Top 10 stories of the month - March 2015

In case you missed something, here are our most read stories for the month.

1 - THE PENCILSWORD: FLAGPOLE BLUES

Toby Morris wades into the debate over New Zealand's flag.

2 - CLAMPDOWN ON DUNEDIN'S STUDENT TOWN

As police and the city council try to keep a lid on anti-social behaviour in Dunedin, Otago University is trying to redefine what it means to be a student there. Our reporter Mava Moayyed headed to North Dunedin to find out if it's working.

3 -  'HE WAS GRINDING ME': A CASTLE STREET EXPERIENCE'

While in Dunedin, Mava Moayyed came back with a story of her own to tell - one where she found herself being told rape jokes and grinded on by a kid who been given a 'red card' after drinking for nine hours. She was left wondering about the experiences of other women in the city.

4 - NATALIA KILLS, WILLY MOON FIRED FROM X FACTOR NZ

After a bullying tirade against contestant Joe Irvine, husband/wife duo Natalia Kills and Willy Moon were dropped as judges from The X Factor NZ. Kills had told Irvine he was “disgusting” and “artistically atrocious” while Moon compared the singer to Psycho's Norman Bates, adding, “I feel like you’re going to stitch someone’s skin to your face and then kill everybody in the audience.”

Within 48 hours, Moon and Kills were on a plane out of the country while Ed Sheeran and Ellie Goulding voiced their support for Irvine. By the time replacement judges Shelton Woolright and Natalie Bassingthwaighte were announced, Kills and Moon had broke their silence, saying that there is a lot going on behind the scenes and "what you see isn't always the whole story."

5 - WHEN DOES STANDING UP TO BULLIES BECOME BULLYING?

Stevi-Rae Ofanoa was watching X Factor at home in Ngaruawahia with her four-year-old son when Natalia Kills and Willy Moon suddenly became the most reviled people in New Zealand.

A believer in the Maori saying “te kore te tangata, e kore e tauiraa tupu", or “without people, change doesn't happen”, she began a petition to have Kills taken off the show. While she helped set the stage for the public outcry against the judges, she was upset by the viciousness expressed in the social media outrage. 

So, is there a line between standing up to a bully and becoming a bully yourself?

6 - A STORY OF REAL LIFE SEX EDUCATION

Even when a conversation is difficult or uncomfortable, it's often better to talk. An issue might be shocking or confronting, but if that’s the case the conversation might also be important and necessary.

As Saraid Cameron explains, sex education, no matter where you receive it, very rarely encourages you to take control of your body. She tells her story of learning the hard way.

7 - INTERVIEW: SOUNDGARDEN

Drummer Matt Cameron is a quintessential part of the Seattle rock fraternity that blossomed in the early 90s, and his most important gigs are behind the kit for Soundgarden and Pearl Jam. Cameron spoke to Music 101's Sam Wicks about pulling double duties.

8 - 'GO TO HELL' GROUP TOLD TO GET OFF MASSEY CAMPUS

After students took to social media to report their encounters with Victory Christian Church members, including apparently being lured into conversation with the chance to win a bicycle before being told they are “going to hell”, Massey University decided they needed to take action. They stepped in and trespassed nine members of the church group from their Palmerston North campus, saying that "students should be able to walk around the campus without feeling harassed."

9 - THE BACHELOR NZ: A HURRICANE OF GIRLS

Comedian and Wireless contributor Natasha Hoyland runs through the crazy journey that is The Bachelor NZ in her new weekly column.

10 - EIGHT FACTS ABOUT THE BLACK CAPS' GRANT ELLIOT

The Blacks Caps number 5 and sometime bowler Grant Elliott guided the team to victory with a huge six in clutch time against South Africa. His heroics won him the man of the match award and New Zealand a place in the final against Australia, but who, exactly, is Grant Elliott?