Otago Uni is back for another year which means the tomfoolery on Castle Street has kicked off. This year, rather than a bunch of puffer-vested breathers causing mayhem, police are actually taking aim at an alcohol company.
One of the flatties told Otago Daily Times that BEE Alcoholic Lemonade awarded the Castle Street residence 280 1.25L 5% bottles as a form of sponsorship for a party the flat was hosting that night.
While patrolling on the evening of the party, Dunedin police Senior Sergeant Anthony Bond said his team found around 100 of the bottles outside the flat. They didn’t ban the bottles but police are “disappointed” with BEE for pretty much encouraging a binge-drinking ruckus.
“The student community is one of our most high-risk and vulnerable communities,” he said.
“For a supplier to be so naive or negligent to supply this community with free alcohol is baffling and quite concerning from an emergency services point of view.”
Max Phillips, the president of Students for Sensible Drug Policy Ōtepoti-Dunedin, agrees with the police, saying that’s far too much alcohol to be giving away to students.
“The 280 1.25-litre 5% ABV bottles reported to have been received by the flat represents 1372 standard drinks or enough for 228 people to be binge drinking,” he said.
“Beyond not caring about the alcohol-related harm created by giving away this volume of alcohol, it’s also extremely lazy.”
"If alcohol-related businesses want to engage with the student community and provide sponsorship then there are safe and responsible ways to do this, such as food, live entertainment, or providing party ‘hosts’ for a flat party to engage with students while providing a sample of their products."
Everyone likes a freebie but even I have to say this sounds like overkill. Besides, flat trips to the alcohol store are incredible bonding moments.
