Obnoxious minority not the real face of students

The house was what you would expect of a Dunedin student flat. Cold, dark, damp, with the door always open and a tornout couch on the porch.

while I was there. I was blown away someone I didn’t even know would make such a generous offer.

‘‘Kiwi hospitality’’, my classmate said, as though it was completely normal.

I asked Nina several times if she was sure it was OK and eventually accepted her offer as I had no other option. She refused to let me pay for her rent despite my insistence and only asked I contributed $40 to be included in the shared meals for the week.

The house was what you would expect of a Dunedin student flat. Cold, dark, damp, with the door always open and a torn-out couch on the porch. But the four students sharing it were warm, polite and friendly. We would sit in the lounge in sleeping bags to share the dinner one of them had cooked and chat. They always asked about my day and were happy to talk about their studies. We occasionally had beer or wine but I didn’t see anyone drunk while I was there. I could often see them studying. They shared their food and their bathroom with me without any sign of resentment at having a stranger around. No rape jokes, no grinding, no binge drinking. Just Kiwi hospitality and an impressive community spirit for students in their early twenties.

In 2009, an ASB Bank survey ranked Dunedin as the top place to live in New Zealand. The survey looked at several criteria related to people feeling comfortable and happy living in the area, including the sense of community in local neighbourhood and feeling of trust. This is more like the Dunedin I experienced. We expect so much from students. Living on $40 a week for food and spending the evening in a sleeping bag to stay warm is considered normal. And for the most part, students who look after each other and study hard bear these conditions without complaints. We shouldn’t damn them all based on the actions of an obnoxious minority.