Otago students axe troubled toga parade

Otago University's annual toga parade has been axed, less than a week after the High Court ruled the university was right to discipline students when it all went wrong.

This year's orientation week parade, involving up to 2000 first-year students parading through the centre of Dunedin in "togas", degenerated into mayhem.

Buckets of vomit and faeces were thrown, bystanders were pelted with eggs, and windows were smashed.

The university disciplined 17 students for their behaviour under its code of student conduct provisions. Three were suspended from classes for a semester.

After a legal challenge by the students' association, the High Court last week ruled that the university was within its rights to discipline the students.

The students' association made the decision to pull the pin on the parade in light of the controversy which surrounded this year's event.

Dunedin police emergency response commander Inspector Alastair Dickie welcomed the decision to cancel the event.

"After the shemozzle of this year's parade, we don't want a repeat," he told the Otago Daily Times.

Dunedin Mayor Peter Chin was "quite happy" the parade would not be held next year.

- NZPA