News

Acknowledging the “harmful drinking culture in New Zealand,” the Otago University Debating Society (OUDS) will “no longer sanction” the infamous Crate Debate. The decision, which has been kept under wraps, first came to Critic’s attention after moderators deleted a comment attacking the decision on an OUDS Facebook post.

Although this may be seen as OUDS surrendering to Vice-Chancellor Harlene Hayne’s anti-alcohol warpath, OUDS President Paul Hunt assured Critic that there had been no communication between the group and the University over the decision. Rather, according to Hunt, OUDS simply “cannot sanction events which promote binge drinking.”

The announcement is particularly surprising given OUDS’ reputation for heavy drinking. Earlier this year, Critic reported that members of OUDS had gatecrashed an Audacious event in order to make off with Audacious’ alcohol supply, a stunt for which they later had to apologise.

2013 has seen OUDS successfully win their bid to host the “Australs” (the Australasian Intervarsity Debating Championships), thanks in part to a grant of $25,000 from the Vice-Chancellor. However, Hunt assured Critic that the decision to cancel the Crate Debate was considered at the start of 2013, before the society had “even signed an agreement with the University.”

Informally organised in 2005 and first held in a flat on Grange Street, the Crate Debate was the brainchild of Jono Willis who, according to sources, was “an incredibly smart young man” who “filed through every willing female in the society.” Prowess aside, the event’s background is hazy, largely due to the inebriated state of those involved in the annual moot. Topical issues covered in the past include Don Brash and whether 1995 was “the Bain of the New Zealand fashion industry.”

The event’s demise will also see the end of “competitive adjudicating,” in which spectators formed groups of three and competed to finish a bottle of wine, the winners being awarded the right to decide the judgment. One debater described the tradition as “usually excellent.”

When Critic sought comment from the University regarding OUDS’s withdrawal from the event, the University denied knowing that the Crate Debate ever existed.