Into a bright future from a fond past

A great time at university fondly recalled. Photo: Peter McIntosh
A great time at university fondly recalled. Photo: Peter McIntosh
This is my last column. It has been an honour and pleasure to represent the mighty students of our university, a tribe I love dearly.

Big whoop, you say, it likely means a lot more to me than it does to you. Without too much sentiment then I’ll crack on.

Writing this column, I had one key goal: to try to mend the bridge between town and gown which had evolved in the wake of increased isolationism between the two parties.

Though proud of my work, I don’t believe I have mended the bridge. I am continually astounded by the subtle forces which are at work dividing members of our city and, to a small degree, letting their student prejudices shine.

My sister is on the verge of her first year at the university, bearing the flag of Dunedin in the house of merciless drinkers (Unicol).

Now, leaving myself, I wonder what her "student experience" will be like.

What will the next generation of students think of their time here? Will it be better or worse than my own?

Let’s dive in, looking at the question through the lens of a few key categories.

What will obviously overshadow the student’s experience will be the university’s financial troubles which will hamper everyone to some degree.

In these financially tumultuous times where fees have been raised and courses are being cut, the university’s focus is shifting drastically to its key courses. Students taking degrees rather than their complete education will be the focus.

On the flip side, students will also be narrowing their focus — the stakes are simply too high to spend a considerable amount of time creating long-standing connections, projects, or ideas at the university. The problem with a narrowed focus is it’s often hard to know if you’re going in the right direction with blinders on.

Drinking is the other elephant in the room. Despite my moaning, I have no doubt the next generation of students will have a "student pub" of some description.

However, drinking patterns have changed. The slew of initiations the year before last (wow) showed the act of drinking has become competitively ritualised.

As Louisa Mason, a member of student group Hold On To Your Friends, put it, "Drinking culture has subsumed student culture" .

The alcohol companies are all too happy to oblige this trend, with booze advertising bound to reach an all-time high come O Week 2025.

Student culture and the "student pub" (if it comes) will have to contend with the now entrenched ideas of how alcohol is consumed by the new generation of students.

Next up is studentville geography. As I said in an earlier column, property managers are cooking the golden goose by gentrifying Castle St. The gentrification will undoubtedly turn people away from Castle St. On to Leith? Or perhaps further afield?

Either way, the decentralisation of student culture will have a profound impact on student culture. There is nothing like walking 200m and bumping into four or five friends. Who cares if the trip ends up taking an extra hour?

The decentralistion of studentville is perhaps the worst thing that could happen for the student experience. We run the risk of becoming just a university, simply a place to get a degree.

What’s more, no student-orientated business is going to enter a market which does not exist due to a lack of a geographic focal point.

Student bakery? Maybe not. The Bowling Club part 2? Doubtful. Sadly, the sanctity of studentville as a geographic construct is mostly in the hands of powers outside of the students.

Anyway, I’ve completely strayed from my point. The future of studentville is in jeopardy.

But, there is hope. OUSA is (slowly) waking up to the fact students are disengaged. The DCC is slowly turning its head to the great beast in the North.

There will be more active parties looking to make the student experience of the next three years pretty special. I have faith that students will rise up.

Plus, the local body elections are next year, and a strong student candidate for council could seriously change things. I have been shoulder-tapping people but to no avail.

I have faith, however, that someone will step up and bridge the gap in the realm of politics: it is what we need.

I don’t doubt for a second that my sister is going to have a bloody good time at university as I, and so many others, had. Being a student is magical; it gives you a chance to think about the world and your place in it.

Societally, we need the "student experience". It is the student experience which breeds the foresight and ideas that will power us to a bright future. Keep this in mind next time you go to poo-poo the student community.

It has been a pleasure writing about the spectacular student community I had the honour to be a part of for three short years.

• Hugh Askerud majored in politics and religious studies at the University of Otago. A new column from studentville begins in a fortnight.