Oxford student who killed himself was victim of ‘cancel culture’, inquest told

Alexander Rogers, 20, was left ‘distraught’ after an allegation against him caused some of his friends to no longer speak to him

An Oxford University student killed himself after falling victim to “cancel culture”, an inquest has heard.
The death of Alexander Rogers, 20, whose body was found in the Thames in January, was ruled as suicide at Oxford coroner’s court on Wednesday.
A two-day inquest heard that an allegation had been made against Rogers, a student at Corpus Christi College, days before his death. The court heard it had caused some of Rogers’s cohort, including his friends, to no longer speak to him, leaving the student “distraught”.
The coroner, Nicholas Graham, concluded that the allegation and subsequent backlash against Rogers led him to form the intention to take his own life.
He has since sent a prevention of future death report to the Department for Education inviting it to consider the prevalence of “cancel culture” across higher education.
The inquest heard Rogers had been “looking forward to returning” to university after the winter break. However, another student with whom Rogers had previously had a relationship alleged an incident occurred on Jan 11, the Oxford Mail reported.
Rogers then faced ostracism from the college community which was characteristic of a “pervasive cancel culture”, according to Dr Dominique Thompson, an independent consultant who investigated the events around his death.
She said the allegation caused a “pile-on” effect of students siding against Mr Rogers because of an “unwritten” moral imperative to “do the right thing”.
Dr Thompson told the court: “It was shocking to hear that students were treating each other in this way, but I was not surprised by this pattern of behaviour.”
Rogers was reported missing to police on Jan 15 by a concerned peer, and police and fire crews recovered his body that afternoon.
A statement from Rogers’ family, read out by the coroner, said that for the student “the rational became the irrational, and he ended what could have been a beautiful life”.
Following this death, friends described Rogers as the “epitome of what is good in this world” as they ran a marathon in a fundraising effort for a suicide prevention charity.
Mr Graham said: “I would like to express my condolences to the family. While what we are dealing with here is in the interest of the public the family additionally has to carry the unique burden of grief, which is a heavy one.
“From what we have heard Alexander was an extremely able and popular young man and his passing is sad indeed.”
He said the medical cause of death was “a severe head injury” sustained by the student.
A joint spokesman for the university and college said: “Oxford University and Corpus Christi College extend our deepest sympathies to Alexander’s family and everyone in our community who has been saddened by his tragic death.
“The college commissioned an independent review to identify all learning in this case with the aim of minimising the chance of such a tragic loss happening again.
“The wellbeing of our students remains our absolute priority and we are committed to maintaining the safety of all those within our university and college community. Our thoughts remain with Alexander’s family and his friends.”
The college added: “Alexander was a talented student, well known and liked in the college community and beyond and a vibrant presence in the Junior Common Room, the boat club and the Materials Science cohort.
“Whilst the loss of any young life is tragic, we have felt Alexander’s death particularly keenly.”