First year student and ODT Online reporter Emily Menkes
was in the thick of another unfortunate night on Castle
St.
The attempts to rehabilitate the Undie 500 failed.
As with previous years, Castle Street once again experienced
chaos, which eventually resulted in the street being cordoned
off just after midnight, after the presence of the fire
brigade and the riot police.
Earlier in the night, there was reason to believe that this
year's Undie 500 would be more of a half-hearted attempt as a
result of the new regulations imposed on the event. Very few
cars were even in Dunedin by 10pm and even fewer were making
themselves known to the locals.
Less than an hour later, Castle Street was covered with
rebellious students, many of whom were making every attempt
to defy the police.
The student peer pressure became apparent after a sudden
surge towards the middle section of the street, with a pile
of rubbish placed at the centre. A chant started, urging
someone to step up and set it on fire. Several minutes passed
before a student took initiative.
Three more fires followed the first in short succession, each
to the apparent delight for much of the crowd. A few
attempted to strengthen the fire by throwing objects ranging
from boxes and plastic bags to glass bottles.
No one seemed to notice the irony of the fires' location -
nearly all of them were in front of a flat that sported the
logo of Beehive matches.
The emergency services soon took matters into their own
hands, with the fire brigade putting out the flames,
ambulance staff tending those who had been hit with glass
bottles or fallen on shards.
The police eventually managed to break up the crowds around
the fires, with some leaving more reluctantly than others.
One girl was seen calling her mother and lamenting, "I might
be getting kicked out of university."
With the police's effective strategy of containing the area,
meaning no-one could come in but everyone could come out, the
party eventually dwindled, leaving behind a street of
disgrace.
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