Merepeka Raukawa-Tait: Uni's blind eye to boozing takes toll

Merepeka Raukawa-Tait says the image of Dunedin is being ruined by young university students and their out-of-control drinking habits. Photo / File

I asked a chief judge of the Family Court, who I was travelling with to a speaking engagement in Dunedin, "what is it about Otago university. I meet so many people who studied here and they tell me they have remained lifelong friends with many of their fellow students"? He agreed.

That was the case for him as well. He thought it had something to do with so many students coming from outside the region, other parts of the country. He said they became like family as many students travelled home infrequently during the year, some only once a year. He tried to keep abreast of what his friends had achieved in their chosen professions. He loved visiting Dunedin and it would always hold fond memories for him. However, he did say he was aware of some unhealthy changes he didn't approve of.

For many young people going to university is not an option. It could be the money question, not really interested or they may have taken up a trade. After leaving college, you have to be prepared to commit to another three or four years of study if you go to university. This often entails having to leave home. The place that will always remain concerned for your health and happiness.

A university environment should be a surrogate home too. Undertake a watching brief for parents to ensure their student comes to no harm. I'm sure universities try to provide a supportive learning environment but in the case of the University of Otago, they need to try harder.

I'm put off by the antics of Dunedin university students. I believe their behaviour is having a negative impact on the image of Dunedin City. Students acting like louts, drunk and disorderly. They should know better and stop making a spectacle of themselves.

They disturb the peace with their alcohol-fuelled behaviour and time and time again, get away with it. In this day and age when the problems associated with binge drinking are all around us, how do they get away with this type of behaviour without suffering any consequences?

Can you imagine if similar drunken student behaviour was to break out in Mangere or Te Awamutu townships, two major campuses for Te Wananga O Aotearoa? The police would swoop without hesitation, batons drawn too I suspect. So why not in Dunedin? Why have they pussy-footed around for years? Why don't they arrest, charge and prosecute drunken behaviour? Do they fear the back lash of well-heeled parents? Do the police just see the students as "harmless Pakeha kids letting off steam"? They've been a nuisance to the general public for years and carry on regardless.

That is the view of one Dunedin resident, recently in the TVNZ Sunday programme. She said student drinking had worsened over the years. It was now excessive, destructive drinking. Residents had been complaining for years, wanting to see some change, but nothing ever happened.

After appearing on the programme, the businesswoman was harassed and abused. Students pulled up outside her home, photographed her house and mounted a social media campaign against her. Surely the Dunedin City Council, police and tertiary institutions could have done something by now. There are local bylaws, including imposing liquor bans in certain areas that could have been used. And then enforced. The requirement now for city councils to have an approved Local Area Alcohol Plan should have been developed to address Dunedin's specific problems.

Bringing all parties together at this late stage is like closing the stall gate after the horse has bolted. No-one can object to young people, students and others drinking with friends and enjoying themselves. That's not the problem. The problem is, when over many years, a culture of drinking to excess is goes unchecked. Makes Mangere and Te Awamutu campuses look tame. At least these, and other tertiary institutions around have not allowed themselves to be seen as impotent. They are proactive in addressing one of this country's biggest social issues - binge drinking.

-Merepeka lives in Rotorua. She writes, speaks and broadcasts to thwart the spread of political correctness.