16 Mar 2010

Student association won't appeal over toga decision

9:56 pm on 16 March 2010

The Otago University Students Association says it will not appeal against a judicial review decision, backing the university's right to discipline students for off-campus activities.

The university's code of conduct was used to suspend a student from classes for a term, as punishment for his actions during a toga parade in Dunedin last year.

Association president Harriet Geoghegan says an appeal would have been expensive, and would have strained already tense relations with the university.

She says universities face growing pressure from the Government, and they and students need to work together to deal with problems.

She says students themselves have also come to accept the need for the code of conduct.