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Post by kiwithrottlejockey on Feb 16, 2015 16:26:32 GMT 12
from the Otago Daily Times....No hiding party's streetful of shardsBy HAMISH McNEILLY | Monday, 16 February 2015 Glass and rubbish remain strewn over Hyde Street yesterday. — Photo: Hamish McNeilly.A CONTRACTOR has reportedly refused to clean Hyde Street due to the amount of smashed glass strewn in the notorious party street in Dunedin's north end at the weekend.
More than 1,000 revellers were in the street on Saturday night, and police reported the partying was good natured. No arrests or couch fires were reported.
A resident of a neighbouring flat contacted the Otago Daily Times yesterday to express her disgust over the partying, which left the street looking “like the Third World”.
The postgraduate student, who wished to remain anonymous, said she had lived in the area for two years and the amount of rubbish was the worst she had seen.
“I try to pick up the broken glass every Sunday morning, but it was just too bad.”
She said that was the same decision reached by a council contractor who “took one look at [the street] and said: ‘I'm not doing that’.”
Last night, a Dunedin City Council spokeswoman said the council had received no information about the incident.
The resident praised the actions of the contractor and said it was an appropriate response rather than cleaning up after people who took no responsibility for their actions.
The worker said the excessive drinking was “worse than anything I have seen overseas”.
She had made previous complaints to the University of Otago proctor, police and Dunedin City Council noise control officers.
Asked why she chose to live in an area renowned for student parties she replied: “Why should I move?” Campus Watch staff were understood to have swept much of the glass into large piles in the street yesterday.
• Firefighters last night extinguished a couch fire in Howe St, North Dunedin, near the intersection with Castle Street North, after being alerted at 9.36pm. DUNNERS' “PARTY ZONE”.
www.odt.co.nz/news/dunedin/333260/no-hiding-partys-streetful-shards
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Post by kiwithrottlejockey on Feb 16, 2015 16:46:35 GMT 12
Some photographs of the street party in Hyde Street on Saturday night....    
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Post by Dave Homewood on Feb 16, 2015 18:40:15 GMT 12
That was just the Dunedin Forum Meet.
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Post by jonesy on Feb 16, 2015 18:55:55 GMT 12
Most of them grow up after realising the world doesnt owe them a damn thing and they will have to fend for themselves in the real world. The others stay at uni for as long as they can leaching off the taxpayer and just promote the next intake of students to act in the same manner... The ones that do grow up? They generally contribute to society in a positive way, and probably look back at what they did and cringe. Sorta what I do when I think of my career in the RNZAF  |
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Post by kiwithrottlejockey on Feb 17, 2015 11:46:37 GMT 12
from the Otago Daily Times....We cleaned street: flatmatesBy TIMOTHY BROWN | Tuesday, 17 February 2015 Hyde Street residents (back row, from left) Maukino Skelton, Chris Clapham, Alex Battersby and David Askew;
(front row, from left) Leon Pye, Scott Watson and Marcus Milne say their party on Saturday night was big,
but not out of control. — Photo: Gregor Richardson.THE Dunedin flatmates behind a street party which attracted more than 1000 people last weekend say they cleaned up 550kg of glass afterwards and took it to the dump.
The party in Hyde Street resulted in the street being left in such a mess that a council contractor reportedly refused to clean it on Sunday.
Dunedin City Council roading maintenance engineer Peter Standring said yesterday the council's “agreed general approach” was that those who made the mess were responsible for cleaning it up.
“DCC contractors had already been into the Hyde St area twice over the weekend to pick up rubbish that was a potential hazard,” he said.
“They did not clear the street [on Sunday] as that was not the approach agreed to and the amount of broken glass and other litter meant there were also health and safety issues.”
Flatmate Leon Pye said the flatmates spent $200 hiring a trailer and cleaned up 550kg of glass, taking it to the dump on Sunday afternoon.
“We didn't care about tidying up because it was our party,” he said.
“It wasn't their [council's] rubbish to clean up, so fair enough.”
“We didn't just clean in front of our flat, we cleaned the whole street.”
Flatmate Scott Watson said a “handful” of trouble-makers had attended the party and caused most of the problems, including an attempt to set a couch on fire.
“Some guy was like ‘we are on Hyde Street, let's light a fire’ and we were like “it's our property — don't’,” he said.
Mr Pye said the fire was extinguished before it “got to flames”.
Another flatmate, Maukino Skelton, said party-goers were not “throwing actual glass”.
“It was more people trampling over it,” he said.
“You can't control that [glass being broken] — we are students; we can't pay for security.”
The group felt the party had run smoothly with no major issues.
Acting Senior Sergeant Jared Kirk said the party “wasn't too much of an issue” for police.
There were no arrests or fires reported.
St John South Island region communications adviser Ian Henderson said St John took a female in her late-teens to Dunedin Hospital's emergency department with moderate head injuries after an incident reported as an assault.
Acting Senior Sergeant Kirk said no incidents of assault were reported to police.Related news stories:
• Liquor ban may be revisited
• O Week predictor of drinkingwww.odt.co.nz/news/dunedin/333386/we-cleaned-street-flatmates
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Post by kiwithrottlejockey on Feb 25, 2015 12:07:20 GMT 12
from The New Zealand Herald....Barfing Scarfies all part of the funActing up at uni one of the best ways to avoid a midlife blowoutBy MATT HEATH | 5:00AM - Monday, February 23, 2015 Oldies tut-tutting over students' orientation week antics should remember they were young once.
— Photo: Otago Daily Times.I'M a massive supporter of poor student behaviour. Last week I took a lovely stroll around the University of Otago campus. What an amazing institution. Beautiful grounds, top-rate facilities and a world-class curriculum. A historic seat of learning, unmatched in the Southern Hemisphere.
It had me craving a drink.
A large student population surrounds the university creating an intense, rich, youthful culture. Great ideas spew out of those messy flats. Spew also spews out of them.
When you meet Otago University alumni, more often than not they're well-rounded and smart. They've been educated in freezing-cold poverty and thrived. Studied hard and partied hard.
But every year “O” week creates a nationwide wave of worry.
“Party students blamed for leaving Dunedin street like the Third World”; “3000 say they will attend student party”; “Student loses everything in Dunedin flat arson”.
Naturally people focus on the couch burnings and alleged mayhem. I would argue that's a dickhead problem, not a student problem.
In any large population of young people there's going to be trouble. There are too many hormones floating around for there not to be.
Take 100 people under 25 and you'll find at least 15 complete dickheads. Equally, take 100 people over 65 and you'll find at least 99 grumpy old bastards. It's the circle of life.
For me, Dunedin was a great place to grow up and an even better place to go uni. Thousands of people my age piled into town. So many like-minded kids looking to better themselves and have a good time.
Sure, I was involved in the odd piece of poor behaviour but not every single day. People are quick to blame the Scarfies but much of the Dunedin damage is caused by non-enrolled locals.
Generally, Otago University is a vibrant, intellectual, artistic and loose place to hang out. Rightly so. If you're lucky enough to get a tertiary education it's your duty to enjoy it in full.
Before too long these troublesome students will have jobs, kids and mortgages. They will be working 50 hours a week, paying taxes and facing their mortality.
As Ferris Bueller said: “Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.” The brief years between happy-go-lucky child and grindstone adult should be our little window of fun.
As Jeremy Wells said recently: “I'm glad I went hard at uni, I tried everything, I experienced everything. It makes it easier to deal with the crap I have to now, knowing that I left it all on the field back in the day.” In saying that, he could have gone harder.
Further to that, an English tutor once warned me: “If you don't give it a nudge 18-24 you risk a shameful midlife blowout.”
So what is the country worried about? A few years ago I attended a student riot. I can tell you first-hand it wasn't as bad as it looked on telly. There were angles at play that day. A reporter stood in front of the crowd: “When the camera light goes on I want you to go completely crazy. Could we get some people up on the roof behind me? We want this to look full-on. Okay, 3, 2, 1, GO CRAZY.”
So the light went on and everyone jumped around yelling for the camera. Then the light went off and everyone went back to normal.
On that particular occasion, riot was the wrong word. It was a “performance”. Then the cops turned up and stole the show.
The next crop of students watching on TV knew exactly what was expected of them the next year.
Too many older Kiwis spend their time scratching back in the face of the young. They've had their fun, bought their house and enjoyed a free education. Now they wanna crap on the next generation for behaving the exact way they did.
Yes, there are munters around but generally students are positive, cheeky go-getters in the prime of their lives. I say let the young have their fun.
They'll come right. You did.
Oldies, listen to the wise words of David Bowie: “These children that you spit on as they try to change their worlds are immune to your consultations, they're quite aware of what they're going through.”
Students, listen to the wise words of John “Bluto” Blutarsky: “Toga! Toga! Toga!”• Matt Heath is a radio host on Radio Hauraki and a NZ Herald columnist.www.nzherald.co.nz/opinion/news/article.cfm?c_id=466&objectid=11406099
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