News

Tickets to the infamous Hyde Street keg party sold out by midday when they went on sale at OUSA on both Monday 8 and Tuesday 9 April.

Although the 500 tickets available on Monday were sold from 9am instead of 11am as publicised, OUSA President Francisco Hernandez reported that “every man and his dog had lined up – there was a dog at the front door when we arrived at 9am.” Critic wonders, however, where the women and cats were.

Tuesday morning saw approximately 250 students queued up before sales started. Not only was the pouring rain a damper on the day, but exclusion from the social event of the year was heart-wrenching for students who missed out on the limited ticket supply.

Students who couldn’t get their hands on one of the 3500 tickets reportedly threatened to sneak in through neighbouring properties. However, the money raised by ticket sales is designed to cover costs for extra security personnel to remove anyone without an official wristband from the street.

Despite many students taking to Facebook to complain about OUSA endorsing the new ticketing system, Hernandez believed most students were generally supportive. “There’s the odd Facebook troll, but meh, we’re just trying to help the tenants run a sweet and safe party.”

While OUSA was forced to cull numbers in order for the event to go ahead, the segregation of certain groups has caused huge offence to those left out of the now-exclusive event. First-year students could only attend if they had been invited by a resident or lived in a neighbouring street. One first-year student told Critic she was very upset, as the party was “the only reason [she] had come to Dunedin.”

Critic also spoke to a fourth-year student who missed out on a ticket. “Struth mate, it’s an absolute abomination and I’m absolutely ropeable. I’m aborting the party altogether,” he vented.

Conversely, some of those who opposed the ticketing system were not willing to miss out on the epic day, and planned on creating their own street parties.

Hyde Street residents were allocated 11 tickets per person to give to their friends. This proved to be a lucrative business for those who charged their friends $10 for the $2 ticket, making a healthy profit to fund their day of festivities.

Critic goes to print on Thursday nights, and as such will be providing extensive coverage of the event in next week’s issue. In the meantime, Critic TV’s exclusive footage will air on Wednesday at 1pm in the Main Common Room of Union Hall.