Police have arrested 13 people during O Week in Dunedin after some parties got too wild. Several large parties were shut down due to lighting couches on fire and bottles being thrown. Four people were arrested at a party attended by 150 people where four couches had been set alight.
The title of an article on the News Hub website changed over night from “Arrests as Dunedin students burn couches” to “Non-students causing problems during Otago Uni orientation.” The change was made to seemingly alter the implication that only students were arrested, when in reality, only three of the twelve offenders were students.
Laura Harris, OUSA president, commented on the arrests by saying, “the majority of students don’t cause problems, and they don’t like being tarnished with the same brush as those who do. It doesn’t help that stories like this may encourage more trouble makers to come to Dunedin over Orientation Week.”
The Proctor told Critic: “the University of Otago is generally pleased with student behaviour during Orientation Week so far. However the actions of non-Dunedin University students and visitors, coming from outside of Dunedin… have concerned the University of Otago Proctor and Campus Watch team.”
Harris also added: “it would be great to see the media pushing out the good stories rather than one person’s 6h0 seconds of stupidity…[because] in spite of the occasional upset, ultimately Orientation has been fantastic for students so far.”
Amongst the thirteen arrests made since Saturday, one involved a 16 year-old who was arrested for allegedly threatening another man with a craft knife.
Harris ended by mentioning that OUSA’s “primary concern is about the welfare of Otago students. It is worrying that these non-students are targeting such a welcoming student community.” Police will be hoping the last few days of orientation week, especially Saturday night, will go ahead smoothly without any major issues.