Shock as ‘Drunk’ Lecturer to Receive Help

It emerged on the 5th of February that a lecturer from University College Cork was escorted from her class by UCC security after students realised that the woman in question was intoxicated. In an email from the class representative on behalf of the class, it was noted that all was not well in the early moments of the lecture and there was clearly something wrong. After struggling to begin the class, it is reported that the lecturer in question turned on some students and started to swear at them in a threatening manner. When she did try and move on with the class her intoxicated state became more evident as she continuously began to slur her words. In an angry statement on behalf of the class, the representative said, “each student of this course is paying a vast amount of money to receive the best education possible (between €10,000 and €15,000) and we are not getting this in this class. Students have come halfway across the world to UCC to study these modules and this is what they were faced with yesterday.”While some students left the lecture theatre following the use of bad language directed at them, others stayed behind, worried for the lecturer’s safety. The final straw was when she fell over and onto the ground, prompting two students to come to her assistance. It was at this point that security was made aware of the incident and the woman was taken out of the building. While those present were and still are concerned for the well-being of their instructor, it was made clear by the class representative that such an incident should never have occurred and all parties are extremely upset. “Both students and families are extremely angry and disappointed by what happened and something must be done about this,” the statement said. “It is completely unacceptable for students to have to pick up an intoxicated lecturer off the floor and take care of them.”In a statement UCC officials have said that they are aware of the incident and support will be given to students involved as well as the lecturer. While there have been reports that the lecturer admitted to driving from Kerry to Cork that morning, this has not been confirmed to be the case.