u/PilotOk2163

Worshipping a teetotall vegan dork, dressing up in gay uniforms, snitching on your neighbours, starting a war that you lose. Not cool at all guys.

He's already taught us how to see the world in a "Curtisian" way, which was his goal all along. Now whenever you see politicians doing something weird you automatically think of neoliberal excess and Trent Reznor.

It is with profound sadness that I write to resign, with immediate effect, from my position at the University of Cambridge and Jesus College.

When I accepted the extraordinary honour of becoming Professor of Sociology at Cambridge, it was, without question, the greatest professional privilege of my life. To become the youngest Black professor in the University’s history was something I could scarcely have imagined as a child growing up with a diagnosis of autism, unable to speak until I was eleven years old.

The response from so many people across the world was overwhelming. Thousands celebrated not simply my appointment, but what it represented: that talent, perseverance and hope can triumph over even the greatest adversity. It has been the privilege of my life to teach my students, to learn alongside them, and to witness their curiosity, kindness and ambition. They have given me far more than I could ever have given them.

Sadly, the years since my appointment have also been marked by an unrelenting level of public scrutiny and personal attack. While criticism is an inevitable part of academic life, what I have experienced has gone far beyond scholarly disagreement. The relentless accusations, speculation and public commentary have taken a profound toll on me and on those I love.

I have tried to continue because I believe deeply in the values of higher education, in rigorous scholarship, and in the transformative power of universities. I have tried because of my students, my colleagues and the countless people who have written to tell me that my journey gave them hope.
But there comes a point when the personal cost becomes too great.

I have a family. I want to be present for them. I want to reclaim some peace, some privacy and some semblance of an ordinary life. I no longer wish to feel as though I am living under a constant spotlight, where every aspect of my life is subject to public examination and judgement.
For my own wellbeing, for my family, and for those who have stood by me throughout this difficult period, I have concluded that the only way to bring this chapter to an end is to step away.

This decision should not be interpreted as a loss of faith in scholarship or in the values that first brought me to Cambridge. Nor should it be mistaken for an acceptance of the narratives that have surrounded me. It is simply the decision of someone who has reached the limits of what any person should reasonably be expected to endure.

To my students: thank you. Teaching you has been the greatest honour of my academic career. Your brilliance, compassion and determination give me enormous hope for the future.

To my colleagues and to the many thousands of people, from every corner of the world, who have supported me, defended me, written to me, and believed in me when it mattered most, I offer my deepest gratitude. Your kindness has carried me through some of the darkest moments of my life.
This is not the end of my work. It is simply the end of this chapter.

I need time to heal. I need time to simply be myself again.

And when that time comes, I will return.

I will return stronger, wiser and with the same determination that has always defined my journey.

There is still so much work to do, and I look forward to doing it alongside so many of you in the years ahead.

For now, however, I ask only for understanding, for compassion, and for the space to begin again.

Kind of crazy when you put it like that.

Two highly unusual things happened in this case: (1) A bright kid with perfect attendance suddenly decided to skip school and go to London, and (2) he was never heard from again.

I think adding a third unlikely event -- foul play -- falls short of the principle of Occam's Razor.

Abduction and murder are rare events. Young teenagers trying alcohol or drugs for the first time and losing their ability to function are not.

I think what happened to Andrew was an extension of the first act of rebellion. He got his hands on some illicit substance. There are countless ways this could have happened: offered something by a stranger, spiked drink, maybe even getting someone to buy some drink for him from an off license. Even a six pack of strong beer could totally do a number on a kid his age, if he's not used to drinking. If we imagine him sitting alone by some tidal part of the Thames, drinking (or smoking weed, or whatever) for the first time, lost in a meditative state, then slipping out of consciousness and drowning, I think we have a far more statistically likely death for someone his age than all of these lurid stories about predators and traffickers.

Even personally, I don't know anyone who was abducted or murdered, but I know of several young people who drowned in similar circumanstances.

There's no reason to think this happened in some built-up and bustling part of London. It could have happened anywhere along the Thames, or indeed outside of the London region altogether.

It's worth pointing out that tons of people are believed to have drowned in a similar way without a body being found. The Australian PM Harold Holt, for example.

Ultimately, I think a lot of the details people focus on -- the one-way ticket (we've all done this if there's any uncertainty about the specifics of the return journey), the "emptying" of his bank account (i.e., a pretty dramatic way of describing a teenager taking out £200 in cash for a trip to London), the PSP charger (a totally normal oversight) -- have the feel of red herrings. We know details, but not others, so we fixate on them as if they're incredibly important. But if I had to guess I'd say Andrew Gosden met his end the way all too many lost young people do: in an unfamiliar state of intoxication, he fell into a famously tidal river, and his body was washed out to sea.