Student pub still wanted: referendum
A new student pub gets a big tick, but a boycott on products with ties to the Israeli government proved less favourable among the student populace.
Those are the results of just two of the many questions the Otago University Students' Association (OUSA) asked its members over the past month.
The results, which were published this week, could form the basis of student activism over the next year.
OUSA president Liam White said he was very pleased with the level of engagement, with about 1900 people responding.
"We got more students engaging with our referendum than we did with our executive election. So I can't be too disappointed with that.
"I think having close to 2000 students voting is awesome."
The referendum asked an array of questions, including "Should OUSA establish student-friendly bars and pubs in North Dunedin" which got a 70% favourable response.
Meanwhile, only 53.5% of respondents believed OUSA should adopt a policy for its operations that aligned with the "Boycotts, Divestment and Sanctions" movement (BDS) against the government of Israel.
The latter question was asked after the OUSA received two formal complaints about its decision to bar Domino's Pizza from "Tent City" during O Week.
Mr White said he was not surprised at the support for the student bar.
"I don't think that one will go away anytime soon.
"We've been talking about this for years, and I think I sat through for about two hours when it came out and read all the student comments and a lot of them were pretty harsh.
"But I think it's a fair frustration for the student body that we've been trying to advocate for this for years, come close, then had to step away again, and it just kind of feels like they've gone round in circles on it."
Asked about the BDS question, Mr White said the result was "clear as mud" and meant it probably needed to be sent back to the executive.
He was more surprised there appeared to be just as much division over whether OUSA should receive alcohol sponsorship.
"It's clear that there's not a particularly united front there."
There was however "overwhelming support" (68%) to adopt a policy of educating students on affirmative consent.
"It seems like the appropriate time for that."
Meanwhile, Mr White's attempt to extend the president's reign to two years proved less popular — 62% voted against it.
"There were a lot of Trump jokes [in the responses]. I'm not taking it personally."
matthew.littlewood@odt.co.nz
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