Student perceptions about gambling were challenged during a
"down-to-earth" demonstration at Otago Polytechnic yesterday,
which aimed to highlight how gaming machines can shatter
lives.
Otago Polytechnic occupational therapy students Joe
Llewellyn and Alice Johnstone with the wreckage of a a
poker machine after it was dropped from a crane (at left),
at the polytechnic grounds yesterday. Photo by Jane Dawber.
Occupational therapy students Alice Johnstone and Joe
Llewellyn organised the protest in which a pokie was dropped
from a crane as a graphic illustration about the harmful
effects of gambling addictions.
Ms Johnstone said a recent report had identified 450 gaming
machines and 12 casino tables within a 3km radius of the
university and polytechnic campus.
"Students respond to something visual," she said about the
inspiration behind the demonstration.
More than 100 people gathered to watch as the gambling
machine was hoisted to a height of about four storeys and
then dropped.
Onlooker Ally Murphy said the event was "quite entertaining
... and it was an impressive smash as well".
Mr Llewellyn said the project was a part of occupational
therapy studies focusing on how "at-risk" issues, such as
gambling, affected people's ability to participate in
meaningful activity.
The stunt was aimed at "challenging" the way people looked
and thought about gambling, he said.
About $5.5 million was spent gambling on gaming machines in
New Zealand each year, with most of it coming from poorer
communities, Mr Llewellyn said.
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