Archive

Editorial | Issue 6

Posted 7:07pm Sunday 1st April 2012 by Joe Stockman

My day at Hyde Street began before sunrise. Cycling down from the NEV I could already hear the DJs playing as I passed the Richardson building. It was an energetic pre-dawn beginning to what was going to be an exhausting day. I spent hours and hours filming and taking still photos. I was there when Read more...

Presidential Column | Issue 5

Posted 4:26pm Sunday 25th March 2012 by Logan Edgar

Morning all, I’ve got some very sad news to report unfortunately. You see we here at OUSA have not been the least bit cheery this week as the association has been struck with a death in the family; The death of our colleague Thiago Nazario who worked at the Clubs & Societies centre, and Read more...

Te Roopu Māori | Issue 5

Posted 4:26pm Sunday 25th March 2012 by Lisa Pohatu

Ehara taku toa, he taki tahi, he toa taki tini My success should not be bestowed onto me alone, as it was not individual success but success of a collective YOU may or may not be aware of all the various divisional and departmental roopū (groups) on campus. Each roopū are Read more...

Diatribe | Issue 5

Posted 4:26pm Sunday 25th March 2012 by Rape Crisis Dunedin

“Just ask” – two words that seem so simple. In student cities such as Dunedin, sex always seems to be the topic of much consideration and is often acknowledged as just sex. The random one-night stands and “friends with benefits” ease the meaning and pressure surrounding sex and have subsequently Read more...

How To: Kiss

Posted 4:26pm Sunday 25th March 2012 by Staff Reporter

Far from a simple anatomical movement, kissing is a complex emotional and philosophical endeavour. It’s easy to get wrong and so, so good when you get it right. Now there are lots of different types of kissing: Affectionate, sexual, platonic, as a greeting, and on and on. But Critic isn’t interested Read more...

Poetry | Issue 5

Posted 4:26pm Sunday 25th March 2012 by Dan Luoni

Like your secretly Methodist mother Says to justify the big spend, “Oh but it will go with anything, And look so good on a Special weekend.” To refresh after devouring The Colonel’s choice Or as a celebratory gesture  To welcome some Wisterian’s Impending divorce. Read more...

ODT Watch | Issue 5

Posted 4:26pm Sunday 25th March 2012 by Staff Reporter

The team over at the ODT spent most of the past week dishing out some truly fantastic advice about a range of social issues. First up, they have a whole new family violence avoidance plan … That’s right, if you can’t stop them beating people, then, um, beat them … They followed Read more...

Uncle Howie | Issue 5

Posted 4:26pm Sunday 25th March 2012 by Uncle Howie

Howie. Is it true that different races have different size penises? I’ve only ever played with white boys, but I’ve been checking out some of the cute brown boys around this place and thought I might get a bit more variety in me, if you get what I mean ... Racing for answers Hey mate, Read more...

Straight Up | Issue 5

Posted 4:26pm Sunday 25th March 2012 by La Dida

In case you missed it, this week’s NZ trans-queer news was over the “glitter bombing” of feminist writer and commentator Germaine Greer. The action was undertaken once again by the Wellington-based Queer Avengers, who tipped glitter all over the seated septuagenarian, who appeared stunned in Read more...

Classic Film | Issue 5

Posted 4:26pm Sunday 25th March 2012 by David Milner and Cory Dalzell

Director: Christopher Nolan Memento follows one man’s hunt for his wife’s killer – a seemingly simple plot complicated by protagonist Leonard’s (Guy Pearce) inability to store new memories. As it turns out, we rely on such abilities for any kind of functioning, let alone a self-propelled Read more...

Swillable | Issue 5

Posted 4:26pm Sunday 25th March 2012 by Pilbo Swaggins

Taste: 9/10 Percentage: 6.4%(domestic), 5% (export) Price: 45 baht (approx. NZ$1.90) Standards per vessel: 3.1 in big bottles (Yai Chang) A strong yet tasty pale lager that has only been in production since 1995 yet has since gone on to gain 60% of the local beer market in Thailand. Read more...

LILF | Issue 5

Posted 4:26pm Sunday 25th March 2012 by Hot For Teacher

Religion and Globalisation was supposed to be a paper that one takes to learn about religion, beliefs and the gods of the world. Little did I know that my thoughts would be much more occupied with a certain square-jawed, dark-eyed lecturer. Krishna’s got nothing on Will Sweetman. That first Read more...

Me Love You Long Time | Issue 5

Posted 4:26pm Sunday 25th March 2012 by Lovebirds

Dunedin is renowned for many things, but its dating scene is not one of them. Getting boozed and pashing people on the dance floor is hardly anyone’s idea of romance, so Critic wants to sort you out. Every week we’re sending two loveless loners on a blind date to Tokyo Gardens (with a bottle of wine Read more...

The Tory Templar | Issue 5

Posted 4:26pm Sunday 25th March 2012 by The Tory Templar

The Maritime Union and Ports of Auckland are at odds over the Port’s insistence on more flexible working hours, and the union’s insistence that this provides too much uncertainty for staff and is inherently unfair. What to do? Strike, apparently. If even a hardcore lefty such as Auckland Read more...

Red and Starry Eyed | Issue 5

Posted 4:26pm Sunday 25th March 2012 by Red and Starry Eyed

Unions must keep on fighting! The Ports of Auckland dispute has hit the media like a wildfire, with ideological differences underpinning all coverage of the dispute. The issue is both complicated and serious. If the port wins, it will be a significant blow to the union movement in New Zealand Read more...

Scarfie Chronicles | Issue 5

Posted 4:26pm Sunday 25th March 2012 by Claudia Herron

If there’s one day when it’s acceptable to claim a bit of “Irish ancestry” because your great-grandmother’s brother’s cousin was born in Dublin, it’s St Patrick’s Day. The dirty old town of Dunedin was evidentially on good terms with old Paddy, who got the fella upstairs to deliver a stellar day for Read more...

Editorial | Issue 5

Posted 4:26pm Sunday 25th March 2012 by Joe Stockman

The first OUSA elections of the post-VSM era took place last week. The usual 10% or so of students bothered to vote – actually not a bad turnout for a by-election – and four new Execies have joined Logan and the rest on the Student Executive. However, even those who voted might be asking, Read more...

Presidential Column | Issue 4

Posted 4:27pm Sunday 18th March 2012 by Logan Edgar

Konnichiha (pronounced as konnichiwa), Hey shout out to all those Japanese students studying here at Otago. Respect to you and your country having just past the 1 year anniversary of that devastating earthquake and tsunami that followed . Just a few sharns to report back about this Read more...

Every day I’m chapil’n | Issue 4

Posted 4:27pm Sunday 18th March 2012 by Father Mark Chamberlain

For those of you who were unlucky enough to be out of Dunedin during the November to January period, we had a fantastic summer. I loved it. Have you noticed our mornings are now cooler and it’s now getting dark sooner, the days are slowly becoming shorter. I gave in last week and admitted to Read more...

LILF | Issue 4

Posted 4:27pm Sunday 18th March 2012 by Hot For Teacher

It was my first semester at Otago, and it could have been The Greatest Story Ever Told. My first paper, my first class – there you were. I arrived to class early and you were already waiting, preparing for the lesson. I chose a desk, sat down. Then I saw your face – and I was a believer. As you Read more...

Clubs & Skux | Issue 4

Posted 4:27pm Sunday 18th March 2012 by John Stevens

I insisted to Olivia that “one does not simply walk into Mordor” (read: Student Life) to skux. However to skux does not necessarily mean sex or even hooking up. To skux is merely to impart a pleasant experience of mutual enjoyment that leaves both parties feeling like empowered sexual beings. This Read more...

No Fringe, No Indie. | Issue 4

Posted 4:27pm Sunday 18th March 2012 by Sasha Borissenko

No Fringe, No Indie explores the styles and cultures that are so unique to Dunedin, and how you too can embody the style of your choice. The style exposition of the week is ‘mainstream’. Think normal, think average, think generic. Being ‘mainstream’ at Otago involves everything but Read more...

Swillable | Issue 4

Posted 4:27pm Sunday 18th March 2012 by Pilbo Swaggins

Taste: 6/10 Price: $12 per 6-pack, Standards Per Vessel: 2.0 (8%) I was pretty stoked this week when I found out Cumby Superliquor was going to be hooking me up with the ever rowdy Diesel, its not often one gets to write on a subject so close to ones heart. Diesel, a mix of only Read more...

Straight Up | Issue 4

Posted 4:27pm Sunday 18th March 2012 by La Dida

Hey Hetero, try harder! I have done loads of sexuality/gender identity awareness trainings in my time. Unfortunately they are often repackaged as “diversity” training because some people find sexuality/gender identity too embarrassing or political to say. Fact is, sunshine, when I do Read more...

ODT Watch | Issue 4

Posted 4:27pm Sunday 18th March 2012 by Staff Reporter

Okay, so not everyone that walks around with a gun is sinister. But generally speaking, when a guy is walking around central Queenstown with a rifle, you can presume that he’s probably not such a great guy. There is nothing shocking about this. It is of course entirely possible for Read more...

World Watch | Issue 4

Posted 4:27pm Sunday 18th March 2012 by Sumantra Maitra

Bonjour! Comment ça va? How are we today? Apparently the world is still round, with no odd nuke meltdown or tsunami warning anywhere. US/Israel/Iran mega-borefest is just where it was a couple of weeks back, so is the North-South Korean drama, and the Indo-Sino-Pak threesome. Putin “managed” to win Read more...

Objection Overruled | Issue 4

Posted 4:27pm Sunday 18th March 2012 by

This year will mark possibly the final ruckus of the wonder that is the Hyde Street Keg Party. Every March, scarfies flock in their thousands to Hyde, aptly decorated as it is to house the chronic intoxication, fornication and defecation that unfolds. One would be hard pressed to find an event to Read more...

Me Love You Long Time | Issue 4

Posted 4:27pm Sunday 18th March 2012 by Lovebirds

Dunedin is renowned for many things, but its dating scene is not one of them. Getting boozed and pashing people on the dance floor is hardly anyone’s idea of romance, so Critic wants to sort you out. Every week we’re sending two loveless loners on a blind date to Tokyo Gardens (with a bottle of wine Read more...

Execrable | Issue 4

Posted 4:27pm Sunday 18th March 2012 by Callum Fredric

The OUSA Exec meeting got off to a constitutionally dodgy beginning by starting 13-minutes after the strict 5:30pm deadline. This was dealt with by some good old fashioned whitewashing, with the official minutes recording the time as 5:29pm. Students are advised to follow a similar procedure when Read more...

The Tory Templar | Issue 4

Posted 4:27pm Sunday 18th March 2012 by The Tory Templar

Our government is planning to get tough on immigration, with proposals for a two-tiered system where so-called wealthier people will be favoured. National hopes to stop unskilled migrants and adult dependent children entering the country. The Templar applauds the government for making these Read more...

Red and Starry Eyed | Issue 4

Posted 4:27pm Sunday 18th March 2012 by Red and Starry Eyed

New Zealand likes to mythologise itself “100% green”. A similar myth is that the country is tolerant and open to migrants. You may remember last year a boat of Sri Lankan migrants “threatened” to make it to our picturesque coasts. “Luckily” it didn’t. John Key used rhetoric that implied they would Read more...

Proctology | Issue 4

Posted 4:27pm Sunday 18th March 2012 by Bella Macdonald

This week, the Proctor is high about Hyde. Expectations have been set for the event to be smoothly run and for the vast majority of students to thrive in the buzzing human hive known as Hyde Street Keg Party. Not wanting to expose any stories of past Hyde Street mishaps to avoid Read more...

Scarfie Chronicles | Issue 4

Posted 4:27pm Sunday 18th March 2012 by Claudia Herron

Hyde Street Keg Party. The big day is coming around quicker than Dave Cull can say “North Dunedin Liquor Ban” so, as the residents of Hyde Street start to prepare themselves and with near to 30 themes already announced, Critic did a bit of recon and found out just what might be in store for the Read more...

Editorial | Issue 4

Posted 4:27pm Sunday 18th March 2012 by Joe Stockman

I never got behind the Occupy movement, despite agreeing with most of the many and varied changes that they were calling for. I never spent a night asleep in the Octagon; I never bashed away on my keyboard writing about their campaign to make the world a fairer, better place. Occupy failed to Read more...

ODT Watch | Issue 3

Posted 3:28pm Wednesday 14th March 2012 by Staff Reporter

The weather has been pretty shite recently, and the ODT is all over it. When the sun did turn up for a few minutes, the ODT online (that’s right, they have a website), waxed seriously lyrical over its arrival. After David Bain’s retrial and acquittal it turns out that we can’t Read more...

ODT Watch | Issue 2

Posted 3:28pm Wednesday 14th March 2012 by Staff Reporter

There is really very little that I can add to the ODT’s work this week. They have simply outdone themselves. Yes it is ODT. Yes it is. They then lost their shit that only four of the people arrested in town on Saturday night were students. Sorry ODT, we’ll try harder next Read more...

ODT Watch | Issue 1

Posted 3:28pm Wednesday 14th March 2012 by Staff Reporter

If you’ve never read the Otago Daily Times, you and I could probably be friends. I have to read it, but out of that hard slog every morning comes the glorious ridiculousness that is ODT Watch. You see, the ODT is no ordinary daily paper. Its dedication to bad puns and dad jokes is unsurpassed in NZ Read more...

The Tory Templar | Issue 3

Posted 6:37pm Sunday 11th March 2012 by The Tory Templar

New Zealand’s own terror trials have started. They began with a mini version of Survivor which saw the suspects whittled down to the “real bad guys”. And now resident “rent-a-protestor” John Minto has got on board. If the Templar had a dollar for every half-arse cause John got on board with he’d be Read more...

Presidential Column | Issue 3

Posted 6:37pm Sunday 11th March 2012 by Logan Edgar

Hey Gang, One big number item for Logz to inform you lot of this week, Last week I spent an afternoon going door to door down Hyde St. I informed students of a little party that is set to take place on their street on the 24th of the month (surprise). I wanted to do this because there Read more...

Te Roopu Māori | Issue 3

Posted 6:37pm Sunday 11th March 2012 by Lisa Pohatu

Kia Ora te whanau, o Te Roopu Māori. Ki te kahore he whakakitenga ka ngaro te iwi Without foresight or vision the people will be lost. The Mission Statement of Te Rito is: “Te Rito will establish an environment within the University of Otago that recognises - Taha, tinana, Read more...

Classic Film | Issue 3

Posted 6:37pm Sunday 11th March 2012 by Sam McChesney

Directors: Joel and Ethan Coen All The Dude ever wanted was his rug back. When Jeff “The Dude” Lebowski (Jeff Bridges) is mistaken for an indebted millionaire of same name, and his rug is thusly micturated upon by a porn baron’s enforcer, he embarks on an epic quest to obtain, you Read more...

LILF | Issue 3

Posted 6:37pm Sunday 11th March 2012 by Hot For Teacher

“It is a truth universally acknowledged, that an English lecturer in possession of a good student must be in want of a naughty schoolgirl encounter …” The old adage of not judging a book by its cover went out the window the first time I met the good Dr. Rogers. As our eyes locked Read more...

Straight Up | Issue 3

Posted 6:37pm Sunday 11th March 2012 by La Dida

Oh that’s it. (Cracks knuckles, removes rings). I’m mad. This piece is in solidarity with the Wellington based group the Queer Avengers who protested outside the Dominion Post Wellington offices last week. Their protest was organised in response to an article “Why I feel for the kids of Read more...

Uncle Howie | Issue 3

Posted 6:37pm Sunday 11th March 2012 by Uncle Howie

Hey Howie, So there’s this really hot chick on my floor. In fact she is just across the hall from me. We’re great friends and get on really well. I’d love to hook up with her, but I’m not sure if I can handle the awkward morning after experience. I’d be pretty gutted if she came home with someone Read more...

Geekology | Issue 3

Posted 6:37pm Sunday 11th March 2012 by Robbie Masters

Hello again young science buffs! This week’s column is coming at you from Otago Uni’s very own Physics Department, where PhD candidate Ken Hughes has been doing some scintillating research on Antarctic sea ice. Specifically, Ken has been constructing a computer simulation of how sea ice is formed in Read more...

Me Love You Long Time | Issue 3

Posted 6:37pm Sunday 11th March 2012 by Lovebirds

Dunedin is renowned for many things, but its dating scene is not one of them. Getting boozed and pashing people on the dance floor is hardly anyone’s idea of romance, so Critic wants to sort you out. Every week we’re sending two loveless loners on a blind date to Tokyo Gardens (with a bottle of wine Read more...

How to: Grow Hops in Your Flat

Posted 6:37pm Sunday 11th March 2012 by Staff Reporter

Hops is the plant that is used to flavour beer. Hops is also the closest relative of the cannabis plant, and many of the techniques developed for growing cannabis indoors can be applied to the hops plant. Using the instructions below you will be able to grow your own hops plant in your flat and save Read more...

Red and Starry Eyed | Issue 3

Posted 6:37pm Sunday 11th March 2012 by Red and Starry Eyed

Get red-y for a piece of advice: Do not trust the government. Not just John Key’s, don’t trust Labour either. Currently in court four “terrorists” are being tried for being the supposed ringleaders of a group planning war against the police and government. The case goes back to 2007, when 300 Read more...

Scarfie Chronicles | Issue 3

Posted 6:37pm Sunday 11th March 2012 by Josie Adams

After settling down to nurse their heads after O-Week, the Scarfies are now back in the game. In a highly exciting turn of events, a Dunedin flatwarming was shut down recently, for reasons we shall hopefully glean from TV in a couple of months. That’s right, Police 10/7 visited the student ghetto. Read more...

Editorial | Issue 3

Posted 6:37pm Sunday 11th March 2012 by Joe Stockman

As young, well-educated people, we often feel a deep desire to try and make positive change in the world. We appreciate the unique privilege of being born in a peaceful, developed country, being well educated and enjoying social and economic success. We hope that we can do something to really make a Read more...

Editorial | Issue 2

Posted 4:53pm Sunday 4th March 2012 by Joe Stockman

I am a white, middle-class, straight guy with a BA. I wish sometimes I were more exotic. I see bisexual Spaniards with mullets and tattoos and I get awfully jealous. But I have had to come to terms with who I am and make the most of it. And since the world is basically built for white, middle class Read more...

Scarfie Chronicles | Issue 2

Posted 4:53pm Sunday 4th March 2012 by The Scarfie Archivist

Maybe the glory days of Scarfiedom are over, and maybe they’re not. Regardless, we don’t have to go to far back in the archives to find some truly awesome scarfie antics. The Editor of a certain student magazine remembers the poor sod who was last to turn 18 at UniCol in his first year. When Read more...

Proctology | Issue 2

Posted 4:53pm Sunday 4th March 2012 by Staff Reporter

Perhaps the summer break is too long for some students. 94 students managed to lose enough brain cells over the holidays to end up having to climb those stairs to visit the Proctor over O-Week. Amazingly enough, not one of the incidents leading to these little sit-downs of justice occurred Read more...

Presidential Column | Issue 2

Posted 4:53pm Sunday 4th March 2012 by Logan Edgar

Gidday mate, Firstly apologies for last week’s Presidents column it was a bit shitbox. I let myself down and I let you down. And for that I apologize. You see, I was a rather busy boy last week – as you may have heard we at OUSA threw a wee party down at the Stadium. So I didn’t have much Read more...

Every day I’m chapil’n | Issue 2

Posted 4:53pm Sunday 4th March 2012 by Greg Hughson

I enjoyed Orientation this year. It was great to meet so many students around campus, as well as in our Residential Colleges and around the Combined Christian Groups BBQ on the Museum Reserve late at night. What would you say you enjoyed most about Orientation? What did you enjoy least? I’d really Read more...

Lozz's World | Issue 2

Posted 4:53pm Sunday 4th March 2012 by Lozz Holding

Hi kids. Currently I am sufficiently hung over to qualify for a disability grant. On top of feeling like a chemo patient in his fourth week of treatment, I am also extremely fucked off. I’m not angry about the rash on my crotch or the lingering smell of red Powerade-vomit wafting through the flat, Read more...

Swillable | Issue 2

Posted 4:53pm Sunday 4th March 2012 by Mr Squid

Taste: 7.5/10 Price: $12.95 Standards per vessel: 7.1 I had my pinot at room temperature so as not to kill the flavour. Besides, I had a lady coming over to help with the tasting. I thought it would sweeten the deal to let her think I was some impressive wine connoisseur; a modern Read more...

Objection Overruled | Issue 2

Posted 4:53pm Sunday 4th March 2012 by

Dear Critic – I headed down to Castle street last weekend, and needless to say, shit was pretty loose down there. I noticed that Campus Watch and the cops were all over the place! What’s up with those guys? What do I need to watch out for being the unassuming young blood that I am? – Troubled Read more...

Classic Film | Issue 2

Posted 4:53pm Sunday 4th March 2012 by Jane Ross

Director: Peter Yates What happens if you just don’t know what you’re supposed to do with your life? Breaking Away is a funny, intelligent, uplifting, and at times heartbreaking coming-of-age film that attempts to answer this question for a group of four high school graduates. Academy Award Read more...

Clubs & Skux | Issue 2

Posted 4:53pm Sunday 4th March 2012 by Olivia & John

I guess I should explain the premise of this column. John and I, (John is away skuxing overseas this week) go to clubs and try to have enlightening cultural experiences, while at the same time rating them on their ‘skuxability’. Also, John and I both vary on the Kinsley scale (we are both at least Read more...

Straight Up | Issue 2

Posted 4:53pm Sunday 4th March 2012 by La Dida

I have been up in Auckland for the last couple of weeks, which has been sunny and fabulous. I managed to head to the Big Gay Out, which was cool despite the inclement weather, and the fact that John Key was voted sexiest male politician. That poll must be rigged, cause John Key rates below zero on Read more...

World Watch | Issue 2

Posted 4:53pm Sunday 4th March 2012 by Sumantra Maitra

Aloha! Guess who’s back? Yes, the same Indian wordsmith, who got a chance after tickling the nostalgic side of your editor. Or maybe it was a quota thing, we Indians are used to quotas. Anyhoo … The world was as usual very interesting – not as interesting as my roommate finding 36 tin can openers in Read more...

Uncle Howie | Issue 2

Posted 4:53pm Sunday 4th March 2012 by Uncle Howie

Dear Howie I was out at Monkey on Saturday night getting my skux on, and I noticed that for each hot girl, there were like 10 guys dancing around her. What the hell man, can’t a guy have a lady to himself anymore? – Still solo Hi mate, The “Sex Pit” of any dance floor is a dangerous Read more...

How to: Pick Up

Posted 4:53pm Sunday 4th March 2012 by Staff Reporter

So apparently Critic is talking about sex this week, or at least it seems like it is. So in that vein, I’d like to discuss the mystical art of picking up. Some of us can do it without even trying, fuckers. Fuck them and their nonchalant good looks and well-fitting clothes; their stylishly-coiffed Read more...

Me Love You Long Time | Issue 2

Posted 4:53pm Sunday 4th March 2012 by Lovebirds

Dunedin is renowned for many things, but its dating scene is not one of them. Getting boozed and pashing people on the dance floor is hardly anyone’s idea of romance, so Critic wants to sort you out. Every week we’re sending two loveless loners on a blind date to Tokyo Gardens (with a bottle of wine Read more...

The Tory Templar | Issue 2

Posted 4:53pm Sunday 4th March 2012 by The Tory Templar

The Templar’s blood boils when thinking about this issue. It is the one thing on which no compromise exists. The act of abortion may have become more acceptable in this country’s culture but the Templar will never be anything other than disgusted by it. Abortion is, in no uncertain terms, Read more...

Red and Starry Eyed | Issue 2

Posted 4:53pm Sunday 4th March 2012 by Red and Starry Eyed

Every now and then, at the entrance to the hospital, one can still be harassed by people wearing anti-abortion sandwich boards adorned with gory photos. Funnily enough, most of these ‘protesters’ are men. Abortion debates in New Zealand are nothing compared to those in the US or other deeply Read more...

Presidential Column

Posted 5:25pm Saturday 25th February 2012 by Logan Edgar

A bloody good welcome to ya, Here lies the first yarn of the year (apart form all those Orientadium yarns you saw before this). This is where I set about having a rant about what’s going on with the Executive so you know what we’re up to or sometimes just have a big whack on about the week. Read more...

VC's Letter

Posted 5:10pm Saturday 25th February 2012 by Professor Harlene Hayne

The beginning of the new academic year is a very exciting time. One of the reasons that I became a professor (and ultimately a Vice-Chancellor) is that I have always been hooked on that “back to university” feeling. I love everything about this time of year - the renewed energy in town, crisp new Read more...

Te Roopu Māori | Issue 1

Posted 5:07pm Saturday 25th February 2012 by Te Roopu Maori

Tenei te mihi ki a koutou nga tauira hou o Te Whare Wananga o Otakou! Nau mai, haere mai, rarau mai ra ki raro i te tahuhu o Ngai Tahu ratou ko Ngati Mamoe me Waitaha.  Kia Ora koutou and welcome to Otago Uni! Hope you have all got amongst O-Week, made some new friends, joined some Read more...

Lozz's World

Posted 3:41pm Saturday 25th February 2012 by Lozz Holding

Kia Ora and all that shit. Welcome to the first installment of Lozz’s World. Throughout this completely self-indulgent column I will discuss current events (yeah, not really), express my opinion on everything relevant to scarfies, pass on the silliest yarns from around campus and generally rant Read more...

Swillable

Posted 3:33pm Saturday 25th February 2012 by Pilbo Swaggins

Taste: 7/10, Percentage: 5%, Price: 12-pack, $23.99 on special (RRP: 26.99), Standards per vessel: 1.3 First produced during the summer of 1998, and re-released in batch form every summer since, Monteith’s Brewing Company refers to this particular brew as “a fresh, bright and lively Read more...

World Watch

Posted 3:15pm Saturday 25th February 2012 by Sumantra Maitra

Kia Ora and welcome to the very first World Watch, a whimsical look at the stranger goings-on in the world. I was pretty lucky to get to write this column, considering that Critic already boasts a little short of seventeen thousand volunteers. But I somehow cornered our sprightly young Editor, and Read more...

Classic Film

Posted 3:12pm Saturday 25th February 2012 by Sam McChesney

Director: Roman Polanski Chinatown is a blockbuster that would never get made today: main characters die off-screen, the plot has something to do with the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, there is a light-hearted visual gag about wife-beating, the protagonist spends half the film Read more...

How to: Be a Fresher

Posted 6:16pm Friday 24th February 2012 by Staff Reporter

Now, you might not think that you need a guide to being a fresher – it should just come naturally, right? Wrong. Being the best fresher that you can be is the result of hours of hard work and preparation. It is not a challenge to be taken lightly. To help you on your way, Critic has compiled the Read more...

Straight Up

Posted 6:09pm Friday 24th February 2012 by La Dida

So, the first queer column of 2012 is about marriage. No surprise there. The happy dyad of gay marriage and adoption reform seem to dominate queer media, community and social spaces at the moment. I hear it all the time: “gay marriage is the next step/last frontier”, “it’s the rights issue of our Read more...

Geekology

Posted 5:56pm Friday 24th February 2012 by Robbie Masters

The human brain is a complex beast, with approximately 100 billion cells and perhaps 100 trillion connections between them. These connections form information “highways”, which pass electrical currents from one part of the brain to the next. Almost everything you do as a human is dependent on these Read more...

Uncle Howie

Posted 5:32pm Friday 24th February 2012 by Uncle Howie

Dear Howie, I recently met a stunning redhead named Suzy outside Metro one balmy Saturday night. Needless to say, the attraction was instant and things got hot and heavy fast. The thing is, Suzy would like me to perform something in the bedroom, and I’m not exactly confident in my abilities. She Read more...

LILF

Posted 5:25pm Friday 24th February 2012 by Hot For Teacher

Hello, Peter. May I call you Peter? Whenever I ask you this in my head, you say that I can call you anything I like, and wink roguishly. Of course, I am more than willing to call you “sir”, if you would prefer. In my first year of study I had the delight of being in your CELS191 lectures, and Read more...

Me Love You Long Time

Posted 5:05pm Friday 24th February 2012 by Lovebirds

Dunedin is renowned for many things, but its dating scene is not one of them. Getting boozed and pashing people on the dance floor is hardly anyone’s idea of romance, so Critic wants to sort you out. Every week we’re sending two loveless loners on a blind date to Tokyo Gardens (with a bottle of wine Read more...

The Tory Templar

Posted 3:28pm Friday 24th February 2012 by The Tory Templar

The nanny is back and she’s letting her nanny-state culture bleed into every sector of our lives. The University’s recent actions have shown that in loco parentis, the Uni’s right to act in place of your parents, is making a comeback. The idea that the University should be allowed to dictate Read more...

Red and Starry Eyed

Posted 3:22pm Friday 24th February 2012 by Red and Starry Eyed

While freshers are still hiding behind their maps, the scarfie lifestyle is yet again being frowned upon by the DCC. This problem isn’t new – they have wanted to impose a liquor ban in North D since 2006. They want to drop the last drip of our SoGos; probably cause they haven’t been invited to a Read more...

Editorial

Posted 3:11pm Friday 24th February 2012 by Joe Stockman

Kia Ora and welcome to Critic 2012. Founded in 1925, Critic is your student magazine. It is our job to reflect student society and culture, and allow you guys to see yourselves, and your issues, in your own media. We keep an eye on OUSA and the University to ensure they’re behaving themselves, and Read more...

Debatable - 28

Posted 3:21am Monday 17th October 2011 by Critic

Debatable is written by the Otago University Debating Society, which meets for social debating every Tuesday at 7pm in the Commerce Building. This week’s motion is “that individuals should be allowed to sell their organs”. Rebecca Gates argues the affirmative while John Brinsley-Pirie argues the Read more...

Summer Lovin' - 28

Posted 2:53am Monday 17th October 2011 by Critic

Tin Tin Before my date I had been pre-drinking with a couple of flatmates, as seems customary for such endeavours. My solo walk to Toast only cemented my suspicion I shouldn’t have drunk as much, but adventure favours the bold, right? As I arrived, my gaze fell straight onto the Read more...

Editorial - 28

Posted 2:18am Monday 17th October 2011 by Editor

Blah blah blah, sad, blah blah blah, k thnx bye   Shit’s about to get all soppy and nostalgic, so if you can’t stomach that sort of thing, I’d recommend you quickly turn the page.   I’ve been Editor now for approximately a year, and what a ridiculous year it’s been. After all the late Read more...

Summer Lovin' - 27

Posted 5:25am Monday 10th October 2011 by Critic

Rose When I signed up for Summer Lovin’ I was expecting to have a week or two to amp myself up for said lovin' - if they even contacted me at all. What I actually got was a paltry six hours to mentally and physically prepare myself for a blind date with a guy who would undoubtably be Read more...

Debatable - 27

Posted 4:46am Monday 10th October 2011 by Critic

Debatable is written by the Otago University Debating Society, which meets for social debating every Tuesday at 7pm in the Commerce Building. This week’s motion is “that New Zealand should get rid of MMP”. John Brinsley-Pirie argues the affirmative while Ben Loughrey-Webb from the Campaign for MMP Read more...

Editorial - 27

Posted 4:08am Monday 10th October 2011 by Editor

Penultimate Prattering To many, politics are about as exciting as watching cricket being played by senile citizens in slow motion. And by that, I mean not very. Me, I’m one of those odd folks who actually enjoys politics. I wish my interest were entirely due to principled ideals, but like Read more...

Summer Lovin' -26

Posted 4:14am Monday 3rd October 2011 by Critic

Marge I have only read a Summer Lovin' article once before, and I remember laughing to myself thinking I would never do that. Imagine my surprise when my best friend waltzes into my room on a Monday night, announcing gleefully that she had signed me up for Summer Lovin' and that I had a Read more...

Debatable - 26

Posted 3:46am Monday 3rd October 2011 by Critic

Debatable is written by the Otago University Debating Society, which meets for social debating every Tuesday at 7pm in the Commerce Building. This week’s motion is “that this house would ban product endorsement by celebrities”. Maddie Harris argues the affirmative while Kate Rouch argues the Read more...

Editorial - 26

Posted 2:49am Monday 3rd October 2011 by Editor

Break It Down It finally happened! The lumbering elephant in the corner, the symbol of freedom, the subject of doomsday proclamations, the cause of the nearing apocolypse. Yep, the notorious VSM passed through its third reading last Wednesday. To be honest, I’m secretly quite relieved. Not Read more...

Summer Lovin' - 24

Posted 5:56am Monday 19th September 2011 by Critic

Minnie My good friend was supposed to be going on this week’s date, but after breaking into hot sweats and vomiting due to nerves an hour before she was supposed to go, I kindly stepped up to the plate. I walked into Toast at 8pm and managed to walk right past my date. This could be Read more...

Black Penises, White Supremacy

Posted 4:36am Monday 19th September 2011 by Julia Hollingsworth

Every city seems to have a Rugby World Cup-related controversy, and Dunedin is holding its own with the Rachael Rakena’s phallic work erected in the Octagon just in time for the hoards of sports fans. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the purpose of the work has been overshadowed by comments Read more...

Editorial - 23

Posted 2:21am Monday 12th September 2011 by Editor

I believe in miracles This week is our “Beliefs” issue. We’re not talking about what you think exists (I, for instance, refuse to believe in exclamation marks, despite being constantly confronted with evidence to the contrary). We’re talking about the views you hold dear, the ideas that define Read more...

Diatribe - 23

Posted 2:19am Monday 12th September 2011 by P. Bateman

It is a common belief that the "Exam period" of Otago life is detrimental to student romance. When exams are happening and a few weeks beforehand, it is apparently a terrible time for scuxing, flirting, sexing, doing spade work or making sweet love. It is commonly thought that as people go Read more...

Debatable - 23

Posted 2:16am Monday 12th September 2011 by Will Chrisholm and Paul Hunt

Debatable is written by the Otago University Debating Society, which meets for social debating every Tuesday at 7pm in the Commerce Building. This week’s motion is “that rugby league is better than rugby union”. Will Chisholm argues the affirmative while Paul Hunt argues the negative.   Read more...

Editorial - 21

Posted 10:46pm Monday 22nd August 2011 by Editor

SNOWY, SNOWY NIGHT It’s just been one of those weeks, really. The internet is moving as slowly as a dying snail, the snow has melted, changing the weather from romantically idyllic to painfully cold, and assignments are setting in, leaving the general population in an academic malaise. First Read more...

Debatable - 21

Posted 10:37pm Monday 22nd August 2011 by John and Sue

Debatable is written by the Otago University Debating Society, which meets for social debating every Tuesday at 7pm in the Commerce Building. This week’s motion is “That Pokémon are better than pets”. John argues the affirmative, while Sue argues the negative. Affirmative I never used to Read more...

Summer Lovin' - 20

Posted 4:53am Monday 15th August 2011 by Aladdin and Jasmine

Critic sets up two lucky students on a blind date. Aladdin   In the back of my mind there was a whisper, “this could be your lucky night”. The bright summer loving was shining on me as I arrived at the lads’ place for the pep talk. What if she’s a muddy? Read more...