Drug Use and Alcohol at UoM's 'The Woods' Alarm Parents

Concern is mounting at the University of Mauritius (UoM) campus in Réduit, a central town on the island's plateau, after reports emerged of alcohol consumption, drug use, and small-scale drug dealing taking place in a wooded area known among students as "The Woods" — located near the Octave Wiehe Auditorium car park. The alarm was raised by a parent who contacted ION News after repeatedly going to collect his daughter from lectures. What he witnessed near the car park disturbed him deeply. "You see university students with their cans of beer, their cigarettes — some of them are completely drunk," he told the outlet in Mauritian Kreol. More alarming still, he says he encountered young people in a near-"zombie" state on more than one occasion. "I almost got into a fight with a guy when I was taking my daughter home — heading towards MBC [the Mauritius Broadcasting Corporation building nearby] — and I saw someone walking exactly like people who smoke synthetic drugs," he said. When he questioned his daughter about what was happening, she confirmed what many on campus apparently already know: that informal networks of students are transacting and smoking on the car park grounds during free periods. ION News subsequently contacted several students from the campus to verify the account. According to the outlet, the situation is described as an open secret — widely known but little discussed publicly. **What is "The Woods"?** "The Woods" refers to a partially wooded, relatively secluded area on the UoM campus perimeter, which has developed a reputation as a social hangout — known in local slang as a *baz frekante* (a regular gathering spot). The concern now is that it has evolved into something more troubling: a location where alcohol is consumed openly and where what appears to be synthetic drugs — referred to locally as *mas tranpe* or "synthetic" — are being used and possibly traded. Synthetic cannabinoids, sometimes called "legal highs" or *zamal sintetik* in Kreol, have been a growing concern in Mauritius over the past decade. They are significantly more unpredictable and dangerous than cannabis, and their use has been linked to erratic, disoriented behaviour — consistent with the "zombie-like" states the father described. **Why this matters** The University of Mauritius is the country's flagship public university, enrolling thousands of students annually. If drug trafficking is occurring on or directly adjacent to its grounds, it raises urgent questions about campus security, student welfare, and the university administration's awareness of — and response to — the situation. As of publication, UoM has not issued a public statement on the matter. ION News has not reported whether university authorities or police have been formally notified. Parents, students, and education advocates are likely to call for a formal investigation, increased security presence near the auditorium car park, and outreach programmes targeting substance abuse among young people. Source: ION News