Archive

You Cannot Be What You Cannot See

Posted 3:22pm Saturday 11th April 2026 by Heeni Koero Te Rerenoa (Sky)

When you think of drugs, your mind probably goes straight to the obvious – weed, party culture, the spectacle of harm. But the substances most deeply embedded in Aotearoa’s everyday life rarely attract the same scrutiny. Sugar, alcohol, and caffeine have been normalised to the point of Read more...

Critic’s Vice Purity Test

Posted 3:18pm Saturday 11th April 2026 by Critic

The Critic Te Ārohi Vice Purity Test serves as a segue from O-week to what a couple of Critic writers think encapsulates University life.  It's a voluntary opportunity for O-week groups to bond, and for students to track the maturation of their experiences throughout Read more...

Weed, The Gateway Drug

Posted 3:11pm Saturday 11th April 2026 by Critic

Cannabis has spent decades carrying the label of a “gateway drug.” For most young people , the phrase feels outdated and inaccurate: a relic left over from Harold's discussions and stern talks with our parents that convinced us one joint would inevitably lead to heroin. But by the Read more...

How best to spend your mid-semester break

Posted 12:06pm Sunday 29th March 2026 by Jesse Valpy

Ah yes, the age-old question: What to do during the first break of the year. It's a strange, liminal period where lectures disappear, responsibilities feel like they temporarily evaporate, and you're left alone with your thoughts (scary). The opportunities are endless, so I’ve decided Read more...

A Culture Carol: Dunedin’s Ghost of Student Bars Past, Present and Future

Posted 9:38pm Saturday 21st March 2026 by Jesse Valpy, Hanna Varrs & Molly Smith-Soppet

Dick is a Castle Street man, through and through. Everyone knows a Dick. If you've spent longer than ten minutes North of the campus, you’ve probably met one. Dick lives in a mouldy flat halfway down Castle, swears flat parties are the pinnacle of student culture, and believes that Read more...

A Personal Essay Dissecting The Male Loneliness Epidemic

Posted 9:27pm Saturday 21st March 2026 by Harry Almey

CW: Mentions of suicide The male loneliness epidemic. As a man with many many women friends, I’ve heard plenty of discussion about it. “The male loneliness epidemic isn't real, y'know," my colleague told me one day. "Guys suck anyways, they deserve to be alone." Read more...

How to Curate The Perfect Instagram Dump

Posted 7:56pm Saturday 21st March 2026 by Molly Smith-Soppet

The Instagram dump is not just a post – it's an art form. A carefully curated collection of snapshots of your life. Whether it's blurry photos, sunburnt faces, or suspiciously aesthetic food photos, they all communicate one simple message: I have a better life than you, see? Now Read more...

An American Exchange Student’s Welcome to Ōtepoti, Aotearoa

Posted 7:33pm Saturday 14th March 2026 by Dylan O'Connor

One month ago – after a hop, skip, and a jump all the way from not-so-sunny Northern California, I arrived in New Zealand for the first time in my life. I’m here on a study abroad semester – which is technically slightly different than an exchange term, though I wouldn’t be Read more...

Who Gets to Be High?

Posted 11:41am Sunday 8th March 2026 by Critic

The big move South to university opened my world.  One night you’re sitting at home with your parents, half-listening to them hammer in their values and opinions at the dinner table. Next, you’re living in close quarters with a few hundred frothy eighteen year olds. People from Read more...

Four Days In The Belly Of The Beast

Posted 11:35am Sunday 8th March 2026 by Heeni Koero Te Rerenoa (Sky)

I went to London to see what all the fuss was about. After all, it has a long history of looking in our direction first. It’s the third week of uni, which means I should be pretty locked in: highlighting readings, colour-coding my calendar, and convincing myself this is the semester I Read more...

Rob Roy: The Ultimate Guide to Hurrying The Fuck Up and Ordering

Posted 1:33pm Sunday 1st March 2026 by Imogen Perry

Potential laxative. Occasional platonic matchmaker. Guaranteed temporary serotonin release. Ice-cream. The lifeline of the student population, but only after a long hard day of pretending to study at Central. Located on the corner of George and Albany Street, Rob Roy is essentially an institution: a Read more...

George Street Block-by-Block

Posted 3:07pm Sunday 22nd February 2026 by Harry Almey

Sitting in Woodhaugh Gardens on a lovely summer day, I got to thinking — being a Dunedin local is a funny thing. I mean, it has to be, right? You spend at least five years perfectly aware of the drunken shenanigans, Boganmobiles, and broken glass everywhere. If you were unfortunate enough to Read more...

Flatwarmings: How to Keep the Pāti Hearty

Posted 2:59pm Sunday 22nd February 2026 by Te Awhirēinga Heperi

E te whānau, it’s that time of year again. Whether you're with last year’s crew, a new flat group entirely, or you’ve just scrolled past your fifth Flatpack ad of the day, we all have one thing in common: flatwarmings. Your very first host. Yes, one of the most illustrious Read more...

Activating the Māori Radar

Posted 2:53pm Sunday 22nd February 2026 by Heeni Koero Te Rerenoa (Sky)

I remember making the big move like it was yesterday. Spoiler: it wasn’t. What I do remember the clearest is how quickly uni can make you feel anonymous – like everyone else got a handbook you somehow missed. Don’t worry, you haven’t. Most people are just better at Read more...

Cheap As Chips! Critic’s Summer Goodies

Posted 4:10pm Monday 13th October 2025 by Critic Staff

Every summer, students travel far and wide across the motu for the break. Critic Te Ārohi staff members reached out to local secrets from their own hometowns to score student discounts*. Your mission: explore your backyard this summer and enjoy these discounts on us. Record your journey in the Read more...

Skulls, Sea-Shanties & a Full Cream Speight’s: A Farewell Tour of Ōtepoti

Posted 2:29pm Monday 13th October 2025 by Adam Stitely

It dawned on me this semester that these months would be my last in Dunedin. There was so much I still hadn't done. What more of the weird, wacky, and wonderful was yet to be seen? As the stress of the end of semester hit, the ominous cloud of exams loomed, and decisions about the future needed Read more...

Who Said That?

Posted 2:20pm Monday 13th October 2025 by Stella Weston, Matilda Rumball Smith & Molly Smith-Soppet

After a long hard year here at Critic Te Ārohi, we decided to bring you a little game for the end of the semester. On the left page you’ll find illustrated portraits of a handful of campus characters – the high strung BSc, the alternative postgrad, the over-eager American exchange Read more...

Sins & Virtues of Flatting

Posted 9:05am Monday 6th October 2025 by Molly Smith-Soppet

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 Read more...

Penetrating the Perfect Pussy Problem

Posted 10:53pm Saturday 4th October 2025 by Esme Hall

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 Read more...

Asking for a Friend

Posted 9:51pm Saturday 4th October 2025 by Campus Support Services

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 or grief, to dealing with flatcest or Read more...