I wasn't marching in the chaotic Toga Parade - and yet I still got caught up in it.
I was there, but only to take photographs and get opinions from all sides.
Still, I must have been giving off 'fresher' vibes as I still got water-bombed and egged.
That's probably actually pretty lucky considering those that got beer bottles and pears (they must be in season or something) thrown at them.
Anyone from Dunedin and even probably New Zealand has an opinion of this Orientation Week calamity.
I think most people outside of the student realm, based on those I have talked to, consider it a reckless abandonment of order and disregard for authorities and feel sorry for us poor sods who have to carry the burden of being associated with these actions.
According to one civilian who was picking her way through the debris of egg, vomit, broken ivy crowns and packaging. "I f**king hate 18 year old students." After hearing this remark I spun around, and asked her why she held this opinion.
If it wasn't already obvious.
She put it down to 'sheer obnoxious ignorance, unoriginal wanton destruction.' Even a lot of the students, including first years, are not impressed by the behaviour of some.
It seems like there is less and less of a balance between academic and social aspects of University life.
However, I can't say it was completely the students' fault.
Only about 90% was. Many companies were cashing in on the event with cheap drinks and the like.
And the Toga Party tickets were $35 on the door.
Come on.
To add insult to the injury, in the words of an Arana student, "It was just like a school social". Bad DJ, strobe lights and various stages of mingling.
However by the time the live band started their set, the quality of music was not high on the mimicking Etruscans' priorities. The place certainly turned into a Vomitoriam.
An OUSA volunteer whose job it was clean the aftermath, seemed surprisingly cheerful. "The students could have been a wee bit more responsible. Arrested ones should have been the ones to clean up this mess, not us. It's too much for the shop-owners on George Street. Not fair."
I can't say I would have been this placid in her situation.