Student fears suspension after Undie 500

At least one University of Otago student has said he fears he will be suspended from university for up to six months for his part in last month's melee in Castle St.

However, the university has not confirmed what penalties it is considering.

• OUSA conflict cited for appeals [1]

Twenty-six University of Otago students faced charges after the disorder, in which drunken mobs threw bottles at police and lit fires over two nights after the arrival of the Undie 500 rally from Christchurch.

Police have opposed diversions.

The university has promised those convicted in court are likely to face a second penalty in the form of sanctions from the university.

As one 18-year-old student pleaded guilty in the Dunedin District Court last Friday to a charge of behaving in a disorderly manner likely to cause violence, his counsel asked the judge to take into consideration his client faced a possible six months' expulsion from the university because of his actions.

A suspension that long would jeopardise his client's studies, the lawyer said.

But the judge convicted and fined the teen, and told him it was not enough to be remorseful after the event.

Yesterday, a university spokesman said the university did not discuss details of individual students involved in disciplinary proceedings.

It was inappropriate to say anything anyway, because disciplinary processes relating to the "Undie 500 culprits" were still under way, the spokesman said.

Earlier this year, the university, using its disciplinary powers under the code of conduct, suspended three students for a semester after they were seen in footage behaving in a disorderly manner during the toga parade in Dunedin's George St.

None of the students was charged with any crime. One of them is now involved in a judicial review of the university's ability to suspend people for their actions off campus.

After the Castle St disorder, vice-chancellor Prof Sir David Skegg said the university would come down hard on students whose "loutish behaviour" threatened the university's reputation.

The university also planned to scrutinise footage from the two nights, with the aim of identifying other students involved in the disorder.

- debbie.porteous@odt.co.nz [2]