Drug death fuels uni immunity debate
A 26-year-old woman was found dead of a drugs overdose in the grounds of one of Thessaloniki’s Aristotle University faculties on Wednesday night, fueling debate about the exploitation of university immunity for illegal and dangerous activities. The woman’s body was found by guards on the site of the university’s theological faculty alongside that of a male companion who was unconscious, also due to drugs. It was unclear whether either were students. The man recovered. The woman is believed to have died after taking a cocktail of drugs but a coroner had yet to issue a verdict by late yesterday. According to the university’s rector, Anastassios Manthos, there is a problem with youngsters taking drugs on faculty grounds, though he said fatal overdoses were rare. He said the university had seen a surge in crime which he described as a «byproduct of the social unrest in December.» The dean of the university’s technical faculty was more outspoken, describing the university grounds as «in a state of total lawlessness.» «Things cannot go on like this – the university cannot be a place where the law ceases to apply,» said Nikos Mousiopoulos. He added that the university senate had discussed the need for order to be imposed in the institution’s faculties.
