Archive

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...

The Conservatory - 21

Posted 2:49am Monday 20th September 2010 by Edward Greig

Michael Laws leapt in to control the possible story over his apparently scandalous relationship and resulting text messages. His claims of there being political motivation behind the story seem a little odd, though. As Laws is not running for Mayor of Whanganui again, the only person with political Read more...

La Presidenta - 21

Posted 2:46am Monday 20th September 2010 by Harriet Geoghegan

Dear [insert MP here], University of Otago is full of intelligent, enthusiastic (not always) young people who are working incredibly hard to get a tertiary education and put back in to NZ society. In two days on our campus we asked students to tell us what they were working towards, how much Read more...

Te Roopu Maori - 21

Posted 2:43am Monday 20th September 2010 by Critic

Kia ora whanau, E ai ki te korero kua mutu tenei wahanga o te tau, kaore i roa kua mutu te tau, a, kua hoki matou ki te kainga, kit e matou whanau mo te hararei, tera pea te mahi mo te tau kei te heke mai. Engari ko te wawata me mutu pai ai tenei tau. Kia kaha ra whanau. So, apparently Read more...

The Green Finger - 21

Posted 2:40am Monday 20th September 2010 by Dominic Szeker

Climate change denial: it’s as frustrating, intellectually twisted, and unfalsifiable as creationism, but way more dangerous. Climate change doubt: it’s just lazy. New Zealand research company UMR released one fucked up report this year on public opinion of climate change. They begin by Read more...

Should We Implement a Mandatory Carbon Labelling Scheme for all Commodities?

Posted 2:36am Monday 20th September 2010 by Hana Nyhof and Paul Hunt

Hana Nyhof argues we should; Paul Hunt disagrees. Hana:    We have access to good information around how carbon emissions are shaping the global environment so it seems bizarre that we don't encourage this information to be distributed as widely as possible. Let's assume there are Read more...

Apocalypse How? - 21

Posted 2:25am Monday 20th September 2010 by Iain Dangerfield

Scenario #7 – Animal Uprising Animals: we all love ’em, but in many ways humanity has been quite rough on our furry little friends throughout the ages. Sure, we like to pet them and hug them, but we also like to eat them, wear them, ride them, test makeup on them, and occasionally shoot Read more...

Soapbox - 21

Posted 2:23am Monday 20th September 2010 by Samuel JK

To govern, in the simplest of terms, is to direct and control the masses. For centuries people have appreciated the fairness of majority rule. In a democracy you have a say in who you are governed by, which should theoretically mean that policies are implemented which bring about the Read more...

Top - 20

Posted 4:55am Monday 23rd August 2010 by Richard Cheese

Top 5 Artists Who Would Could Out-Scarfie Any Scarfie Some people are such loose units that they deserve to be called honorary Scarfies. Here is a handful of them.      5. Caravaggio: This Italian Renaissance artist murdered a young man named Ranuccio Tomassoni in 1606 Read more...

Editorial - 20

Posted 3:44am Monday 23rd August 2010 by April Dell

Art and politics – two things that don’t mix. The geniuses at OUSA scheduled Art Week and the elections in the same week. We wanted to cover both so we’ve bought you a magazine that tries to pay both service. Indeed, we are your one stop shop for all your OUSA election needs (sorry, we’ll return to Read more...

This Week Matthew, I'm Going to Be... - 20

Posted 3:40am Monday 23rd August 2010 by Matt Chapman

...a bogan.  The life of a bogan revolves around bourbon, cars, and rock/metal music; and since you can’t really wear either of the first two, wearing a t-shirt that has AC/DC written in big letters is going to be your best choice to start your bogan ensemble. Especially if Read more...

Sport Potato - 20

Posted 3:38am Monday 23rd August 2010 by Tim Miller

We all know that the hard sports like rugby are played by jocks, and that those who wish they were jocks play football. What do those at the bottom of the food chain, the nerds, play? A quick internet search comes up with a plethora of different games and activities, but it was hard to Read more...

Soapbox - 20

Posted 2:51am Monday 23rd August 2010 by Gareth Thomas

Dear OUSA Executive and members of the Wannabe political tribe, Stop taking yourselves and the job you do so seriously. Having been a student at Otago University (barring a seven-year gap when I actually worked in the pharmaceutical industry, using my PhD and BSc (Hons) for 13 years, I Read more...

The Conservatory - 20

Posted 2:16am Monday 23rd August 2010 by Edward Greig

An increase in regulations promoting warmer houses may be populist, but it isn’t necessarily good for everyone, nor is government support actually needed for good housing. In student areas in particular, there is a demand for the slightly run-down, cheap flats. Some people want rubbish flats Read more...

The Green Finger - 20

Posted 2:12am Monday 23rd August 2010 by Dominic Szeker

Oceans are awesome, in both senses of the word. They are incredibly enormous. Their depths will crush you faster than Judith Collins crushes boy racer cars (but without wasting tax dollars). Waves lapping at the shores will change landscapes more tirelessly and repetitively than Bill Read more...

Should We Make All Art Free from Censorship?

Posted 2:10am Monday 23rd August 2010 by

Alec Dawson argues we should; Will Chisholm disagrees. Alec:    The arts are where the opinions and views of our society are born and shaped. Art, theatre, film, and all forms of writing are what challenge people and their ideals and often cause important changes in societal Read more...

Apocalypse How? - 20

Posted 2:03am Monday 23rd August 2010 by Iain Dangerfield

Scenario #6: Erosion of Family Values When we think of apocalyptic scenarios we often imagine huge, unstoppable disasters that are completely out of our control, like fiery death raining down from above or the release of Big Momma’s House 3. But there is another apocalyptic Read more...

Editorial - 19

Posted 2:00am Monday 23rd August 2010 by Ben Thomson

Being a celebrity in New Zealand is like being a virgin at St Margaret’s – it’s not that hard and they’re, well, everywhere. This week we explore this country’s recent infatuation with the cult of celebrity, which is fuelled more than ever by the gossip pages in the Sunday papers. Read more...

Top - 19

Posted 1:59am Monday 23rd August 2010 by Richard Cheese

Top 5 Reasons Why Celebrities Shouldn't Endorse Things    This magazine is called the Critic. Not the goddamn Complimenter. So that’s what I’m going to do: criticise those celebrities who deserve it.      5. It can go horribly wrong. Celebrities are a Read more...

Sport Potato - 19

Posted 1:56am Monday 23rd August 2010 by Tim Miller

While watching grown men wrestle each other over an oval shaped ball, has it ever occurred to you to ask: what is the point? When examined closely, modern professional sport seems to have little point to it at all. Noam Chomsky, the hero of the left when it comes to media matters, describes Read more...

The Conservatory - 19

Posted 11:41pm Sunday 22nd August 2010 by Edward Greig

Weeks like this don’t come often enough between elections. By now, Chris Carter will probably be gone from the Labour Party, and it’s certain that he signed the death warrant in his own handwriting. His attempt at bringing about a leadership change or getting back at Phil Goff for demoting Read more...

This Week Matthew, I'm Going to Be... - 19

Posted 11:24pm Sunday 22nd August 2010 by Matt Chapman

...a stoner.  David Skegg is yet to discover that the most profound philosophy that occurs at Otago Uni does not in fact take place in the philosophy department, it in fact takes place at Union Lawn at 4.20 pm. That’s right; this week, Matthew, I’m going to be a stoner. Read more...

The Green Finger - 19

Posted 11:12pm Sunday 22nd August 2010 by Cameron Birnie

The 90 000+ classified US military documents released by Wikileaks last week have revealed a refreshingly honest if startlingly grisly picture of the realities on the ground in the ‘War on Terror’ in Afghanistan. Ubiquitous cover-ups of civilian deaths, extrajudicial assassination squads, the rise Read more...

Should we ban celebrities from participating in political campaigns?

Posted 10:52pm Sunday 22nd August 2010 by

Harry Misselbrook argues we should; Kurt Purdon disagrees. Harry:      The main problem inherent in allowing celebrities to participate in political campaigns is the fact that celebrities cause voters to vote for a certain political party or candidate based on their like Read more...

Apocalypse How? - 19

Posted 10:50pm Sunday 22nd August 2010 by Iain Dangerfield

Scenario #5: Pandemic It seems a year can’t go by without the threat of another pandemic, each one promising to have a more devastating effect than the last. Bird flu. Swine flu. Bieber fever. And yet things never quite turn out to be as bad as expected; life inevitably goes on and we Read more...

Editorial - 18

Posted 2:26am Monday 9th August 2010 by Ben Thomson

YOU ALL LOOK RIDICULOUS Draaaaaama!    The fall-out from the referendum continued last week, and depending on which way you looked at it, it was hilarious, pathetic, or both. I’m going with both.    For the uninitiated: two weeks ago a referendum was held and Read more...

Top - 18

Posted 2:19am Monday 9th August 2010 by Richard Cheese

Top 5 Necessary Characteristics To Produce The Ultimate Religious Cult       Did you know that ‘Brian Tamaki’ is a perfect anagram for ‘I am a bit rank’? Coincidence? I think not. He is pretty fucking rank.      5. Money: Read more...

This Week Matthew, I'm Going to Be... - 18

Posted 2:18am Monday 9th August 2010 by Matt Chapman

...a Muso  Of the many kinds of ladyslayer that can be found in Dunedin, there is no one more prolific and talented than the man who knows his way around a musical instrument. So this wee,k Matthew, I’m going to be a Muso. And because Musos are inherently songwriters, this column Read more...

Sport Potato - 18

Posted 2:16am Monday 9th August 2010 by Tim Miller

Muttiah Muralitharan has become the first cricketer to reach 800 test wickets, taking his final and 800th wicket with the last test delivery he will ever make. That’s about as dramatic as it can get. Now, you out there who know even a small amount about cricket will have heard of Murali, Read more...

Soapbox - 18

Posted 2:11am Monday 9th August 2010 by Louise Pearman

‘Politics, it seems to me, for years, or all too long, has been concerned with right or left instead of right or wrong.’ - Richard Armour Last week I found myself pulled from my nerdy life as a PhD student into the joyful arms of student politics. Two years ago myself and others worked for Read more...

The Conservatory - 18

Posted 2:07am Monday 9th August 2010 by Edward Greig

Writing from the past, I can’t determine the full fall-out and final result, but for now I am celebrating the recent OUSA referendum result. Firstly it is about time the Executive was reduced in size, as 17 members is now beyond ridiculous, and a move to online SGMs can only increase the Read more...

La Presidenta - 18

Posted 2:05am Monday 9th August 2010 by Harriet Geoghegan

I had a bit of writer’s block this week so opened up the floor for suggestions. I got a few and couldn’t decide so here’s a bit of all of them: Exec Restructure – don’t worry. It’s all going to be Okay. OUSA <3s minorities and wants to represent them all. We’ll Read more...

Te Roopu Maori - 18

Posted 2:04am Monday 9th August 2010 by Fallyn Flavell

“He taonga to tatou reo, pupuri kia whakapakari.” Te pai o te wiki kua pahure. Ka rawe te rongo i to tatou reo huri rauna i to tatou Whare Wananga – tau ke koutou ma! Ka nui nga mihi ki te roopu whakarite mo te wiki o te reo Maori 2010 – ka wani ke! He mihi hoki tenei ki etahi o nga Read more...