“Business As Usual” OUSA Budget Dropped
OUSA’s budget for 2026 has dropped. You might read “budget” and feel your eyes glaze over. But just as your budget is crucial to stretching StudyLink payments across keeping a roof over your head, avoiding scurvy, and storing away a little extra for barista-made treats or a box on the weekend, OUSA’s budget is the blueprint for what they’re able to do. A financially illiterate Critic Te Ārohi tugged on the...OUSA Quarter 3 Wrapped: Part I
In the blink of an eye, quarter three wrapped up at OUSA at the end of August. With everything from scandals to elections dominating headlines, the Exec has still been hard at work serving students’ interests. While its impossible to cover everything, here’s a taster of what the Exec has done in order to get their honorariums (AKA their pay) this quarter. With over 23,000 words and twelve reports to trawl through, Critic Te Ārohi...Polytech Proposes Switch To Telehealth Student Health Services
On the 26th of September, the Otago Polytech advised kaimahi, ākonga, the Otago Polytech Students Association, stakeholders, and the media (except for Critic – we found out through a student) of a proposal to move to a telehealth set up for their student health provision for the 2026 academic year. Telehealth refers to delivery of health services digitally, rather than in person. The proposal is in response to the growing...Penetrating the Perfect Pussy Problem
Content warning: Racism I can’t remember how it started. There was no inciting incident that compelled me to question my labia. Perhaps because I was raised by lesbian parents with a strong hippie persuasion, and (radical) feminist ideology being passed around the dining table as if it were bread and butter. I was always encouraged to explore my body and I’d never had any doubts that my vulva or labia were in any way abnormal, or...Sins & Virtues of Flatting
Seven Sins Pride Pride is the over-inflated sense of superiority. The prideful flat is one that considers themselves above the simple tasks that hold flats and the shared Otago experience together. But such pride is, as always, a curse. Pride is selling tickets to a flat party. Pride is labelling yourself as the only ‘clean’ flatmate. Pride is unconscious. It is telling yourself that you don’t need to clean because...Asking for a Friend
Student life isn’t always easy. For Mental Health and Wellbeing Week, campus-based support services – Student Health and OUSA Student Support – answer your questions with advice on everything from how to manage your workload through burnout...
Debatable: Should Athletes Be Allowed to Compete Openly on Performance-Enhancing Drugs?
Pro Enter the Enhanced Games. Essentially the Olympics on steroids (literally), this event is funded by three big time venture...
Editorial: Get Behind the Rental Warrant of Fitness
Cars can be dangerous to your wellbeing. If they have a dodgy wheel bearing, thin tyres, a cracked windscreen or a dying battery,...
Horoscopes Issue 25 2025
Pisces Your daydreams have been full of love, art, and a future where you don't live in your shithole flat. It is awesome to have hopes and dreams, but remember that the bed you dream in needs its sheets changed at least every month. And lately that has...
Moaningful Confessions: Always Have a Plan B
Have something juicy to tell us? Send your salacious stories to moaningful@critic.co.nz. Submissions remain anonymous. So I was all set to fly up to Christchurch – flights booked,...
Ammonita Have Brought the Noise
OUSA’s annual band competition, Bring the Noise, wrapped up its seventh iteration at U-Bar last week. Presented by Radio One, the competition involved two heats and a final where Ōtepoti...
‘Dental for All’ Roadshow Hits Ōtepoti
The Dental for All campaign has kicked off with a nationwide roadshow, stopping in towns and cities all across the motu to push for one thing: free, universal dental care. Last Rāhina, the group...
Fitzy’s DJ Decks and a Dream
As exam season looms, OUSA hosted their Future DJ Competition to refocus on what's really important to students: loud sounds in a club. Hosted in collaboration with George FM and Catacombs, the event boasted an impressive array of prizes intended to help...
OUSA Exec: President-Elect’s Piece
Kia ora peeps, It’s your 2026 President here. Thanks to everyone who voted in the OUSA elections. We had our best voter turnout in five years, so a huge thank you to all that turned...
Mi Goreng Graduate: Kofta Kebabs
Serves: 5 Time: 30 mins Picture yourself sitting on a beach in Euro summer, sunkissed with an aperol spritz in hand. A mental image that can only be improved by an epicly tasty...
