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You should acknowledge the fact that the death of the Scarfie Dream has been a local goal for a long time. Dunedin has never tolerated hormone-primed exuberance, post-Cambrian intelligence, style, or BBQs; scarfies have always been an anathema to the city's residents. To be fair, scarfies have also chosen to be a generally ineffectual scourge of the populace, and the reason is simple: you can watch some big birds, gaze at a very small castle, and visit a railway station only so many times before turpitude sets in. Dunedin is a boring shit-hole and because it is a vast distance from anywhere that matters (Qtown excepted), scarfies have never felt obliged to give the town more credence than it deserves. That attitude offends the locals although it is well founded. The first wave of serious local dissent occurred in the 80s and members of The Filth were the main protagonists. Raids on student pubs - conducted by a dedicated Under-Age Drinking Policing Unit with its own van - increased dramatically during that era. Okay, it was illegal to drink in a bar if you were under 20, but the raids had no effect on dedicated scarfies. In fact, they had the reverse effect: scarfies crammed into the pubs waiting for the twice-nightly raids so that they could enjoy going "over the wall" at the Gardies, or through the toilet windows at the Cook. Never have public buildings been so quickly evacuated, and always without spilling a drop! The ODT demanded more intensive policing of the toxic Nth East Valley. So the Police and the ODT concocted their most effective PR stunt. It would have long-term, divisive repercussions. It was a bloody cold Sunday night in 1988 and my 3 neighbours were sitting on the pavement quietly burning a demolished beer crate on a portable BBQ, brazier-style. Now, the locals didn't 'get' the outdoor BBQ concept, so they considered my neighbours' actions constituted evidence of a student conspiracy to burn down the rest of Dunedin. That was partly true, but not on that night. The Police, Fire Brigade, AND the ODT (how did they know?), turned out in force to dowse the inferno, arrest the culprits, and record the event for Monday's front page under the heading, "Castle Street Riot". The first 'riot' involved cold, bored scarfies standing around, hands in pockets, hurling hilarious one-liners at the cops. It started to get serious when a dozen or so people joined some firemen to laugh at the cops. The cops were being gently goaded into over-reacting and nobody was disappointed. More arrests, more students coming out of their flats, more hooting, and, against the rules of gown vs. town encounters, not a drop of alcohol was involved. This event evolved into the FWC-scale events of recent times. The torch, so to speak, was being passed to a new generation. Dunedin reacted predictably. The Council went bonkers, demands were made for the Uni to hang its students, and the ODT had a month’s worth of Letters to the Editor from 'Grace of South Dunedin' who was bothered by the out-of-control Falls Road-style violence and depravity that she had observed in the Nth East Valley, despite the fact that she hadn’t been there since before the War. I agree that Skegg must continue to expand OU's place in the academic marketplace, but he overlooks a huge advantage he holds over other unis. Students arriving at OU leave certain restraints behind and immediately begin to understand the virtue of individual responsibility. Some take longer than others to reach that goal, but, if my own experience is anything to go by, the result is a more competent and worldly graduate. OU has a reputation for providing an advanced and fulfilling learning experience, which is strongly linked to its unique student culture. That is the marketable strength that OU has over other NZ unis. Skegg impinges on that strength at his peril. So, whether a pub 'lives' or 'dies' no longer interests me (regrettably), but the saving of the scarfie icon does. It must be saved, if only so that it can be shoved in the face of the locals for a lot longer.

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