Archive

Editorial - 7

Posted 5:47am Thursday 14th April 2011 by Editor

If I have one drug-related pet peeve, it’s when people casually but not so casually bring up drugs constantly in conversation. You’ll be discussing something uncontroversial like tractors, or the weather, when next thing you know, the un-subtle drug taker drops their drug consumption habits into the Read more...

Diatribe - 7

Posted 5:45am Thursday 14th April 2011 by Richard Kennedy

If you are a student in New Zealand there exists a magic number. Or, rather, two magic numbers. If you live at home this number is $82,953.82, or if you are away from home the number is $89,936.68. Congratulations if your combined parental income is less than this! It means that you have just gained Read more...

We should legalise all drugs

Posted 5:40am Thursday 14th April 2011 by Keiran Bunn and Thomas Mitchell

Keiran Bunn argues the affirmative while Thomas Mitchell argues the negative. Affirmative   Illegal drugs can be loosely broken into two categories: those which do minimal harm, for example marijuana, and those that do a lot of harm, like amphetamines or heroine. Both of these groups of Read more...

Editorial - 6

Posted 5:04am Monday 4th April 2011 by Editor

What’s this? A “Supernatural” issue with no reference to vampires? It’s not that we aren’t cool enough to pick up on the vampire trend, it’s that we’re just too cool to report on a dying phenomenon. The fanged un-dead phase that sprung up as a result of the notorious movie Twilight (one of the Read more...

Diatribe #2

Posted 5:01am Monday 4th April 2011 by Niki Lomax

On the 25th of March some 500,000 people took to the streets in London to protest the proposed cuts to public spending by the Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition government led by David Cameron. Half a million people (the figure reported by the Guardian) is an awful lot of people and, one would Read more...

Diatribe

Posted 4:54am Monday 4th April 2011 by Sharon Lequeux (on behalf of SEA Otago)

“Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It's not.” -- Dr Seuss, The Lorax Submissions on the Dunedin City Council’s Draft Annual Plan 2011/12 are due next Tuesday, April 12. This draft plan contains info on what the council plans to do in 2011/12 and Read more...

This House does not believe in an afterlife

Posted 4:38am Monday 4th April 2011 by Nancy El-Gamel and John Brinsley-Pirie

Nancy El-Gamel argues the affirmative while John Brinsley-Pirie argues the negative. Affirmative   I often hear the line “I don’t believe in an afterlife, I believe in science” and my response to these people is threefold. Firstly, there needs to be an Read more...

Editorial - 5

Posted 4:29am Monday 28th March 2011 by Editor

I Read more...

Diatribe

Posted 4:26am Monday 28th March 2011 by Dan Stride

Being an elected student representative is pretty hard yakka. Especially so in a year where the National government appears hell-bent on destroying Students’ Associations with the Voluntary Student Membership bill (VSM), in collaboration with ACT. So when I encounter claims like those made by Read more...

Does money buy happiness?

Posted 4:23am Monday 28th March 2011 by Bry Jones and Jack Montgomerie

Bry Jones argues the affirmative while Jack Montgomerie argues the negative. Affirmative   Pink Floyd had it right when they said “get a good job with more pay and then you’ll be okay”. It is a happy thought that happiness is distinct from the evils of money, that Read more...

Editorial - 4

Posted 3:19am Monday 21st March 2011 by Editor

GIMME GIMME MORE This week’s issue is our Gluttony issue. Or rather, it’s our review issue, which was since renamed when we realised we had neglected to review anything not related to fatty delicious drunken indulgence. Hence: gluttony. Oopsy daisy. Inside, we continue the 11-year Read more...

Diatribe

Posted 3:15am Monday 21st March 2011 by Danielle Duffield

If you think Pamela Anderson, the Dalai Lama and John Banks have nothing in common, think again. Although the Dalai Lama and Banks aren’t likely to take their kits off for PETA anytime soon, all three are vocal opponents of factory farming. Now, with our government’s call for submissions on their Read more...

Should we subsidise healthy foods?

Posted 3:12am Monday 21st March 2011 by John Brinsley-Pirie and Tiho Mijatov

John Brinsley-Pirie argues the affirmative while Tiho Mijatov argues the negative. Affirmative   In New Zealand we need to face the harsh unpleasant truth; we are fat and as a nation we are only growing fatter. This is possibly the most serious health issue facing New Read more...

Editorial - 3

Posted 4:36am Monday 14th March 2011 by Editor

I GOTS ME A TATTOO It’s sort of hard to know what to write about for a “criminal” themed Critic. Like, criminal activities are real bad for society and stuff, but I don’t wanna be all intense about it. As one buddy of mine pointed out, without criminals, many quality crime shows (see page 9) Read more...

Smoke Nazis

Posted 4:33am Monday 14th March 2011 by Ed Rodgers

It's 1964. The US Surgeon General's report into smoking came out and shockingly announced that smoking was now officially bad for you. Somehow in the preceding millennia of tobacco smoking, human beings failed to realise that sucking a byproduct of fire into your lungs would not have pleasant Read more...

Should prisoners have the luxuries of outside life?

Posted 4:30am Monday 14th March 2011 by Nick Gavey and Kurt Purdon

Nick Gavey argues the affirmative while Kurt Purdon argues the negative. Affirmative I strongly oppose supplying prisoners with bottles of Moet, caviar, 600-count Egyptian cotton sheets, or personal shopping services. However if “luxuries” mean things that every other New Read more...

Editorial - 2

Posted 3:40am Tuesday 8th March 2011 by Editor

Face. Book. Facebook is a strange old beast. Nowadays, Facebook is essentially a form of socially acceptable stalking. According to our incredibly scientific poll (see Bunch of Fives, page 39), 3/5 students Facebook stalk often. Before Facebook, eavesdropping was frowned upon, and following an Read more...

Editorial - 1

Posted 3:39am Tuesday 8th March 2011 by Editor

oh hi there I’m Julia, the editor of Critic for 2011. Welcome to issue one, the “summer” issue. Critic is the student magazine of Otago University, and was established way back in 1925 as a way to keep the uni in check. Since then, Critic has widened its scope, and now attempts to prevent the Read more...

Diatribe

Posted 1:54am Tuesday 8th March 2011 by Kari Schmidt

Aside from the generic “pulling ourselves up by the bootstraps” shtick, people generally characterise New Zealanders by their penchant for whining. Yet, according to the Human Development Index 2010, we are the country with the third best living standards in the world. We’re lucky enough to have Read more...

Sport Potato - 21

Posted 2:56am Monday 20th September 2010 by Tim Miller

There has always been talk that American sports are over-hyped and too glitzy. Sports such as rugby and cricket are the sports of gentlemen and true sports fans love the sport for what it is, not for the cheerleaders at halftime. It is easy for the bright lights of American sports to blind the Read more...