As observers of the trendy psychedelic scene know well, it is strongly advised that anyone who wants to experiment, anyone who wants to go on ‘a trip’, should only do so when their lives are otherwise content. In other words, when no negative moods might impinge on the intentional lunacy. It is therefore unfortunate that Britain’s universities seem to have embarked on a truly hallucinatory episode, complete with moments of florid self-harm, just as every economic force in the universe seems intent on their destruction.
Consider the surreal visions now swirling through the Oxbridge quadrangles. First we have Professor Jason Arday, Cambridge’s youngest ever black professor, whose heroic backstory is falling apart under scrutiny. Arday says he once ran 30 marathons in 35 days, despite a right leg swollen to twice its normal size. It seems odd that nobody noticed a man with a leg the size of Italy pounding out his 27th marathon.
Arday also reportedly claimed an appearance on Seven Up, the world-famous documentary that began following its subjects two decades before he was born. Add to that the elusive charity millions he has supposedly raised and some very serious plagiarism allegations, and it really doesn’t look good. And how has Cambridge University responded? Instead of admitting error, of any kind, our second-oldest university has chosen to shoot the messengers and ignore the message.
