Students the Otago Daily Times spoke to this week said there were not enough pubs and clubs in central Dunedin to meet demand, and the "packs of up-themselves rich kids straight from ... private schools in Auckland" were gatekeeping Castle St from the masses.
Castle St flats which in the past hosted open-door parties had now increasingly become "invite only" affairs.
The student area has undergone some changes in the past few years.
The four main pubs in the student area — the Bowler, Captain Cook, Oriental and Gardies — have all closed down, leaving the area with a lack of facilities for drinking.
Campus Watch has established itself and the university has put an onus on responsibility, and put more control over events.
Students said things had gone too far, with one saying it could be the demise of Dunedin.
A student said "town’s just a let-down, it sucks and you just spend your whole night in line".
She said flat parties on all the classic student party streets were not much better.
"It’s exclusive and that sucks.
"People are focusing on Castle a lot, but I reckon it’s a bit of a stinker all around at the moment."
Many students blamed the "demise of the proper Dunedin rager" on students from Auckland.
However, a fourth-year student also said factors such as Covid-19, social media and the cracking down by Campus Watch all played a part.
The student, who started university in 2018, ended up taking a break in 2020, and returned to Otago University in 2021.
"I remember being in second year in 2019.
"It was just such a better vibe and better scene to be part of.
"I think Covid really changed things, and it hasn’t been long enough since for it to swing back to where it was," he said.
Drunken antics being filmed and posted online meant people did not want strangers they did not trust at parties, he said.
"There’s been a few instances of drunk antics making it to the proctor from people taking videos.
"I mean you want to try and limit that happening and it’s easier to trust people you know rather than people you don’t," the student said.
"It also feels like Campus Watch are cracking down a bit, but I don’t know if that’s legit or just what it feels like."
Campus Watch declined to comment when asked about the claim.
Senior Sergeant Anthony Bond, of Dunedin, said Covid made it hard to know if it had been quieter than past years, but students had generally been well behaved.
One student said residents in Castle St needed to "sort it out", because the "demise of a proper mad party scene is the demise of Dunedin".
But the big take away from students was other people being unable to let high school go.
"People are coming down here now with their groups from school and not splitting up, whereas a few years ago people were more inclined to mix — people just don’t branch out as much."
One third-year student said perhaps it was not all the fault of students from Auckland, and maybe "some people just don’t want all their stuff trashed".
It was the residents that ended up footing the bill, they said.
"People are going away from the whole ‘yeah everyone come to my house’ and more towards ‘oh yeah, nah, I don’t want my flat to get destroyed’, and like, fair enough I guess."
