Students can’t seem to catch a fucking break. There’s something in the water, and it’s certainly not rum. Nothing alcohol-related, adjacent, or even slightly hinting at the A-word. That’s a bad word now.
I’d like to start with the disclaimer that we’re all aware of the harm that North D’s binge-drinking and party culture has caused over the years. I am in no way trying to discredit the fantastic work that has gone into making Dunedin a safe place for students to live and make the most out of our time here.
No one is denying that harmful drinking behaviour runs rampant in the student populace of North Dunedin. Shit, my liver’s seen its fair share. It isn’t normal to sink four times the recommended weekly intake of alcohol four nights a week — but it’s normal here. One of the only times students step outside of our booze-ridden bubbles to be reminded of this is when we’re sent that follow-up text after a Student Health appointment with links to alcohol helplines — only to later laugh about it with mates over a bottle (each) of Jacob’s Creek’s finest.
But we are adults. For anyone who needs a refresher, once you turn 18 in Aotearoa, you are legally allowed to purchase and consume alcohol. Booze. Piss. Whatever you want to call it. And you are well within your rights to do so in the comfort of your own home that you pay rent for (or your parents, let’s be real). If you want to fuck up your livers, that is your prerogative.
Online, there’s been a wave of people making the choice to be sober, and all the power to you. I don’t care. Your body; your choice. But for those of us who want to enjoy a well-earned box on a weekend after another relentless week balancing study and part-time work to keep our heads above the water amid a cost of living crisis, can we not be left alone to do so?
This is a rant that resurfaces every year in the Critic office as we approach St Paddy’s Day. You can practically feel the hairs on your neck prickle with the encroachment of “adult” media creeping towards North Dunedin. They rub their hands together, ready to once again incite boomer hatred towards students who are just trying to have some fucking fun. God forbid.
Students for Sensible Drug Policy (SSDP) are stoking that fire this year. They plan to host an escorted walking tour of North Dunedin the day prior to hosting an alcohol and drug harm hui, so that their guests can see the “carnage” with their own eyes. SSDP may as well be selling fucking tickets. You call yourselves “students” for sensible drug policy, while treating your peers like circus freaks. Make it make sense.
SSDP were also leading the charge against Major Major giving away 30mL samples of the RTD at Tent City during O-Week — 30mL, with full permission, and with the police tent just ten metres away at most. Is your opinion of students so low that you think that they would have lined up however many times it took to feel the effects? If someone is that desperate for alcohol, they’d just go down the road to Eureka for a pint. Give us a little credit.
I appreciate that there are people involved in all this who genuinely have the interests of students in mind and want them to have a good and safe time. But after receiving the invite for the St Paddy’s walking tour, I got mad — which is probably why I gave the go ahead for the since-cancelled Critic hosted boat race that I was later told would be in breach of regulations around drinking in public (soz).
The harm reduction hui itself I have nothing against. But students should be able to enjoy themselves without the paranoia of being spied on and judged by onlookers outside of the student community. The hangiexty will be punishment enough. So please, come find me on St Paddy’s Day dressed as a big green Telly Tubby and join me as I flip-off our unwanted guests.