Archive

Critic Te Ārohi’s Step-by-Step Guide to Becoming a LinkedIn Influencer

Posted 9:46am Sunday 26th July 2026 by Critic

As students enter university, many (hopefully) age out of Snapchat, and are introduced to a new beast: LinkedIn. If you thought sending streaks was as bleak as it gets, the corporate world has blessed us by making its very own social media platform. The thought of scrolling through the achievements Read more...

Stories From The U-Bar Cleaner

Posted 9:41am Sunday 26th July 2026 by The Cleaner

Good afternoon Critic, I am writing this letter as I think I have some stories you would find interesting. I have been the sole cleaner for U-Bar for the last three years, and let me tell you – I have seen some shit. Being the cleaner has had both pros and cons, and now that I am Read more...

The Social Politics of Vaping

Posted 9:19am Saturday 18th July 2026 by Bella Bates

Few objects in student culture possess the same social utility as the vape. Simultaneously a nicotine delivery device, conversation starter, social bargaining chip, flirtation mechanism, and communal ritual, the vape has quietly become one of the defining artefacts of contemporary youth interaction. Read more...

The Official Moral Alignment Chart of Campus Doors

Posted 9:14am Saturday 18th July 2026 by Harry Almey

The University of Otago is a strange and confusing place. Open a sciency door in Mellor Labs and somehow find yourself in a History lecture. A BCommer opens a glass door in the Business School, and a Theatre Studies class turns around. University is little more than staggering from strange doors to Read more...

Survivor Player Profiles

Posted 4:27pm Saturday 11th July 2026 by Critic

The cast has been chosen. Alliances will form. The immunity idols have been hidden. Over the coming months, the first ever Critic Survivor episodes will be released twice weekly as twelve contestants battle through challenges, betrayals, and any other chaos ourgamemakers choose.  But Read more...

The Many Flatting Zones

Posted 3:22pm Saturday 11th July 2026 by Jonathan McCabe

As winter settles over North Dunedin and the sun starts setting before dinner, a familiar anxiety begins spreading through the student population – especially in halls. It starts with an overheard conversation. A rumour that some groups have already signed their flats. A friend mentioning a Read more...

Hot or Not: Trends of Otagooooooo

Posted 11:58am Saturday 23rd May 2026 by Molly Smith-Soppet

Student culture changes fast. One week, everyone’s in jorts and shotgunning Cody’s in their mates flat. Next, they’re wearing quarter zips, training for a half marathon, and spending $14 on a strawberry matcha because it's “better for cortisol.” Somewhere between Read more...

TRIPLE TROUBLE: Student presidents CAUGHT living DOUBLE LIVES in BOMBSHELL INVESTIGATION

Posted 11:56am Saturday 23rd May 2026 by Matilda Rumball-Smith

In a shocking display of coordinated corruption, OUSA President Daniel Leamy and Te Rōpū Māori Tumuaki Takirua Jarna Flintoff and Sami Harrison Dunn have allegedly fooled and deceived the hard-working student body. Critic Te Ārohi would say this is the biggest scandal to hit Read more...

Can You Resist A Scandalous Rumour?

Posted 11:46am Saturday 23rd May 2026 by Molly Smith-Soppet

1. You come back to your flat after locking in at Central for most of the day. Your favourite flatmate is cooking dinner, so you decide to hang out for a while. What is your chosen topic of conversation? A: You give them a run through of your day, no matter how boring and uneventful it was. B: Read more...

Literary Society x Critic Te Ārohi: Writing Competition

Posted 12:02pm Sunday 17th May 2026 by Literary Society

Somewhere Between Leaving and Arriving Phoebe Rodgers August, 2023 – Portland, Maine Mom and Dad don’t ask where she went. She observes the tide pulling out slowly, leaving everything exposed for a moment before it disappears again. Her hair remains in knots, she leaves Read more...