Latest news with #OtagoUniversityStudents'Association
Otago Daily Times
30-05-2025
- Politics
- Otago Daily Times
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."
Otago Daily Times
26-05-2025
- Health
- Otago Daily Times
Putting Nth Dunedin's house in order
The grungy student flat in Dunedin has become a stereotype that will be hard to shake. That is the nature of stereotypes: they become fixed in people's minds. They become reflexive word associations. Student flat in Dunedin equals dilapidated and unkept. Sadly, this label has more than an element of truth. Poorly maintained flats are not uncommon, as revealed by the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment's (MBIE) tenancy compliance and investigations team. The team visited 53 North Dunedin student flats. It found "the majority" had maintenance issues, and three properties had "multiple breaches" of the healthy homes standards. While many homeowners might blush at their maintenance backlog, landlords operate a business, even if they own only one flat. They have both moral and legal obligations to provide satisfactory accommodation and respond to basic matters. MBIE targeted properties most likely to be poorly maintained and non-compliant with healthy home standards. Landlords had been "engaged" before the visits, allowing them to make improvements. They may have inspected smoke alarms and supplied copies of healthy home statements, but the number of remaining issues found was "disappointing", MBIE's team leader said. Otago University Students' Association president Liam White said he was not surprised by the inspection results. The core issue was the overall quality of housing. He cited one flat where mushrooms and mould were growing out of the walls. To gauge the extent of the problem, OUSA was preparing a Dunedin-wide flat survey. He had been told that 30% of student rentals would likely fail to comply with the healthy homes standards. Mr White said the housing regulatory system did not work because the burden was completely on the renters. Young students who did not know better were bearing the brunt of the poor flats. For some, the rundown flat is perceived as part of the Dunedin student experience, lowering expectations. Others might be reluctant to push landlords for improvements, fearing that doing so could impact their references for future rentals. When landlords get away with low standards, others are more likely to follow suit. Low standards beget low standards. If landlords can minimise upkeep costs while still profiting, why would they invest more? If landlords fail to maintain basics like wooden cladding and windowsills, students are less likely to feel inclined to care for the flats themselves. If the landlord does not care, why should they? Extreme cases of tenant damage and neglect also occur. Tenants should take responsibility for simple preventive measures such as ventilating bathrooms and airing the house when the weather is favourable. The healthy homes standards take effect from July 1, a critical safeguard and backstop. A bathroom extractor fan is among the ventilation, heating and insulation requirements. Mould on the ceiling and walls of a student flat. PHOTO: ODT FILES North Dunedin could be busy in the limited time available if landlords rush to comply. It would be unfair if some continued supplying substandard housing while others had made the necessary upgrades. Further regulation is tempting because tenants are vulnerable. Labour's Residential Property Managers Bill would have introduced compulsory licensing, a code of professional conduct and an independent complaints and disciplinary process. The government has abandoned this plan. A "rental warrant of fitness" has been an idea worth serious consideration. Further regulations, however, mean more time, bureaucracy and costs. That must be paid for somewhere and somehow. A good approach is for MBIE's unit to be efficient, decisive, firm and fair in its compliance operations. The regulatory system cannot just rely on potentially under-pressure tenants. Landlords need to know there are consequences for their failings. The grotty and poorly maintained North Dunedin flats are an important matter primarily for the health and wellbeing of students. Homes must be warm, dry and safe. Poor student accommodation also sends a poor message to families about life at the University of Otago and Dunedin. Landlords need to get their North Dunedin house in order. Even then, it will take years for the area to shake its deeply ingrained — and often well-earned — nationwide reputation.
Otago Daily Times
30-04-2025
- General
- Otago Daily Times
University remembers past students
A solemn ceremony honouring World War 1 dead included a roll call of fallen University Rugby Club players on Friday. About 100 people attended the Otago University Students' Association annual Anzac Day service. Emeritus Prof John Broughton said the service marked 110 years since the Gallipoli landings and paid tribute to more than 500 students and 27 staff who served in World War 1, in particular the 97 who died for the nation. "We will never forget the brave who lie across the sea." "Our whakataukī, or proverbial saying, still resonates today — 'Mate atu he toa, ara mai ra he toa — As one brave warrior falls, there is also always another to fill the breach'." Otago University Students' Association president Liam White said the day was "not a celebration of war, but a solemn reflection on courage, sacrifice and the enduring hope for peace". The legacy of the Anzacs challenged all to reflect on "what they gave for us, but also what we are doing with the world left in our care". "Peace is not an accident. "It is built deliberately through compassion and understanding." The ceremony included Otago University Rugby Football Club members honouring former players who died in World War 1. Representatives read out the names of 20 rugby players who made the ultimate sacrifice. This included Dr George Martin Chapman, an Otago medical graduate and Varsity A stalwart who won a rugby Blue at Cambridge before serving as a medical officer on the Western Front. He was killed by a shell while tending the wounded during the Second Battle of Ypres. Harold Phillip James Childs left Knox College and the School of Mines to fight at Gallipoli, where shell wounds put him on the hospital ship Sicilia . He died aboard and was buried at sea. Major Frank Hadfield Statham studied mining and played for Varsity A. He led the 10th North Otago Company up the cliffs at Gallipoli and died of wounds at Chunuk Bair in August 1915. Lieutenant Thomas Holmes Nisbet balanced law studies with Varsity A rugby before joining the Otago Infantry Battalion. He fell at Gallipoli and now rests in No 2 Outpost Cemetery, Turkey. Robert Stanley Black played for Varsity A before touring Australia with the 1914 All Blacks. Enlisting in the Otago Mounted Rifles, he was reported missing on the Somme in northern France.
