Archive

Holly Walker

Posted 6:37pm Sunday 11th March 2012 by Callum Fredric

Holly Walker, the second-youngest MP in Parliament, is widely regarded as one of the Green Party’s future stars. Political Reporter Callum Fredric met up with her for an organic lemonade and a chat about her experiences as Critic Editor, Rhodes Scholar, and first-term MP. Your early life Read more...

An Evening with Mr Walker

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

When a man is able to make a feature-length film for $150, you know that there is a serious amount of enthusiasm involved. Critic sat down with now-Dunedin-based digital filmmaker Campbell Walker to get a quick lesson in passion. Campbell Walker, whose first film Uncomfortable Comfortable Read more...

The Hetero Agenda

Posted 4:53pm Sunday 4th March 2012 by Zane Pocock

I’m one of the lucky ones. No matter what my sexual orientation turned out to be, my parents said they would always accept me. I don’t really have any desire to know whether I received this reassurance because of my interest in fashion or complete disinterest in Barbie-like bimbos, but it was Read more...

Welcome to The Ride

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

After hours of arguing amongst the Critic staff over who would sacrifice a week of their life to go along to every single O-Week event, Critic decided that it made more sense to recruit a fresher. Easily overawed by the trappings of the Critic office (we have a cat), we enrolled a first year tourism Read more...

Fuck me Baby

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

Let me say first, that I am not a ‘sexpert’. I find most portmanteaus (‘guesstimate’, ‘Brangelina’, ‘vajazzling’) irritating in the extreme. Literally in the case of vajazzling, it turns out my vagina is allergic to diamantes. And if having had a lot of so-awful-it’s-funny sex makes me a ‘sexpert’, Read more...

Dr Clark & Mr Woodhouse Interview Transcript

Posted 3:10pm Monday 27th February 2012 by Callum Fredric

22 February 2012 C = Critic | D = David Clark | M = Michael Woodhouse Callum: Can we start off with both of you having a bit of a chat about your time at Otago? What you studied, where you flatted, did you go to halls, etc. David: I came here at the start of the nineties, Read more...

Dr Clark & Mr Woodhouse

Posted 3:03pm Saturday 25th February 2012 by Callum Fredric

Critic invited Dunedin based MPs Dr David Clark, and Michael Woodhouse to Eureka for a cheeky pint, and a chat about their student days, their politics, and their new roles in parliament. (Full Interview Transcript available at critic.co.nz/1574) Critic What was your time as Otago Read more...

Eat Pray Hate

Posted 4:26pm Friday 24th February 2012 by Anonymous

The late, great Christopher Hitchens said that the most overrated things in life are champagne, anal sex and lobster. The man was right about most things (the absence of a god for one), but on these points I cannot agree. I enjoy a nice glass of Veuve, and I am quite happy to be fucked in the arse Read more...

Oh Harlene,

Posted 4:04pm Friday 24th February 2012 by Staff Reporter

You know the Vice Chancellor right? That lady in the big fancy office by the Leith? She basically runs the entire University, and well, let’s face it, is far too busy and important to sit down for an interview with a little old student magazine. Or so you would have thought. Without a second Read more...

Business Time

Posted 3:46pm Friday 24th February 2012 by Callum Fredric

The University and OUSA have forged a new relationship to counteract the threat of the VSM legislation. From now on, the University is going to take your money, and then give it to OUSA for you. Critic’s Callum Fredric investigates the ins and outs of this budding romance. For as long as Read more...

MMP, ARE YOU FOR ME? - Confused as fuck? You're not alone.

Posted 3:09am Monday 17th October 2011 by Critic

Hey you there! Under that rock. There’s a general election this year on November 26. The government is holding a referendum at the same time and it’s about our electoral system. All this stuff can get pretty confusing so Critic has decided to tackle the acronyms head on so you can go into that Read more...

INDECISIONZ 2011

Posted 3:06am Monday 17th October 2011 by Critic

The 2012 Election is fast approaching, but with all the scandal, backstabbing and rugby-talk, it's hard to know what the parties actually stand for. Luckily Critic talked to the main contenders to discover their thoughts on what you really need to know. NEW ZEALAND FIRST First up, why, in Read more...

Lovin' Summer

Posted 2:49am Monday 17th October 2011 by Critic

Yeah, that’s right. Danny and Sandy knew what they were talking about. We love summer. And it’s creeping up on us like the pair of ill-fitting stubby shorts some of you Castle Street jocks will inevitably be donning during this splendid season. The tantalising stenches of fake tan and warm Sogos are Read more...

New Zealander of the Year

Posted 2:46am Monday 17th October 2011 by Critic

It’s been a year of drama, a year which saw the rise of the goon and the fall of news coverage not related to rugby. Amongst it all, there have been characters who have stood out a foot (or flipper, as the case may be) ahead of the rest. NEW ZEALANDER OF THE YEAR Happy Feet Occupation: Read more...

The Ring Master

Posted 4:44am Monday 10th October 2011 by Critic

Before sitting down with Joe Stockman, Winston Peters stole a cheeky smoke. It had been a busy morning of interviews and public appearances - probably nothing by his old standards - but he nonetheless seemed to enjoy taking a moment, offering quiet hellos to students whose eyes revealed their Read more...

The Opposite of Apathy

Posted 4:42am Monday 10th October 2011 by Critic

The world of politics is as foreign a land to the puffer-wearing, dubstep-blaring, STD-sharing scarfie as the Close Reserve section in the library. More than one in four under-25s aren't enrolled to vote, and the electoral turnout is undoubtedly lower. The numbers at recent student protests Read more...

Tea Time at the Milton Hilton

Posted 4:38am Monday 10th October 2011 by Phoebe Harrop

The Otago Corrections Facility at Milburn, otherwise known as the Milton Hilton (so named for its underfloor heating, en suites, flashy gymnasium, basketball court and full-size rugby field), is the closest prison to Dunedin city, housing up to 485 low to medium security men. There’s Read more...

The Graduate

Posted 3:42am Monday 3rd October 2011 by Critic

Ah student life, you lazy, sexy, poorly planned beast of thing. Part of the beauty of the uni experience is that its time limited. The glory days of Sogos and nights at the Monkey Bar will all eventually come to an end, and you will take on that oh-so-sought-after mantle of graduate. You may be Read more...

Celebrate Hidden Dunedin

Posted 3:39am Monday 3rd October 2011 by Critic

Believe it or not, there’s actually quite a lot to see in the mystical, mythological land that stretches beyond the Octagon. Crazy though it may seem, North Dunedin isn’t in fact the centre of the universe, and occasionally it’s worth venturing outside our cosy campus bubble for a bit of an explore. Read more...

OUSA Election Special. Their Two Cents

Posted 3:36am Monday 3rd October 2011 by Critic

Critic sent the Creme-de-la-Creme of OUSA political pundits along to the Presidential forum. James Meager Internet Conspiracist 2010 OUSA Finance and Services Officer Last Wednesday, Parliament passed Heather Roy’s voluntary student membership legislation, which some are saying Read more...

OUSA Election Special. More OUSA politics than you're wildest nightmares

Posted 3:33am Monday 3rd October 2011 by Critic

In the spirit of informed decision making, Critic asked all ten of our candidates (who are vying for eight of the ten exec positions on offer) to tell us why we should give them our vote. There are two uncontested positions, which means that there will be some empty seats in next year’s boardroom. Read more...

Scary Art Galleries for Beginners One girl's battle with abstract art

Posted 5:46am Monday 19th September 2011 by Kari Schmidt

We all know that familiar feeling. You walk into an art gallery and you just don’t know what the fuck is going on. I experienced this recently at an exhibition opening. A few of the gallery regulars were hanging around outside, and as I entered into the space I saw a few streamers Read more...

I need ten dollars, dollars, dollars is what I need

Posted 5:42am Monday 19th September 2011 by Phoebe Harrop

I didn’t get the nickname “Feed me” for nothing. My favourite part of school was lunchtime, closely followed by morning tea. For me, and many other such kindred spirits, life at university has proved no different: life revolves around food, glorious food. So what to do when you’re stuck at campus Read more...

No Rush- the intriguing world of Poet David Merritt

Posted 5:35am Monday 19th September 2011 by Critic

It’s a brisk spring day in Dunedin, and David Merritt sits on a bench by Rob Roy, flanked by Bonita boxes. His hair is grey, his face weathered, a woollen beanie warms his head. He’s self described as “creased and crinkled in all the wrong places but pleased”. He could be homeless, save for the Read more...

OUSA Art Week

Posted 5:32am Monday 19th September 2011 by Kari Schmidt, Lauren Hayes, Shristi Vinayagan

It’s OUSA Art Week, and art works are dotted around the campus. Among the more impressive are Emilie Truscott’s golden bones, Levi Hawken’s graffiti art and Spencer Hall’s collaborative robot. We introduce you to these artists; their backgrounds, their ideas, and most of all their artworks. Read more...

End of Existence

Posted 5:28am Monday 19th September 2011 by Hana Aoake

Hana Aoake chats to local artist James Robinson about life, art and the end of the world. Dunedin-born James Robinson is one of New Zealand’s most successful artists. He completed a BFA from the Otago Polytechnic School of Art in 2000, and his work can be seen around campus. Each of his Read more...

Eyes and Ears

Posted 5:22am Monday 19th September 2011 by Siobhan Downes

Let’s be honest. Most of us probably feel more at home in the mosh pit of a rock concert than in a posh, please-do-not-touch art gallery. In the ‘art vs music’ debate, it seems we’re way more in tune with pop stars than painters. But take a moment out of your headbanging to open your eyes – because Read more...

Which Religion should you sign up to?

Posted 2:34am Monday 12th September 2011 by Basti Menkes

  1) Do you believe in God/an all-powerful equivalent? Yes (go to Question 2) / No (go to Atheist)   2) Do you identify with modern society? Yes (go to Question 3) / No (go to Question 4)   3) Are you chilled as fuck? Yes (go to Buddhist) / Nah I’m Read more...

Jesus Loves You

Posted 2:31am Monday 12th September 2011 by Charlotte Greenfield

Or at least, the Evangelicals New Zealand is not a country known for its religious piety, even within the increasingly secular Western world. Confirmed atheists and agnostics can happily occupy the role of prime minister, there has never been a ‘church of New Zealand’ and 1.5% of Read more...

Don't be a Chicken Burger

Posted 2:26am Monday 12th September 2011 by Kari Schmidt

Most of us aren’t dicks. We don’t want animals to be harmed, and we don’t like hearing about it when they are. And yet, many of us never stop to think about the impact of consuming animals, both on the environment and the animals’ standard of living, and we continue to eat factory-farmed products, Read more...

WARNING: The Following Contains Rugby

Posted 5:31am Monday 5th September 2011 by Critic

Some of you will be giddy as a school girl over the arrival of the Rugby World Cup. The rest of you will be burying your head in your textbooks waiting for the whole bloody thing to be over so New Zealand can stop being a one dimensional man cave. The ever-considerate Joe Stockman has put together a Read more...

A to Z of weird sports & sports Events

Posted 5:27am Monday 5th September 2011 by Critic

Maybe you were always the last picked for teams at school. Maybe you (shh, not too loudly) hate rugby. Maybe you’ve never quite found your athletic niche. Never fear! Phoebe Harrop has compiled an alphabet of unusual sports and sports events is here to match-make even the most unusual individual Read more...

Workin' Up A Sweat

Posted 5:23am Monday 5th September 2011 by Charlotte Greenfield

When I was told that my next article was reviewing various forms of exercise, visions of sweat, short shorts and Powerade flashed before my eyes, quickly followed by the burning question: why? Or more specifically, why me? “It’s like Bridget Jones,” said the editor, “Bridget Jones does sport.” Read more...

Not All Papers Created Equal

Posted 11:03pm Monday 22nd August 2011 by Charlotte Greenfield

We all know it. There are some papers that are easy and some that are hard. You may have been warned to steer clear of the legendary POLS101 if you value your grade point average, or that Biochem will endanger the mental health and social life of every first year Health Sci. As one professor Read more...

New Zealand’s Sporting Soul: thirty years after the Tour

Posted 10:59pm Monday 22nd August 2011 by Joe Stockman

It has been thirty years since NZ was rocked by the 1981 Springboks tour. Society was divided between rugby fans, who wanted politics kept out of sport, and protesters who believed the rights of black South Africans outweighed Kiwis’ right to watch the rugby. One hundred and fifty thousand Read more...

Pilling: The Diary of a Lab Rat

Posted 10:56pm Monday 22nd August 2011 by Annie Inamouse

I'm no prostitute, but I did sell my body. In light of recent tales in the Sex Issue, I think I could have done worse, but I'll leave that up to you. Dunedin has a good little industry going for it, one not of the chocolate or dishwasher varieties. Pharmaceuticals is where it’s at. Read more...

Chronicles of Kronic

Posted 3:44am Monday 15th August 2011 by Phoebe Harrop

Kronic is just one of a number of cannabis-like legal highs available (until recently) for purchase in Dunedin and around New Zealand, and has in recent weeks been the subject of a veritable media storm. Hype about Kronic, especially its naughty, phenazepam-laced (and consequentially recalled) Read more...

WEARING THE PANTS

Posted 3:30am Monday 15th August 2011 by Siobhan Downes

Consider these three words: ‘Equal Employment Opportunities’. What comes to mind? Probably imagery from the feminist movement, hordes of angry, high-heel clad power-women protesting their way up the male-dominated corporate ladder in the name of gender equality. But what happens when the shoe is on Read more...

Sexism, Something for Everyone

Posted 3:27am Monday 15th August 2011 by Reuben Black

Brutal, oppressive, domineering, selfish and gleefully misogynist. The stereotypical (heterosexual) modern man is staunch in manner and cold at heart. His animalistic sex drive is only matched by his pulsating lust for sport and violence. His pastimes include gazing, groping and the general Read more...

Ode to the Vagina

Posted 12:19am Tuesday 9th August 2011 by Joe Stockman

A Man’s View on Women’s Liberation As a man writing an article on women’s liberation, there is a lot of room to get into Alasdair Thompson-style trouble. I am a twenty something, straight, white male. While I have on occasion dated women, dressed as a woman, and spent many hours Read more...

Madonna in a Corset

Posted 12:14am Tuesday 9th August 2011 by Charlotte Greenfield

Charlotte Greenfield explores the strained dichotomy between the sexualisation of women, and the judgement of women’s sexuality. It starts early. A marketing exercise in the US analysed language used in advertising aimed at children. Boys got words such as “battle”, Read more...

Not only one Wright track

Posted 12:11am Tuesday 9th August 2011 by Anonymous

A while ago, Commissioner for the Environment Jan Wright was in town, and without really knowing exactly what her job entailed, I seized upon the opportunity to interview someone from the real world, outside of OUSA. It emerged that Jan Wright was appointed as Commissioner for the Environment Read more...

DICKS OUT FOR THE GIRLS

Posted 12:04am Tuesday 9th August 2011 by Siobhan Downes

Innocent-minded Siobhan Downes experiences the genre of ‘female porn’ - pornography made especially for women. It was the worst timing. When I set out to become a connoisseur of female porn, I was actually snowed in at my parents’ house. Thus the initial stages of my research were, Read more...

Out on the town

Posted 4:33am Thursday 4th August 2011 by Charlotte Greenfield

One happening Saturday, Critic decided to brave a suitably cold winter’s night in order to find out whether Dunedin can justify its urban identity with sufficiently sordid nightlife. Much to everyone’s surprise, it can. We may have no White House or Mermaid, but what we found was more than enough to Read more...

Between the Sheets

Posted 4:27am Thursday 4th August 2011 by Siobhan Downes

Or, like, on the d-floor at Monkey Bar, on a bike, or in the celebrity squares of Central Library. Critic goes Cosmo and talks to six students about the world’s favourite pastime. Emily I wanted it. But I was also real scared. What happens if I get cum in my eye, or if it smells down Read more...

Into the Wild

Posted 4:22am Thursday 4th August 2011 by Mrs John Wilmot

Mrs John Wilmot ventures outdoors, and rates locations for their al-fresco sex appeal. I have nothing against basic insertive vaginal, anal or oral intercourse. In fact, I happen to be somewhat, and by “somewhat” I mean “extremely and borderline obsessively”, Read more...

In Memoriam: the Death of the Scarfie

Posted 12:27am Tuesday 26th July 2011 by Joe Stockman

If you’re reading this, chances are that you’re an Otago student (or else have a taste for cutting-edge journalism), but does that automatically make you a scarfie? It seems that fewer and fewer students self-identify as scarfies, thinking of scarfies as unfocused pissheads who don’t care about Read more...

SURVIVAL OF THE LINGUIST

Posted 12:15am Tuesday 26th July 2011 by Siobhan Downes

Maori Language Week has been and gone for another year and, as always, its presence was most perceptibly marked by the embarrassingly eager bilingual efforts of television broadcasters, whether it be John Campbell’s ‘kee-ora, good evening, hairy-my New Zealand!’ or ‘celebrity’ chef Richard Till’s Read more...

Fed up with Pandering to Racists?

Posted 12:04am Tuesday 26th July 2011 by Charlotte Greenfield

“Its so racist against white people, wheres my free uni?” [sic] says Angus Anderson on the Facebook page “GETTING A UNI SCHOLARSHIP IS SOOOOO HARD lol jk I’m 1/64 Maori” (although Critic speculates that a scholarship might be necessary to improve grammar that bad). And how can we forget ACT’s ads Read more...

Film Festival Comes to Town

Posted 4:31am Monday 25th July 2011 by Sarah Baillie

Local boy, former Critic film reviewer and director of the New Zealand International Film Festival, Bill Gosden visited Dunedin last week for the launch of the festival programme. Sarah Baillie caught up with him for a chat about his cool job and what to expect from the film festival this year. Read more...