Annual Toga Parade Disrupted by Non-Participants

Annual Toga Parade Disrupted by Non-Participants

All reasonable precautions were taken by the Otago University Students’ Association (OUSA) ahead of their annual toga parade in Dunedin yesterday.

“Much of the disorder in last night’s annual toga parade was created by those not even involved in parade” said Edwin Darlow, President of the Otago University Students’ Association.

“Bystanders, both on the street and in many upstairs George Street flats, began pelting the 1st year students taking part in the parade with eggs and rubbish. At this stage it is not entirely clear if these bystanders were students or not – the chances are that many of them would have been 2nd and 3rd year students, but also that many were not even students at all. Regardless of who they were however, their behaviour was unacceptable”

Upon having eggs and rubbish thrown at them, the 1st year students reacted as any normal person would; they scattered, which only served to add to the disorder. “It is a very difficult situation. You organise an event and then people not involved show up and create chaos by throwing eggs and rubbish. Imagine if bystanders started pelting the Christmas parade with debris, what can you do at the time?”

“The police were very helpful in preventing the bystanders from throwing debris, but they certainly had a tough job on their hands. Any students who had their details taken by the police for behavioural issues will be referred onto the University Proctor. Those non-students creating trouble will be dealt with by the police through the appropriate channels”

Obviously it would have been better if the mess wasn’t created in the 1st place, but the OUSA volunteers, staff and executive members worked tirelessly following the event to clean up the debris – the vast majority of which was dealt with well before daybreak.

“The mess covering the shop windows obviously wasn’t a direct result of the OUSA per se, but we felt it only fair to clean up what we could. It goes without saying that the OUSA will be working closely alongside the police in regards to damage, behaviour and arrests – both for this event and in relation to student behaviour in general”

ENDS

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