Universities generally give a little welcome pack to freshers.

You might get a pen, a leaflet for on-campus services, and some food items donated by brands for promotion.

For those starting first year at the University of Sussex this year, it’s mostly the same – except for one item which has caused controversy.

A beer mat advertising dental care subscription service Brushbox was included in the 2018 Dig-In Box, featuring a ‘spit or swallow’ message.


The mat can be hooked onto your nose to make it look like you’re spitting out a white substance – very droll.

The images circulated on Twitter and Mumsnet, with people describing the items as ‘sexual harassment’.

Young woman is accepted to the University of Sussex and this is in her welcome bag. WTF @SussexUni Do you have any respect for women? This is sexual harassment. pic.twitter.com/IeKzvHX4KC — Untameable Shrews (@untamableshrews) September 20, 2018

One Mumsnet user said, ‘What a hostile, threatening environment for young women university has become. Someone already said it upthread, but it feels as though we’re rapidly regressing back to the atmosphere of a 70s working mens club.



‘”Get drunk and give oral, oh and make some lovely friends whilst you’re at it”. Ugh.’

Another said, ‘As a young woman recovering from a domestically violent relationship when I started uni, I wouldn’t have felt very welcome.’

What the beer mats say Whether you spit or swallow as part of your (twice…) daily oral regime, place your oral health on autopilot with Brushbox. Get your Dig-In Box special offer at [url].

The company who compiles the boxes say that their packs reach 80% of freshers, so this may not be specifically a Sussex problem but a Dig-In Box one.

However, a University of Sussex Students’ Union spokesperson told Metro.co.uk: ‘We were very disappointed to find this promotional material in our Dig-In boxes, and will be reviewing whether to renew our contract with this supplier.’

A spokesperson from the University itself continued on the Union’s sentiment, saying: ‘We can absolutely see why this promotional material in our Students’ Union’s freshers packs has sparked such a strong reaction. We’re sure this discussion will continue and that our Students’ Union and other student unions will feed back the reaction to the company responsible.’

Brushbox told Metro.co.uk: ‘We’re are really sorry if anyone has been offended by the promotional image used in the Dig-In boxes. We now realise it was inappropriate and misguided of us to use this type of image as a way to raise awareness of dental health issues.

‘We completely understand that the image could be deemed as derogatory to women and for that we are truly sorry – this was never our intention, and we take full responsibility for any upset it has caused.

‘BrushBox is a company which prides itself on its family and ethical ethos and we are very disappointed that something which was meant to encourage good health habits amongst students has caused any offence.’

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