Archive

Everything I Know About Love (Island)

Posted 11:57am Sunday 4th October 2026 by Stella Weston

Last year, my lecturer referred to Love Island as a “lower pleasure”. I went home from that class and watched the latest episode with my flatmates huddled on the couch, waiting for the free hour of power to kick in. I don’t consider that a lower pleasure. However, putting that Read more...

Cheating or Chatting? Exploring AI Chatbot Infidelity In Relationships

Posted 11:53am Sunday 4th October 2026 by Hanna Varrs

I love the Internet. I was practically born and raised on it, and as someone who moved around a fair amount as a kid, I often relied on it to maintain my relationships with friends who lived in different cities. My social life was Instagram group chats with people that I would never meet in person, Read more...

A Degree in Disobedience

Posted 3:42pm Saturday 26th September 2026 by Daniel Gray

It’s been almost one hundred years since students first got fucked off at the University of Otago and decided to protest. Over the decades, Otago students have occupied the Registry building, marched down George Street, and transformed lecture buildings into bases for fiery protests. Students Read more...

Does Football Unite the World?

Posted 11:55am Sunday 20th September 2026 by Jesse Valpy

Widely considered one of the greatest shows on earth, the FIFA World Cup captivates the hearts of billions, promoting a sense of belonging, purpose, and, for many, an escape from daily life. This year, the crazed and colourful month of celebration culminated in a Argentina-Spain final enveloped by Read more...

Not Sold Separately

Posted 12:49pm Sunday 13th September 2026 by Te Āwhina Brundell

When you’re a kid, someone inevitably asks what three things you’d take if you were stranded on a remote island. I never expected to find out, so the question stayed purely hypothetical. Until it wasn’t. Now, the remote island had a name: Rapa Nui, also known as Easter Island. But Read more...

Hot on Their Heels

Posted 12:43pm Sunday 13th September 2026 by Jessie-Jade Witeri (Ngāti Whakāue, Te Whakatōhea, Ngāti Ranginui, Ngāti Whanaunga)

Like a pair of hand-me-down shoes, te reo Māori is an inheritance. Well-worn, repaired when it needed mending and kept with its next wearer in mind. The leather may be scuffed and softened by another person’s feet, but when you put them on, they fit. Each generation leaves its mark on Read more...

AI: Amazing Innovation or Annihilation Incoming?

Posted 12:02pm Sunday 6th September 2026 by Stella Weston

I know that students have pretty strong feelings about artificial intelligence.  “FUCK AI”. “Just admit you can’t think for yourself, you smooth-brained twat”. “Never, AI should be destroyed [...] AI should be banned, all information about how it can be Read more...

Drawing Out The Inspiration

Posted 12:31pm Sunday 23rd August 2026 by Stella Weston

Art Week is back and better than ever. Walking through the Link-turned-art-gallery, Ōtepoti students’ talent was on clear display. The OUSA-run Art Week competition had five sections: photography, illustration, sculpture, painting, and other, as well as a separate photography and poetry Read more...

WWIII For Dummies

Posted 10:13am Sunday 16th August 2026 by Imogen Perry

Every other day it seems like World War III is about to kick off. Your average morning living in Ōtepoti consists of waking up, sleeping through 8ams, the temperature being cold as fuck, eating month old yogurt and scrolling through the news to see Donald Trump has bombed someone. Again. You Read more...

Heir of Summer’s Flame

Posted 4:23pm Saturday 8th August 2026 by Claudia Rivera

Chapter 1      Trion’s head pounded. Peeling his tongue from the roof of his mouth, he stretched out in his bed. Everything was stiff, and he flinched as memories from last night began to bombard him. Raen’s breath had been hot on his neck.      Read more...

The Party Game Rulebook

Posted 11:37am Sunday 2nd August 2026 by Critic Staff

It’s been a long time since we were children. Somewhere between primary, intermediate and eventually high school, we put down our toys and picked up the phones. In high school, parties were all about drinking as much as possible and doing a quick tacky in the upstairs toilet, or clubbing until Read more...

Beyond the Ring

Posted 9:49am Sunday 26th July 2026 by Te Awhirēinga Heperi

I have spent much of my university career just figuring it out. I’ve failed papers, and excelled in others. I’ve created work I am deeply proud of, and work that should never see the light of day. In short, my transcript would tell you that it’s been rough. However, what it Read more...

Critic Te Ārohi’s 25th Annual Fish and Chip Review

Posted 9:28am Saturday 18th July 2026 by Critic Staff

In a world where everything feels pretty fucked – from the political climate to the actual climate– we figured it was time to return to something comforting: fish and chips. For the 25th year running, Critic Te Ārohi has undertaken the sacred duty of eating our way around Read more...

Critic Te Ārohi Census 2026

Posted 3:53pm Saturday 11th July 2026 by Stella Weston

Are you having more or less sex than your peers? Has ket finally taken over as the scarfie drug of choice? How visible is our OUSA president? Critic Te Ārohi has the answers. Welcome to the results of the sixth annual Critic Te Ārohi Census! Census is a nosy and fairly invasive deep dive Read more...

TELL ALL With Dunedin’s Hottest Influencer: Savannah Blewden

Posted 12:31pm Saturday 23rd May 2026 by Stella Weston

Savannah Blewden, (“call me Sav!”), is Dunedin’s hottest influencer right now. On TikTok, her biggest platform, she sports nearly 40k followers and 4.5 million likes. Being online, making videos, and portraying her life so openly and visually is just something she’s Read more...

If In Doubt, Sit Them Out

Posted 11:35am Sunday 10th May 2026 by Gryffin Blockley

TW: Brief mentions of suicide and mental health difficulties For many Kiwis, sports are a cornerstone of our cultural and national identity. Whether it's cheering on the Black Caps on TV, jumping out of your seat in the Zoo when the Highlanders cross the try line or playing with your local Read more...

Where Does All My Data Go?

Posted 1:45pm Sunday 26th April 2026 by Matilda Rumball-Smith

Whether you care where your data goes or not, it’s safe to say our world has become increasingly digitalised. When Critic Te Arōhi asked 623 students if they felt they had a good understanding of how their data is used online, 52% admitted that they had “no idea”. Only 11% Read more...

Critic Te Ārohi Presents… The Cook(ed) book!

Posted 3:47pm Saturday 11th April 2026 by Critic

Welcome to The Cook(ed) Book. This is a collection of recipes built for student kitchens, questionable decision-making, and getting really baked. We have assumed you don't have the perfect equipment, that much time, or even the patience. As such, there is something for every stoner in this book, Read more...

How North D Became the Pot of Gold Under the Rainbow

Posted 12:26pm Sunday 22nd March 2026 by Gryffin Blockley

With special thanks to Professor of Sociology Hugh Campbell.  If you live in North Dunedin, chances are you were woken up in the very early hours of March 17th. Some joined enthusiastic flatmates banging down their doors, while many more are rudely awakened by the distant boom of Bluetooth Read more...

FESTIVAL FROM THE INSIDE: TIPS AND STORIES FROM SECURITY GUARDS

Posted 12:32pm Sunday 8th March 2026 by Matilda Rumball-Smith

*To cover any fancy legal footwork against May and Lucy, any resemblance to persons, places, events, are purely coincidental. All stage names and people are fictional. In saying that, May and Lucy’s work performance will probably get them fired anyway.   Now that uni is back in Read more...