Everyone from pirates to speedo cops were present as students gathered in their dressed-up masses at the annual Hyde St party in North Dunedin.<\/p>\n
More than 4100 tickets were sold for the Otago University Students\u2019 Association event today, with plenty of free food available between the copious amount of alcohol.<\/p>\n
It was a slower start than usual for the event, as people started entering the street about 11am.\u00a0<\/p>\n
University of Otago vice-chancellor Grant Robertson – who was swamped by students wherever he went – said it was important to have such an event in a \u2018\u2018controlled\u2019\u2019 environment.<\/p>\n
He was also impressed by the band One Day at the \u2018\u2018Come 4 Hydeings [sic]\u2019\u2019 flat, as well as the almost complete lack of glass.<\/p>\n
\u2018\u2018I think the students who have flats here really want this to be a success as well. So, it\u2019s a real team effort and I think it works out well.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n
The tenants at the flat agreed, and explained to the Otago Daily Times that it had taken about a month to get everything sorted – from the logistics of setting up the stage to keeping the whole experience within budget.<\/p>\n
The party was once a notorious event, but harm minimisation has been a feature since the roof of a flat collapsed in 2012.<\/p>\n
It then became a ticketed event organised by the OUSA.<\/p>\n
OUSA president Daniel Leamy, wearing a monkey costume, said events such as Hyde St were at the forefront of harm minimisation in the student quarters.<\/p>\n
\u2018\u2018While Otago as much as everyone wants to change the culture of drinking, there’s also an acceptance that you can’t just not expect students to drink.<\/p>\n
\u2018\u2018Events such as Hyde St are a way to make students be able to drink safely.<\/p>\n
\u2018\u2018It’s about harm reduction, it’s about drinking safely. And you can see with the amount of support and the security and things around that this is the best place for students to be today, so it’s great to see.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n
He thought the Smurfs at one of the flats were the best dressed.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Going into the final couple of hours, a police spokesman reported that no arrests had been made.<\/p>\n