Keep Safe

Drink Safe

Drink Spiking: There’s been an increase over the last couple of months in reports of drink spiking.  While drink spiking is never the fault of the victim, it’s always worth being aware of what can help prevent you being spiked.

• Don’t leave your drink unattended, whether it’s alcoholic or not.  Any drink can be spiked
• Always watch your drink being made
• Never accept drinks from people you don’t know or ‘friendly strangers’
• Never minesweep – it may seem like a way to save money, but you never know what might be in a drink that’s been left unattended
• Use Spikeys or other drinks covers to prevent people adding anything to your drink
• For more tips on how to prevent drink spiking, as well as how to recognise the symptoms in yourself and your friends, and for what your Guild are specifically doing to tackle drink spiking and spiking by injection (needle spiking) in our venue, please visit our Spiking page.

Know your limits: The national recommended alcohol intake for adults is no more than 14 units per week, spread over 3 days.  A good way to keep a track of your alcohol consumption, is to download the MyDrinkAware app.

You don’t need alcohol to have fun: Never feel pressured to consume alcohol.  Not drinking, won’t mean you have less fun on a night out.  Remember never to drink alcohol if you’re driving.

H2O: Water is a great way of staying hydrated in between drinking alcohol.  It also reduces the amount of alcohol you drink. 

Remember to eat: You’ve probably heard the term ‘eating’s cheating’, but it’s actually a good thing to eat before a night out.  It will mean that alcohol is absorbed at a slower rate, which will stop you getting drunk too quickly.

Travel Safe

Before you go out, always plan how you’ll be getting home.

Public Transport: Make sure you know the times of your bus/train and save timetables on your phone.  A good tip is to set an alarm on your phone so you don’t miss the last one.  When you catch your bus/train, always try and sit near other people, or sit close to the driver.

Walking: If you are planning on walking home after a night out, never walk home alone!  Always try and walk home with the people you went out with.  Try and stick to well-lit main roads and visible walking routes.  Never take short cuts through parks, allies, small side streets, or by canals.  Always walk so that you’re facing oncoming traffic.

Driving: If you’re planning to drive, make sure you’ve got enough petrol and that you’ve planned where to park.  Is it close to the venue? If it’s further away from the venue, is your route well-lit and will you be walking alone?  After your night out, always have your keys handy so you don’t waste time having to look for them.  Never drink alcohol if you’re driving on a night out.  Many bars and clubs run schemes for designated drivers, offering free/reduced soft drinks.

Taxis: Before you go out, make sure you have enough money for your taxi/Uber.  Where possible, always prebook your taxi and ensure it’s licensed.  Never think that your journey is too short to take a taxi!  Taxi drivers are not allowed to refuse any journey, by law, for being too short.

Tracking: There are lots of apps out there which allow you to share your location with friends and family (including Hollie Guard, Walksafe, Kitestring, One Scream, etc.)  If you’re walking home alone, try not to talk on your phone or wear headphones, so you’re always aware of what’s going on around you, and where you are.

Online Safe

Lots of people are scammed every year online, whether by people sending scam emails to ‘phish’ for your personal information, or by selling fake tickets.

Phishing emails: Always be careful of emails and texts sent to you which ask you for personal information, including bank details.  Often these emails and texts are made to look like they come from legitimate companies, but always think whether they would ask you for that information or to make a payment.  For more information about phishing and identity theft, click here.

Ticket scams: We’ve seen an increase in reports of our students being scammed on the Fab ‘N’ Fresh Facebook group, by people either selling fake tickets, or ‘pretending’ to sell tickets.  Often these tickets are being sold for more than their original price.  Always make sure to buy your tickets from a reputable source, whether that’s directly from your Guild, or a fellow student you trust.

Social media:  Always make use of privacy settings on social media.  This way you know that what you’re sharing on your platform, is only being seen by the people you want to share it with.  You might like living in the moment, but remember that what you post on social media can last forever - future employers may take a look at your social media when you apply for a job. 

‘Revenge Porn’: This is when a private sexual image of someone, is shared without their consent and with the intention of causing them distress.  It is an illegal offence and West Midlands Police can help if you’ve been a victim of revenge porn.

Drugs

Your Guild has a zero tolerance policy towards drugs and anyone caught taking drugs in our venue will be removed.

Drug use is never 100% safe, so we’d always advise not to take them at all!  Spiking someone by injection (needle spiking) or spiking their drink with drugs, is extremely serious and could result in a maximum prison sentence of 10 years, and university expulsion.

For more tips on how to  recognise the symptoms of spiking by injection in yourself and your friends, and for what your Guild are specifically doing to tackle this in our venue, please visit our Spiking page.