Students say Undie has created own hype

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This group had a good view of the trouble after organising a sausage sizzle on Castle St on Friday night 'raise money for a microwave. Photo by Emily Menkes

Students from Otago believe that the tradition of the Undie 500, even if it didn't start with bad intentions, will continue to attract people that want to riot.

"It's the environment that it [the Undie 500] creates. It brings out the worst in people," said third year Otago economics student Amy Fowler.

"They come from all over, just for the opportunity to create trouble, and heaps of them aren't even university students, but we get the rap for it."

Chris Mackay (21), a second-year film and Visual Culture student, had a different take on the disorder that unfolded in the wake of the annual pub crawl from Christchurch to Dunedin by Canterbury students.

"If they're seriously not doing anything wrong then why can't they have it in their own city?"

However, Canterbury students feel they are being unfairly blamed.

Many of those who drove vehicles down for Undie 500 feel that their fun is being marred by "stupid Otago students who think that just because we're here, they can act like tools and we'll get blamed," a Canterbury student told me.

Some Undie 500 participants were unperturbed by Friday's events and were seen in town the next day dressed as Romans, grinches and cavemen.

Others, not wanting to get in trouble, either for being rowdy or their unwarranted cars apparently went home "with their tails between their legs" a Lincoln student said.

Arrest statistics speak in favour of Christchurch, with none of the arrests made on Friday being related to any Canterbury or Lincoln student.

So what caused the trouble?

Jason Bay (21), a second-year management student who organised a sausage sizzle on Castle St on Friday night, believes that "[the students] just reach a certain degree of drunk after which they either get violent, or let nothing in the way of stopping them partying.

"I think the cops did a good job overall, but they can't always distinguish who are being dickheads or who just want to have fun."