I’ve been a peer support student at Linacre College when the tragic incident with Lorna Oakley took place. Although I have been thinking for a long time whether I should speak up, I finally took the decision to raise my voice about what’s truly happening behind closed doors of the College.

As a peer support student, my role was to help and support fellow students who are struggling. However, I don’t think that myself or any other peer support student had any role in supporting Lorna during her hard times. The College staff, as described in parts of this website, consists of people that are basically there to promote their personal interests. On most occasions, and at least for Linacre College, these are academics whose their academic career was really going nowhere and they found a way to exploit the numerous resources that the University provides through the Collegiate system. I am not quite sure how capable or caring these people are, but for Lorna, these people were simply lethal.

I remember that when I heard what happened to Lorna my immediate reaction was to ask myself: Why didn’t I know anything about that? How is it possible for this to happen in a building so close the common room in the heart of the College? Just opposite to the building that Linacre students have parties and fun. How this could ever happen? As a peer support student wasn’t I supposed to support fellow students that are struggling? I could take Lorna from the hand, and go to the parties and all the social gatherings that the students of the College organise. I initially thought that maybe the other peer support students knew more about the situation and they already provided some support to Lorna, but unfortunately that was not the case. I finally found out that the person in charge was Dr Catherine Walter – the Welfare and Equalities Officer of the College. And then I asked myself: How Dr Walter could possibly help Lorna? Does she have the qualifications for helping a student who is seriously struggling, as Lorna was? What are Dr Walter’s qualifications? Does assigning this crucial role to Dr Walter could actually be not beneficial but even harmful for the students? As far as I know she had a career as a teacher, but does being a teacher qualifies you to support students who struggle with serious health issues and need professional psychological or even psychiatric help? Or on those occasions do you throw the ball to the Counselling services and you adopt a comfortable Pontius Pilate stance? Why were the peer support students not involved in her support? Can’t you see the tremendous role that peer support students could have played on those occasions? Does the College understand the power of the students to support their peers that are on more or less of a similar age, have similar interests and believes instead that a 70-year old lady whose only concern is to advertise herself and her controversial group (and bullies in direct or indirect manner students that express their views or considers that they consist a ‘threat’ to the nice image of the College) could help? And what’s the role of the Principal, Dr Nick Brown, in this whole thing? Is his role just to provide a fake smile and a toast accompanied with sour stories during formal events all over the world?

I don’t know, if I need to say more things about how the staff of Linacre College, serves its role, towards the College community. On one occasion at least, this may have caused the life of one of their students. When a student leaves its family to come for studies in our prestigious University, and the College is heavily responsible for supporting the student, there are certain expectations from you.

Lorna, was one of us, a student with dreams and hope for life. She only needed the right support from the right people. She didn’t have it. And Dr Brown your email after the incident to express your admiration on how well Linacrites were dealing with the loss, when everybody was saddened and confused, it was simply pathetic. Even at such a sudden event, you rushed to sent out a fake email, just like your fake smile that was mentioned above, to protect yourself and your position.

A lot of Linacre students, at least those that had the tough luck to interact more with you, know who you actually are and no matter how hard you try, you really can’t hide.

I hope that one day you will be able to apologise to Lorna's parents.