is available at http://bit.ly/2Ed1Mqq

The School of Mathematics, Statistics and Actuarial Science (SMSAS) is kicking off the launch of their new one-year ‘Year in Data Analytics’ programme on Wednesday 21 February, 14.00-15.00 in Sibson Lecture Theatre 2.

The Launch Event with free food is open to all current undergraduate Kent students who would like more information on the programme and want to discover how adding a Year in Data Analytics to their degree can enhance their employability.

Data plays a significant role in today’s world, from predicting our shopping habits and personalising our social media feeds, to determining our eligibility to buy a home and influencing our accessibility to healthcare, social care and much more. Data is used in all sectors in various ways, and knowing how to understand different datasets can prove invaluable when entering the job market of our ever evolving and data-driven world.

For more information about the Year in Data Analytics visit http://bit.ly/YiDA or email us.

SMFA Audio Electronics Lecturer Sean Williams was on a programme called Radio Controlled on BBC Radio 3 on Sunday 11 February at 18.45 with other academics, talking about early experimental electronic music on West German radio in the 1950s.

To listen to the programme go to Sean Williams is a researcher with a strong background in music practice. He has released a number of records on various labels in the UK, Europe and the USA, and performs solo and with groups including Grey Area, and the Monosynth Orchestra.

For more info go to our webpages.

University of Kent alumna and honorary graduate Fi Glover returned to Kent last week to interview current students about their opinions on how far relations between men and women are being redefined in the aftermath of the Harvey Weinstein scandal and #MeToo. The interviews took place in the Student Media centre and will be aired on Wednesday 14 February at 1.45 on Radio 4.

Fi Glover and Peter Curran are traveling around the country to find out if, and how relations between the sexes are being redefined in the UK’s workplaces, from call centres, to comedy clubs to student unions.

Says Fi Glover: “Social change is usually only identified in the rear view mirror of history but we are going to try and run alongside this one and find out if we are living through one of the most significant cultural shifts of recent times.”

SMFA music lecturer Anna Neale has released a new single Evolution which is available on all the usual music platforms (Spotify, iTunes etc). The video was filmed at the Dockyard and the Church, and featured University of Kent (Medway) students

Evolution  is taken from Anna’s forthcoming album Wide Sky, due for release on the 23rd March, featuring performances from Syrian musicians and the members of the English National Opera (ENO) chorus. Fusing together Middle Eastern music with Western pop, and continuing the world music theme featured in her pervious album ‘River Man’.

Anna Neale is a multi-talented singer/songwriter, composer, session vocalist, and voice over artist, and has performed at most of the major music conferences, released two albums and two EP’s to critical acclaim, written songs for other artists, radio and TV advertising, and provided vocals for many TV animations, songs and adverts. As well as her composing and performing credits, Anna has lectured at the University of Cambridge, The British Museum, BIMM (Brighton & London), Canterbury Christ Church University and the University of Hertfordshire. She is also a member of the Oxford Brookes’s music industry board.  Her research interests include songwriting and the music of Ancient Greece.

For more information:  http://www.annaneale.net
The video: https://youtu.be/GrWcMpNOMko

All staff, and especially those with a student facing or support role, are invited to an interactive workshop and information session on Wednesday 21st February in the Templeman Library with Tony Giles, blind global traveler and author, sharing his experiences of studying, living and travelling with sensory impairments.

Tony is totally blind and severely deaf in both ears, and gained a BA in American Studies from the University of Northampton in 2001 and a MA in Transatlantic Studies from the University of Birmingham in 2003.

He has written about some of his travel adventures in two published Ebooks: Seeing The World My Way, 2010 (republished 2017) and Seeing The Americas My Way, 2016.

You can follow Tony’s adventures at www.tonythetraveller.com

Book your free place here.