As many students ventured home over the mid-sem break, 45 members of the Otago University Tramping Club (OUTC) took a bus to the West Coast for their annual Copland Trip. Now they all (well, most of them) have Covid.
“You, about 20 others, and counting got Covid from the Copland Trip” reads a comment on one of the many “I’ve got Covid” posts following the trip on the members-only Facebook page, paired with a pic of a double-striped positive test. Hit them up if you need a week off work anytime soon.
The club only had one bus and packed every member into it. Marinating in their own bodily fluids for multiple days on end, it’s no surprise that germs (also the nickname for tramping club members) were spread around. Either that, or you’ll have to believe the club’s incest rumours. When approached for comment, Liam (the merchandise and media officer) said, “You had to be there.”
And apparently this conundrum isn’t new to the supposedly “healthy” club. “Same thing happened last year, and the year before I think,” says Jacob, the club's beloved bus driver. Liam, secretary of OUTC, again claimed that “you just had to be there” to understand what truly happened.
The other twist is what this will do to their AGM on September 13th. The club has around 830 members, meaning 83 will need to be in attendance to meet the 10% quorum. Presumably those on the trip would be the ones more likely to engage in that sort of thing. Emily, OUSA Clubs and Socs Rep, told Critic Te Ārohi AGMs are “as important as energy drinks during exam season, you legit have to have them to be a club.” Fingers crossed the 20-odd members will be recovered to come and elect the new exec. Someone has to keep the annual Copland-Covid trip continuing into the future.
But do people really care about Covid anymore? “I forgot that it still existed,” said one student, Kaia. Max echoed this sentiment, saying, “Nuh-uh.” But is it Covid that doesn’t matter, or just the Tramping Club? Hunter said that no one was all that phased, “unless their trip was to a nursing home.” When the OUTC bus driver was asked if this was on their trip itinerary he responded, “You had to be there.”
Who knows, man, it seems like you just had to be there.