Student representatives on the University of Otago council
have questioned the motives behind continuing the campus-wide
alcohol ban after the Rugby World Cup.
New vice-chancellor Prof Harlene Hayne has moved quickly to
make her mark at the university and her recommendation to
implement an alcohol on campus statute was unanimously
adopted at her first council meeting in charge.
Council student representative Jonathan Rowe asked whether a
booze ban, introduced by the Dunedin City Council for the
Rugby World Cup, had been used by the university as an
opportunity to promote a wider agenda against alcohol.
The statute did not have an end date and it was unclear
whether it would extend indefinitely, Mr Rowe said.
"Has there been long-standing concerns about alcohol on
campus, or has the World Cup been the chance for the
university to bring this in?" Prof Hayne said it was a
combination of both factors.
She admitted there had been "long-standing concerns" about
the consumption of alcohol on campus grounds, especially when
it concerned the congregation of groups of people.
The implementation of the campus-wide liquor ban followed a
measure first recommended by the university's alcohol issues
task force - a policy review group she had chaired under the
leadership of former vice-chancellor Prof Sir David Skegg.
"I was incredibly surprised it was allowed in the first
place," she said in relation to concerns about "open bottles"
on campus.
The city council had asked the university to implement its
World Cup liquor ban on campus, but the intention was for it
"to be a permanent state of affairs", she told council
members.
A name, residential address, and (preferably residential) telephone number is required from readers who comment on ODT Online. These details will not be visible to site visitors.