Emergency services and the University of Otago say they are pleased with student behaviour during Orientation and hope it is an indication of the year to come.
Police said disorder on the first and third nights of the two-week Orientation period was the only ‘‘blip’’ during the celebration and they were generally pleased with student behaviour overall.
Senior Sergeant Allan Grindell, of Dunedin, said police had noticed a definite improvement on last year.
‘‘There haven’t been a hell of a lot of issues. Hopefully, it’s an indicator of what the rest of the year will be like.’’
Eighty-five students were arrested during Orientation, mainly for disorder-related offending, compared with 150 student arrests in the first seven days last year, and 68 for the whole of February in 2006.
The turn-around was in no small part because of the university’s $1 million-a-year Campus Watch team, Snr Sgt Grindell said.
‘‘That is one group you can’t sell short for the change they’ve made in the area, just by being there.’’
University student services director David Richardson said the university was not surprised at the improvement in student behaviour because ‘‘a lot of agencies in our community have made a co-ordinated effort to achieve change’’.
‘‘What is often overlooked is that the vast majority of our students are excellent citizens and scholars, including some who will be our future leaders. We all need to be proud of them. It is a shame that their voice is often lost in the actions of a small minority.’’
Dunedin’s deputy fire chief Trevor Tilyard said the fire service had attended 35 fires in the student area since January 1.
‘‘We used to get that a week. It has been excellent this year.’’
He joined Mr Richardson in crediting the change to a combined effort from the police, the Fire Service, the Otago University Students Association, the Proctor’s office, Campus Watch and the Dunedin City Council, together with the university’s clear strategy of improving the quality of campus life and less tolerance from the general public.
It was the first year since 2003 there had been a ‘‘definite cool’’ on fire numbers, rather than an increase.
OUSA president Simon Wilson said it had been a positive start to the year.
