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Chunder, Challenges, and Controversy: A look back at Otago’s debaucherous Capping Week
Not so long ago, in the 1950s, students at Otago would have been in the middle of intense party preparations at this time of year. Throughout most of the 20th Century, May graduations (known as Capping) were celebrated with a week of festivities including social events, stunts, and extreme binge drinking. In the early days, lectures were cancelled for the week because the Uni knew that no one would show up.
All that remains of the week for us today is the Capping Show, but Capping Week used to rival O Week. Instead of just having a disappointing fresher toga party in the Union Hall, the Capping Committee hosted a variety of events all week long, for everyone to attend. This is a catalogue of all the events that would have been on show for you if you attended Otago in the mid-20th century. Not that you would have been sober enough to remember many of them.