London Met considers going alcohol-free

London Metropolitan University is considering creating alcohol-free zones on their campuses in an effort to be more “culturally sensitive”.

Speaking to a conference of university administrators in Manchester, Professor Malcolm Gillies, vice-chancellor of London Metropolitan University, said that drinking alcohol was "an immoral experience" for many of his students, reported the Times Higher Education Magazine.

The institution has a highly diverse student population, and a fifth of their students are Muslim. "Because there is no majority ethnic group [at London Metropolitan], I think [selling alcohol] is playing to particular parts of our society much more [than to others]," continued Prof. Gillies. He believes the university needs to be more considerate in its approach. He explained in the past the student body was, "substantially Anglo Saxon – now 20 per cent of our students are Muslim," he said.

"We therefore need to rethink how we cater for that 21st-century balance. For many students now, coming to university is not about having a big drinking experience. The university bar is not as used as it used to be."

The Professor also believes universities need to be more sensitive when considering their portrayal of sex around campus. "We've got a younger generation that are often exceedingly conservative, and we need to be much more cautious about sex too."