This debate has been raging for a while, but let me get you up to speed. Dunedin lost its last student bar two years ago (RIP Starters). Previous bars had closed because they weren’t profitable or because they were bought out - sometimes by the Uni, sometimes not. Split hairs over that all you want; it won’t bring them back.
So, here’s the problem: with drinks in town sitting at about $12 on a good night, students (in the middle of an economic crisis) are understandably reluctant to spend nights out in town. Instead, they get pissed at their flats because it’s cheaper that way (fair enough, me too). Either that, or they get shit-faced at pres to save on drinks in town. Of course, you don’t have to drink at all, but that’s a whole can of worms for another time.
Right now, the problem is a lack of supervision. Students at student bars can be bounced or cut off if they’ve had too much to drink. Creeps can be dealt with by security. Crowds, in general, can be better supervised. Harm will still be abundant, but at least it’ll all happen in one place.
There’s a metaphor for healthcare about putting an ambulance at the bottom of a cliff to help people who fall over and how it’s better to just build a fence at the top. Student bars are neither a fence nor an ambulance. They’re a queue organising people to make sure that, as long as they’re determined to fall off the cliff, they can at least all do it in one place so we only have to call one ambulance instead of six. It’s not a perfect solution, but it’s one people want.
Your student exec this year is made up almost entirely of Ski Club members who took advantage of low voter turnout to stack the cabinet. They’re very, very keen on getting a bar back. So is OUSA in general - Starters was an OUSA venture, after all. The Uni seems to agree that having a designated drinking space makes sense but isn’t leading the charge. The city seems… keen? I dunno. The new mayor had a six-point plan for student well-being and was keen on the idea of a bar, but I haven’t heard of anything happening, and in the meantime people are going to Eleven Bar, which is a fucking shambles.
Basically, you’re shit outta luck this year in terms of a student bar: somewhere the drinks are dirt cheap, the crowd is familiar, and safety is at least somewhat improved. You don’t have that, and you should be upset about it. You should push and push and push until the higher-ups give you what you want. Until then, when the media paints us all as absolute munters for drinking in the streets, remind them that this is our only current option. Where else are we meant to go?