‘Manor’ to be part of Studholme College
THE student flat where secondyear student Sophia Crestani died at the weekend will become part of her former residential hall, Studholme College, next year, the University of Otago has confirmed.
A police investigation into the circumstances surrounding the 19yearold’s death at a crowded party at ‘‘The Manor’’ is ongoing.
The university had been planning to lease the 114yearold Dundas St flat under a longterm arrangement beginning next year, and a spokesman confirmed yesterday the house would be used as additional capacity for Studholme College.
In addition to the properties it owned, the university leased 88 different commercial properties around North Dunedin to provide accommodation for about 450 students each year, he said.
When asked if the university had plans to buy or lease more flats in 2020, the spokesman said the university had no plans to make any purchases, but was ‘‘always interested in head leasing properties near a residential college or the campus providing that they meet our quality expectations and standards’’.
Witnesses have said Ms Crestani may have been crushed by other partygoers after falling down the stairs at the property, and police are still appealing for people with information to get in touch with them. A police caravan will be situated on campus outside the University Union food court all week.
A university spokeswoman said the chapel at Studholme College had become a place of remembrance for Ms Crestani, with flowers, poetry and a photograph.
The university and the Otago University Students Association has also organised a community street cleanup of North Dunedin on Sunday in Ms Crestani’s memory. Vicechancellor Prof Harlene Hayne said Ms Crestani’s parents had requested the street cleanup.
‘‘I would encourage all our students and staff to attend and help honour Sophia at this time,’’ Prof Hayne said.
The cleanup would run from noon to 4pm, and gloves and rubbish bags would be provided, and a barbecue would be held.
People wanting to attend were asked to gather at a site yet to be confirmed.
THE tragic death of a 19yearold university student at a crowded party in Dundas St last weekend will have left many feeling numb and helpless.
News of this happening at a house in Dunedin on a Saturday night seemed unbelievable, more akin to something which might happen at a big venue in a faroff overseas city.
Only it wasn’t fake news. It was all too real.
Wondering how a fun night out could have gone so terrifyingly wrong will not change the horror and grief felt by the young woman’s family, friends and acquaintances.
Elizabeth Yates put it well in Up the Golden Stair when she wrote: ‘‘I think that we should not, by any twist of the words we use, minimise what we are going through, what anyone goes through, when death enters upon life and removes a member of our circle, familyclose or friendshipwide. There will be time enough to ponder the event, to philosophise about it, to discover its significance. Now, the bleak fact stands: a light has gone out; wherever it may be shining, it is here no longer.’’
There will be much to ponder about this event and to determine what might be done, if anything, to avoid the possibility of any similar occurrence in the future. Investigations into what happened are already well under way.
However, now is the time for supporting those directly or indirectly affected and, as several commentators have said, not the time for finger pointing. Without knowing the detail of what happened, such behaviour would be premature, in any case.
In the aftermath of the tragedy, the University of Otago’s response has been sensitive and sensible. Understandably, it has not been keen to enter into discussion about wider issues regarding students’ partying behaviour at this time.
Vicechancellor Harlene Hayne has had the difficult task of meeting the young woman’s parents earlier this week, describing them as ‘‘simply remarkable people’’. Although they were dealing with their own grief, she spoke of their courage and generosity in helping the university to look after the students most severely affected by the tragedy.
The university has set up a dropin support centre, moved to help rehome the occupants of the house in Dundas St where the death occurred, and begun work on a compassionate consideration process for those who might be unable to sit exams, due to start next week.
While students have been able to access professional help, Prof Hayne observed that the biggest support they had sought in the initial aftermath of the event was from each other.
Otago University Students’ Association president James Heath called for students to be there for each other, to ‘‘reach out to friends and flatmates; talk, listen, show the strength of our community’’.
Maybe it is also time to quietly reflect on what role the wider community has in a city which hosts so many young people living away from home and taking their first tentative steps into adult life.
Do we do enough to welcome, guide and celebrate our students, helping them when they make mistakes, or are we more likely to be standing superciliously on the sidelines, waiting for failure so we can tuttut?
In this instance, perhaps we could follow Mr Heath’s advice — reach out to students , talk, listen and show the strength of our community.