Archive

Revival: A History of The Drag Scene of Ōtepoti

Posted 7:39pm Sunday 25th August 2024 by Jordan Irvine

There’s been a drag revolution in Ōtepoti this year. The revitalised queer scene has been spearheaded by Ōtepoti Drag Directory founder Ann Arkii, who has firmly established herself as Dunedin’s queen of drag. Earlier this year, Ann Arkii was quoted in a Local Produce column Read more...

Beyond The Binary: A Conversation on How Heteronormativity Intersects With Sexual Harm

Posted 6:06pm Sunday 25th August 2024 by Giorgia Fletcher

Content Warning: Discussions of sexual violence, homophobia and transphobia Ever stopped to think about the 'norm' in heteronormativity? It's a concept so woven into our daily lives that we often overlook its subtle, but disturbing, influence. From the popularity of Love Island to Read more...

Opinion: It’s The Damn Phone

Posted 12:01am Sunday 11th August 2024 by Tom Bouls

Author's Note: Tempted to skip this article because excessive phone use has destroyed your attention span? Head straight to this link to find out how addicted to your phone you are for an upcoming study.  What do you think of when you hear ‘addiction’? Someone at a bus stop, Read more...

Menstruation in the Wild

Posted 11:45pm Saturday 10th August 2024 by Jodie Evans

In an ideal world, the great outdoors would be a gender-neutral space. Just you, an open trail, towering treetops, and the echoes of birdsong carried on a soft breeze. But the reality is often less idyllic. Women and AFAB (assigned female at birth) people are significantly underrepresented in Read more...

No Place to Practice: How can there be an Ōtepoti music scene if bands can’t practise?

Posted 2:35pm Sunday 4th August 2024 by Jonathan McCabe

Drum n’ Bass may be the music of today’s student streets, but Ōtepoti Dunedin has been a cultural capital for live music since the emergence of the Dunedin Sound. The critically acclaimed genre is associated with iconic ‘80s bands like The Chills, who cemented Ōtepoti as Read more...

Static Age: For the Love of Vintage

Posted 9:04pm Sunday 28th July 2024 by Phoebe Lea

The world is burning, Shein sweatshops are churning, your Glassons mesh top is falling apart at the seams; suddenly two months out of style, and the last thing you want (unlike your first-year self) is to show up to a party and see someone wearing the same fit. A grey Butter hoodie? For Pint Night? Read more...

Piupiu, Penguin Pelts & Papatūānuku

Posted 8:29pm Sunday 28th July 2024 by Nā Heeni Koero Te Rerenoa (Sky)

In a world driven by fast fashion and throwaway culture, it’s not every day that you encounter garments crafted from the skins of freshwater eels, yellow-eyed penguins, and fur seals. That is until you step into ‘Te Whare Pora: House of Learning’, a current exhibition at community Read more...

Grant Robertson: Homecoming

Posted 4:11pm Saturday 20th July 2024 by Iris Hehir

On August 31st, 1992, 20-year old student president Grant Robertson gave Critic Te Ārohi what was quite possibly his first ever interview. 31 years later, Grant returns to the Clocktower, this time as Vice Chancellor of the University of Otago. Critic sat down with Grant once again to discuss Read more...

Bitter Cold: The Winter Blues

Posted 3:50pm Saturday 20th July 2024 by Nina Brown

Dunedin winters are harsh on bills, the body and the brain. The days shorten, showers lengthen, limbs stiffen, and – in the worst cases – eyes deaden. For freshers cosied up in residential halls, it’s not so bad with free heating and regular hot meals. The bitter bite of winter you Read more...

Critic Census 2024

Posted 7:11pm Saturday 13th July 2024 by Iris Hehir

Back for its fourth year is the Critic Census, the annual data-crunching exercise conducted by the nosy parkers at Critic Te Ārohi. We asked 52 questions on just about everything, and 1005 of you shared the juicy details on study, sex, drugs, flatting, money, politics, relationships and more. Read more...

Madam President: Can She Read?

Posted 8:26pm Sunday 26th May 2024 by Nina Brown

Every celebrity has fallen victim to the rumour mill. Jamie Foxx died and was replaced by a clone; Harry Styles and Louis Tomlinson were boning during their One Direction days; Keanu Reeves is immortal; Khloé Kardashian is OJ Simpson’s daughter; Jennifer Lawrence faked her 2013 Oscars Read more...

Critic Scandals: An Inexhaustive (Updated) Account

Posted 8:00pm Sunday 26th May 2024 by Adam Stitely

Taking Dunedin Old to new heights, Critic Te Ārohi has been around for ninety-nine years. For almost all of them, we have pissed off some groups of people, from our very own Uni, landlords, to students and non-students alike; something news-breaking or outright offensive has definitely been Read more...

Spiked: An Invisible Crime

Posted 11:02pm Sunday 19th May 2024 by Jodie Evans

TW: Mentions of sexual assault and detailed depictions of drink spiking  At university, everyone seems to know someone who’s been spiked. The phenomenon hangs in the air at flat parties and lingers about the bathrooms of student bars, yet remains grossly stigmatised. Following Read more...

Frontiers of Scarfiedom: The Legacy of the Capping Cult

Posted 4:33pm Saturday 11th May 2024 by Nina Brown

Now in its 130th year, the Capping Show is a time capsule of the ever-evolving Otago University student culture. To recap Capping – and reuse a joke that Critic has made time and again in our 99 years writing about it – what began as a 19th century flash mob of sorts during graduation Read more...

Law v Students

Posted 8:19pm Sunday 5th May 2024 by Monty O’Rielly

Students often break the law. Common offences include drug use and distribution, disorderly conduct, theft, wilful damage to property, arson (à la couch burning), and pretty much every initiation that’s ended with a Proctor’s meeting. But when was the last time you thought of your Read more...

Castle Capitalism

Posted 10:24pm Friday 26th April 2024 by Angus Rees

It’s no secret that university students are short on money. Between tuition fees, the rising cost of living, and an academic workload that makes part-time work sparse, students are under a lot of financial pressure. But thanks to social media and consumer culture, a new 21st century job has Read more...

Te Araroa: An Unexpected Journey

Posted 8:02pm Sunday 21st April 2024 by Harriette Boucher

Te Araroa, though not officially one of Aotearoa’s 10 Great Walks, is arguably the greatest of them all. Translating to ‘The Long Pathway’, the trail spans 3000 km and traverses the entire length of the country, taking walkers through beaches, forests, country, and Read more...

The Great Critic Drug Review

Posted 2:08pm Sunday 14th April 2024 by Boba Ket

Disclaimer: The content provided in this article is not intended to encourage the use of illegal drugs or substance abuse. The information is based on personal experiences and subjective observations that are not applicable to everyone, and should not be used as a substitute for professional Read more...

Pitfalls of the Pill

Posted 11:03am Monday 8th April 2024 by Monty O’Rielly

Ah, the pill. That tiny, circular tab that’s readily handed out to fix a myriad of issues, whether that be mental health, preventing periods, curing acne or, you know, maybe even as a contraceptive. Since its release in the 1960s, the oral contraceptive pill has been treated as a miracle drug, Read more...

Best of Moaningful Confessions

Posted 4:15pm Saturday 23rd March 2024 by Critic

It’s only appropriate that the sex issue pays homage to everyone’s favourite sexscapade column: Moaningful Confessions. The column was born in 2020 out of the ashes of the seedy and often marginal Blind Date column. We’ve ranked the sauciest, most salacious, tit-lickin’, Read more...