The Proctor of University of Otago has taken responsibility for removing around 2000 copies of a controversial issue of a student magazine in Dunedin.
The magazines had been cleared from almost all stands on the University of Otago campus on Monday night, Critic magazine editor Joel MacManus told Newshub.
He believed the magazines had been stolen - potentially by a religious group because of the weekly publication's controversial cover, which had quite a provocative image on it for its "menstruation" issue.
The image was a cartoon drawing of a woman lying naked, menstruating on a bathroom floor.
A university spokeswoman said Proctor Dave Scott received requests of this week's magazine to be removed from the Hospital and Dunedin Public Library foyers.
As such, the campus watch team removed the rest of the magazines from stands around the university on Monday night.
"The assumption was made that copies of the magazine also needed to be removed from other public areas, and hence the Proctor made this decision," the spokeswoman said.
"This was an assumption, rightly or wrongly, that this action needed to be taken as the university is also a public place, where non-students regularly pass through.
"The Proctor understood that the reason copies of this week's issue had been removed from public places was that the cover was objectionable to many people, including children who potentially might be exposed to it."
On Tuesday around 500 copies of the magazine could not be recovered from a skip on campus.
Mr Scott said he intended to talk to Critic staff members on Wednesday about why this action was taken.
Mr MacManus has been left disappointed and angry at the magazines' removal.
"We consider this to be censorship, something that goes against everything a university should stand for," he said.
"We stand by the content of the magazine, and believe it touched on a number of very important issues about period poverty and trans issues, as well as breaking taboos about a bodily function that half the population experience."
No one was contacted about the decision to remove the magazines, he says.
The university spokeswoman said the university had no official view on the content of this week's magazine.
However it was aware that some staff members and members of the public had expressed the opinion that the cover was degrading to women.
Critic illustrator and cover artist Saskia Rushton-Green said that was not her intention.
"I certainly never intended this piece to be degrading to women or anyone who bleeds from their vagina - in fact, I hope some people find it empowering," she told Newshub.
Newshub.
