In which Mayor Dave Cull invites further civic unrest on city streets, this time during the 2012 student orientation? Come to Dunedin, get off your face, we’ll provide the venue and the music – but come to think of it why don’t we supply the alcohol as well?! No wonder student fees are going up next year.
Parents, keep your kiddies north?
Association president Logan Edgar predicted a “colossal Orientadium” to welcome back new and returning students.
### ODT Online Sat, 17 Dec 2011
Shihad heads ‘O Week’ at stadium
By Matthew Haggart
Several University of Otago Orientation events, including a concert by rock band Shihad, will be held at Forsyth Barr Stadium next year. Shihad is the first major act to be announced to headline the Otago University Students Association’s traditional start-of-year activities, billed as “Orientadium MMXII”.
Read more
While Orientation events in the past have been organised mainly by OUSA, next year’s event has more of a collaborative buy-in from academic, civic and venue management partners. Mr Edgar was joined by University of Otago chief operating officer John Patrick, Dunedin Mayor Dave Cull and Dunedin Venues Management Ltd chief executive David Davies at the stadium yesterday.
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Posted by Elizabeth Kerr
What if? Dunedin... 
Gutted, would love to see Shihad play :-(
“About 4500 tickets will be available for sale to students and the general public for the main concerts, which will be held in a reconfigured west stand.” That’s a hellishly small concert???????? Why.
Kiwiblog: From the OUSA President – posted on Thursday, 4 August 2011 at 5:08 pm (see comments)
Taking a different tack, I’ve heard first hand incredibly good things about a new direction taken by the new VC at Otago, in collaboration with the council, is looking to engage the students more. This can only be a good thing. They were always planning on having bigger concerts at the stadium for Orientation. 4500 is a big concert, bigger than anything at Dunedin Town Hall or some indoor venues in the North Island.
If the Council and Otago topbrass are looking at working with the students more closely, sure it’s not a silver bullet, but that approach would always fail in NZ with the incredibly entrenched binge drinking culture. I’m looking forward to what other initiatives will come from these two.
Is Logan Edgar related to Eion Edgar?
4500 for this sort of band might be large, but so is all the stadium dead space remaining that won’t be used while the bands work their acts. Sellable space, or not really after EJ. Always room for college hall rugby/sevens on the side?
They were probably always going to be restricted to being on the hard surface at the stadium, and not on the pitch. The Highlanders are scheduled to play their first home match just a few days later and I doubt very much that they would want several thousand drunken students bouncing up and down on the grass.
Good point. I’d forgotten rugger isn’t played just in winter anymore.
Especially not with a roof.
Yup, starts late February now and goes through until the end of October. If you take mid December/ mid January out as holiday months, it limits the concert options for the stadium to a rather tight window. If they want to capture part of the student loan money then it’s an even tighter window.
Eeek.
Just out of curiosity (having never been to a student orientation event), where were these concerts previously held ? Has there never been one before with the planning for 4000+ students (I’m assuming that student numbers haven’t suddenly doubled from last year) ? Or, is there an existing venue in the city which is now not going to have the concerts events it traditionally hosted ?
The University Union building is currently undergoing major refurbishment, which is normally the venue.
Big concerts have been in the town hall and open to the public
ok, so they’ll be back at the University Union once the refurbishments are completed.
But that doesn’t look any good on the paperwork the following year Phil….
Is it just me or is The Sun getting overly excited these days ? Even by their own sweaty standards. “Shihad heads ‘O Week’ at stadium” reads the headline. What suddenly propelled “stadium” into every conceivable headline ? Why was that such an important item that it had to make headline status ? Did last year’s headline read “Shihad (or whomever) heads ‘O Week’ at the University Union building” ?
It’s Shihad Phil, they are that good. And the headline would read that or whatever the variation was on venue ;)
Watching the farce of ‘free offerings’ at the entrance of the university and noticed an interesting anomally. Blokes who look to be 2nd or 3rd year were chasing down girls who appeared to be 1st year offering drinking promotions at certain bars tonight. After a few minutes it was quite clear these guys were ignoring everyone except these young individuals. Campus Watch is not looking inwards or the university is happy to let the wolf in the door as long as the collateral damage is not their own.
Thanks Anonymous, for bringing this to public attention. Suggest email to VC, Cc to Proctor and OUSA President, as well as to nominated campus staff harassment officers. Cellphone pics of the dudes would be a nice attachment! Can be done anonymously…
One of them was attempting the ‘Stifler charm’ but it was good to see it fail in at least one example where the group of girls walked away calling the approach “creepy” – for all to hear.
I hear that Harlene’s address earlier in the week pulled no punches with regard to the teenage drinking problem. The irony of it being delivered at a function which also provided much free alcohol was lost though…
The wolves weren’t at the door today. Or were less obvious.
The ODT is still bagging students on one hand while the other is pimping its wares to those same students. Student price of the paper is $2.70 p.w. and you go in the draw to win a bed or a “rugby pack”. Any opportunity, eh?
The Army has its toys on show too. There is something conflicting about guns being on display at a university.
Wha??? $2.70/wk when I choose to support local shops paying $6/wk (I can’t get delivery) and pay for another subscription for a family member (delivered at 95 cents each).
Apologies for focusing on the peanuts (loss leader) only.
Elizabeth, for your interest — you also get a further discount for the number of flatmates you have, between 1 and 8 if I recall. Meant you could get a annual subscription for $99 or 32c per paper. Can’t recall the specifics hence the fyi. But for example, if you signed up and said you had 7 other flatmates then you would get the best discount. No proof required. Why would you NOT say 7 other flatmates? Hell of a way of the ODT to fudge its numbers ;)
boosts the circulation numbers …..