Student columnist signs off

After two and-a-half years of writing a column for the Otago Daily Times, Millie Lovelock is moving on. Photo: Peter McIntosh.

At 23 years old, Millie Lovelock has just handed in her thesis and as she is no longer a student she felt it was the right time to pass on the torch to another columnist, so  Thursday’s "A Situation Report" column was her last.

In  more than 100 columns she rallied against sexism, campaigned against the University of Otago’s cuts to humanities and shared her fears about being a young woman in today’s world.

Many of her most controversial columns were about her views on misogyny, including one where she slammed New Zealand’s rugby culture for perpetuating "toxic masculinity".

Many of those who disagreed with her made their feelings known in the ODT’s letters to the editor page.

But none of her critics  convinced her she was wrong and she says she stood by "pretty much everything" she wrote.

"I can’t remember all of my columns [though]."

The criticism did affect her, but she had learned to shut it out, even though it did get "freaky" at times, when some people sent  messages to her personal Facebook account.

Part of the reason she continued as long as she did was  not to let her critics win.

"I’m very stubborn."

She did, at times, think about avoiding controversial topics.

"Whenever I would get into thinking that way I would start annoying myself and realise that I shouldn’t let people’s outrage stop me from writing my opinion in my opinions column."

She had theories about why she was so polarising and why it was predominantly older white men who took issue with what she had to say.

"I think they are just not used to having their way of life confronted; it’s very shocking to come across someone younger and more female than them having a go."

She also believed people interpreted her views about society as a personal attack against them, which was not her intention.

Hearing the hard truth could  hurt, she said.

"I think it can be quite affronting when you don’t think you’re sexist, or racist, or homophobic, but then someone suggests that maybe you are."

She was proud of what she had written and believed it was important having a different perspective than the usual in the pages of the ODT.

She was now looking at turning her thesis, on the boy-band One Direction, into a journal article and then a book and wanted to head to Canada to do a  PhD. But looking forward to the next stage in her life, she was deeply worried about what was happening in the world, which included Donald Trump being elected president of the United States.

"It’s very scary and I think it’s particularly scary for people my age, coming out of school and university and realising that everything is very wrong."

Her advice for the next student columnist was simple.

"Try to stay as disengaged as you possibly can from people who don’t really have any valid criticisms but just want to be a bit nasty.

"I haven’t read most of the letters to the editor, but my dad saves the especially juicy ones for me."

vaughan.elder@odt.co.nz