How Otago Will Function at Delta 2
All updates in this article are accurate as of Thursday 9 September. Since Level 2 (Delta Edition) was announced, students have been wondering how the University would function under the new guidelines. There were a few chains of communication that operated slowly, with the Ministry of Education not providing guidelines for universities until Wednesday. After that, guidance was released in a riveting series of “COVID-19 student...Flat Parties May Require Sign-Ins
New Level 2 guidelines mean you’ll have to take attendance at flat parties. Hon Chris Hipkins said last week that any places where “people gather consistently and in large numbers” must abide by attendance-keeping rules. This means scanning in, signing in, or whatever other method you may use. Indoor venues like bars or nightclubs are capped at 50 people, while outdoor venues can accommodate twice that. Dancefloors are...Office Plants Sentenced to Death By University
On Friday 2 September, postgraduate students and staff across Otago campuses were allocated 15-minute slots to re-enter campus and retrieve essential research material. Office plants were explicitly forbidden to be rescued. Some postgraduate students are reportedly “devastated” by this. “I get that plants aren’t ‘essential’, but if I’m already in the office, why can’t I grab them anyway?”...Some Gymmers Still Ignoring Unipol’s Level 2 Rules
With the drop to Alert Level 2 came the long-awaited re-opening of Unipol. However, it seems that gym-deprived students have not been obeying the new Level 2 restrictions. Unipol announced their re-opening in a Facebook post last Wednesday evening, saying that their doors would open for the first time in over three weeks at 6am sharp on Thursday. Along with this re-opening came new rules: mandatory QR code scanning, masks for staff, 2m...OUSA Supports Ban on Conversion Therapy
OUSA made a lengthy submission in favour of the Conversion Practices Prohibition Legislation Bill, which proposes to ban conversion practices (including conversion therapy) in Aotearoa. They were one of over 100,000 submissions on the Bill. The OUSA submission, written by Political Representative Mhairi Mackenzie Everitt, clocked in at 3594 words long. Submissions on the Bill closed on 8 September, and the Exec held a meeting that same...NZUSA Statement Changed After Student Backlash
The New Zealand Union of Students Associations (NZUSA) put up a Facebook post praising the Government’s support for students. After just 24 minutes, and comments from students, the post was extensively revised to take a more critical stance. I believe this is what they call a “flip-flop”. Last Wednesday, the Government announced details of their support package for tertiary students: a $20 million top-up of the Hardship Fund...
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