A terrible incident which reinforces why we should drink responsibly

By Ken Ebihara
International Foundation

Today, more and more people, including young people, like to drink alcohol. They drink alcohol not only at special occasions but also on many daily occasions, such as when you have dinner with your family or friends. It is likely that you too like to drink on certain occasions. I have chosen to write this article due to an incident that happened to me involving alcohol.

I am currently studying at Cardiff Met and live in halls on Cyncoed campus. Last Halloween, I was enjoying myself at a flat party with my friends who were drinking alcohol. I personally do not drink alcohol as I have seen the consequences of ‘a drink or two’, first hand so do not drink at all.

Anyway, after the party ended and in the spirit of Halloween I thought it would be fun to scare some people around campus. However, after scaring a particular young man he suddenly attacked me and tried to take my shoulder bag by force. I tried to resist him, but his power was too strong for me to do so. I felt threated and in imminent danger. He succeeded in taking my bag and he stopped attacking me.

Thankfully, one of my friends and campus warden spotted the incident and came over to help. Fortunately, I had no injuries, so I forgave the attacker. However, afterwards he attacked a car with people inside. His friend and a security guard tried to restrain him which he resisted. Seeing the second outbreak, I felt dreadful.

As a result, I decided to report him to the police and take the proper action for what he did. If I did not do anything, there could have been a high probability that he could attack someone else in the future. I wanted to prevent him from hurting anyone else and stop him acting so violently. The police arrived and he was not arrested but received a very strict warning.

The following day, a police officer came to visit me. He informed me that the young man was not a student of the university but he was visiting the campus to meet a friend. The young man had also sent a message that he apologised to me for his behaviour. After listening to the policeman, I felt I didn’t want an apology. Instead, I asked the officer to deliver a message from me back to the young man. 

‘I do not need an apology from you. However, I would like for you to not cause similar incidents in the future. If not just to protect other potential victims but also to protect yourself. I would not like for you to ruin your life. Please, never do such a thing again. This is the best way to apologize to me.’ 

I can only assume that he was so happy to meet his friend that he was too excited and did not pay attention to his alcohol consumption. As a consequence, he drank too much. Sometimes we cannot keep our composure because of our happiness. I personally have had many experiences where I could not stay calm because I was too happy. What I mean is, it is possible that a small careless act can bring about a serious and unrecoverable outcome unexpectedly and that can ruin not only the lives of other people but also our own. 

As a Cardiff Met student, I would really like for all students and staff to feel like they are in a safe environment and enjoy themselves on campus.

Drink responsibly and safely. Thank you for taking the time to read this article.