I love the way old-timey people talk about medicine. "I got so tired I got pneumonia." "He laughed so much he died." "He died from eating too many cherries." Just like purely vibes-based analysis of life and death.
That response is incredibly on brand for Nixon. I picture him as always at least 50 years old even when he was a college kid. I see him as older than his parents and telling them that quote on the phone while also scribbling the names of all the students involved to get revenge on someday. Poor fuckers are probably on some hidden list of people who mysteriously wandered into traffic or walked out of windows after drinking an entire cup full of LSD in the 1960s. I can picture him relaxing into his luxurious leather couch with a huge whiskey mumbling to himself about "looks like ol' Dick Nixon had the last spank after all." And never telling anyone about it except the CIA guy who reported it to him.
Very common at e*ropean universities as well. It’s a way to make sure non-rich people don’t join the exclusive clubs. You get treated better/worse based on your background. People get injured regularly and sometimes they even die.