Bristol University student’s short story on drug abuse and sexual violence causes controversy

The debate on free speech has ignited at the University of Bristol after the institution reportedly attempted to censor a controversial short story which was published online by a student.

According to Bristol’s student newspaper, Epigram, “uproar” has spread among the student body after English literature student, known as Benjie Beer, posted the story, ‘Nights at the Disco’, online.

The piece, which Beer has since said is fictitious, tells the story of Bristol student, Charlie, who suffers problems of “alienation, drug abuse, and the causes of sexual violence.”

One excerpt from the story reads: “It was a textbook case with this girl. She was black-out drunk, so wasted she wouldn’t remember a thing in the morning. And she was also able to stand, which was perfect.”

Another reads: “Ideally...they don’t stay the night at all. You just get them straight back on the street. They always find their way home. If they vomit or pass out, I leave them somewhere they’ll eventually be found.”

Following a series of complaints post-publication, according to the author, the institution became concerned the story would “bring the university into disrepute”, and asked him to take it down. However, so far, the story is still live.

One student, reports Epigram, said she was “absolutely delighted” the story was being looked at by the university “which has a history of sweeping issues to do with rape under the carpet.”

Beer, however, has insisted the story has “enormous potential” to inform readers about the problems surrounding “the contemporary male psyche.”

Further defending his story in a blog post, Beer said: “It is a dark satire because, through the absurd character of Charlie, the narrator, it satirises the alienation, inadequacy, and frustration that are so often a part of the male experience in our society.”

Beer also described how Charlie has taken all the aforementioned problems “to their extreme,” and continued: “He spends all his time alone, he suffers from anxiety, and he takes drugs and rapes women to satisfy himself.

“Charlie is actually more a caricature than he is a character. These issues are satirised to absurdity because I believe the present situation is absurd.”

Speaking to The Tab, Beer said that, although general feedback to his story has been positive, some have accused him of writing “a guide to rape.”

Although it has a trigger warning included now, commenting on why he did not include one originally - and why he did not explicitly state it was a piece of fiction to begin with - Beer said: “I wanted the fiction to blend with reality in a way that made people realise the issues discussed are disturbingly real, and that we all have it in us to be violent.”

Writing for the online magazine spiked! - which advocates for the freedom of speech at the nation’s universities - fellow Bristol student, Ben Kew, said, if Beer is punished, “this could be one of the scariest cases of campus censorship to date.”

Epigram reports that the university said it stands by its decision to “ask that it be taken down pending a discussion with its author.”

Speaking to the Independent, Lynn Robinson, deputy registrar at the university, said the institution takes free speech “very seriously” but also has a duty of care to students.

She added: “This issue was first raised by a student who had read the post as a first-person account of potentially criminal activity. As the post was presented, it was not clear whether it was an autobiographical account or a work of fiction.

“We have requested the author of the post meet with one of our pro vice-chancellors to enable us to understand the facts of the matter, and to determine whether any further action is necessary.”

When contacted by the Independent, a representative for the students’ union said: “We have no comment to make at this stage as we understand the meeting is exploratory and we await the outcome of that before taking any position.”