Archive

Report Highlights Shortfalls For Under-20s Mental Health Care

Posted 5:27pm Sunday 27th March 2022 by Denzel Chung

Demand for mental health care among under-20s has spiked in the last two years, according to a new Government report. They were hopeful, though, that increased Government funding would soon make a bigger impact.  The report, titled ‘Te Huringa: Change and Transformation’, was Read more...

Study Finds Covid Experts Loved Masks, Hated Cost of Vaccinations

Posted 5:24pm Sunday 27th March 2022 by Annabelle Vaughan

An Otago Uni study has highlighted what experts found to be the worst part of Covid-19 lockdowns. Travel restrictions ranked highly on their list, as well as the cost of providing Covid-19 vaccines. The study, published in the Journal of the Royal Society of New Zealand, was conducted by Dr Read more...

The One (Flavour of Cruisers) That Got Away

Posted 5:22pm Sunday 27th March 2022 by Ruby Werry

On St Paddy’s, Dunedin’s most iconic booze-slinging establishment was running notably low on green piss. Critic tried to get to the bottom of this. A Leith Liquor employee told Critic Te Arohi that while the day itself brings plenty of Paddy’s pep and outrageous outfits, Read more...

Soft Plastic Recycling Back in Town

Posted 5:20pm Sunday 27th March 2022 by Zak Rudin

Serial recyclers and plastic bag stockpilers, rejoice: soft plastics can now be recycled in Dunedin again. They’ll be collected from New World, Countdown and The Warehouse stores, and trucked up north to be turned into fence posts.  Up until 2017, our soft plastic was shipped overseas Read more...

Mysterious Tree Shows Up Naked in Student’s Bedroom

Posted 5:11pm Sunday 27th March 2022 by Keegan Wells

It’s not often a Saturday night ends with you finding a stranger in your bed. It’s even rarer when that stranger is a tree branch. Returning to his Cumberland St flat at 1:30am, Seth was getting ready for a good night’s rest when he noticed a “weird, dark bushy figure on Read more...

Night ‘n Day Cracks Down on Sauce Thievery

Posted 5:08pm Sunday 27th March 2022 by Zak Rudin

An Otago student is facing a $300 fine for what he claims was an accidental theft of a 90c packet of sauce from Night ‘n Day. They offered to pay for the sauce, claiming it was an honest mistake, and have complained of an abuse of power. Even the cops seemed to think the matter was Read more...

Covid Rule Changes: What do they mean for Students?

Posted 5:07pm Sunday 27th March 2022 by Annabelle Vaughan

Big changes were made to the Covid-19 rules last Wednesday, from the end of QR codes and vaccine passes to outdoor gathering limits being waved goodbye as soon as this week. But how will this affect students? Critic Te Arohi decided to dive into the new rules to find out.  At a press Read more...

New American Football Club in Dunedin

Posted 1:44pm Sunday 20th March 2022 by Keegan Wells

Fans of American football, rejoice! A club has just been set up in Dunedin. They’re open to pretty much anyone who’s keen to play a bit of hand-egg , or chuck the ol’ pig-skin around, or whatever those Yanks say.  American Football Otago was established just a few weeks ago Read more...

Otago Distillery Makes World’s Best Vodka

Posted 1:43pm Sunday 20th March 2022 by Fox Meyer

Joerg, creator of Broken Heart Gin & Spirits in Arrowtown, makes a vodka that has just been rated the best in the world. In the World Drinks Awards, his vodka beat out entries from 18 other countries for the title in the “pure neutral” category. Coincidentally, and completely Read more...

Dunedin’s Gin Distillery Moves out of its Parent’s Basement

Posted 1:40pm Sunday 20th March 2022 by Denzel Chung

Barely two years after opening, Dunedin’s No8 Distillery has moved into a swish new location on Hanover Street - right on the edge of Studentville. Founder Julien Delavoie’s selection of spirits, distilled locally with foraged botanicals, have been sweeping awards Read more...

Government Plans Cash for Containers Scheme

Posted 1:38pm Sunday 20th March 2022 by Denzel Chung

The Government has introduced plans for a “Container Return Scheme”. In simple terms, this means taking your bottles, cans and cartons in for recycling could soon earn you sweet, sweet cash.  Last week, the Ministry for the Environment dropped a consultation document titled Read more...

Why Your “5 Plus a Day” is Looking Like “$50 Plus a Day”

Posted 1:36pm Sunday 20th March 2022 by Rutene Rickard

A year ago, a kg of tomatoes from Centre City New World cost $2.99. Today, those same juicy round bois have almost doubled in price, costing $5.49. In a quest to find out why hurling rotten tomatoes isn’t the affordable pastime it used to be, Critic Te Arohi consulted Professor of Sociology Read more...

OUSA and Albany St Pharmacy Deliver Drugs to Doorsteps

Posted 1:33pm Sunday 20th March 2022 by Sean Gourley

Thanks to OUSA and Albany Street Pharmacy, isolating students can now get over-the-counter meds and other pharmacy goodies delivered for free. The service can be accessed via the OUSA Support Hub Website. With Covid absolutely ripping through North D, many people who would’ve helped their Read more...

How Much Do Students Know About Saint Patrick, Primary Patron Saint of Ireland?

Posted 1:25pm Sunday 20th March 2022 by Keegan Wells

St Patrick is such a well-known name in North D that thousands wake up as early as 5am every year to celebrate him. But do students actually know that much about who he was, where he came from, and what he did? Critic Te Arohi hit the green-filled streets to find out.  First off, did he Read more...

Used Sharps Bins not Spotted on Campus

Posted 1:24pm Sunday 20th March 2022 by Zak Rudin

Students For Sensible Drug Policy (SSDP) have raised the question: where are all the sharps bins at? People who rely on insulin injections have allegedly been forced to carry “dirty sharps home after use” or “dispose of them in an inadequate fashion in bathroom/campus Read more...

Bandana Burglar Behind Bars

Posted 1:19pm Sunday 20th March 2022 by Zak Rudin

Nicholas Scott Kerr, aged 33, has been unmasked as the notorious bandana burglar. Kerr was at large between 2018 and 2020, during which time he broke into student flats, stole 51 items worth over $22,000, and cut holes in the curtains of seven female students. Kerr used the alias “Samantha Read more...

Some Stuff not Known About KnowYourStuffNZ

Posted 1:17pm Sunday 20th March 2022 by Ruby Werry

KnowYourStuffNZ does not test for purity. They test for presence of a substance, and that’s what they report. The misconception that KYSNZ tests for purity is apparently rife amongst both students and our own Critic staff members. It may seem like a small difference (presence vs. purity), Read more...

The Curious Case of the Crook’s Consistent Covid Cancellation Curse Continues

Posted 12:47pm Sunday 13th March 2022 by Fox Meyer

Rezzy Crooks, Covid’s least favourite band, has had another gig cancelled. After at least four Pint Night cancellations over the past two years, the band was excited to play a gig with Hot Sauce Club at the Crown Hotel. And then it was cancelled.  “It’s hard to put a number Read more...

World Music Assignment Ridiculed for “Unholy” Font Choice

Posted 12:45pm Sunday 13th March 2022 by Elliot Weir

First-year music students studying MUSI104 (World Music) were given an assignment designed to help students in the class get to know one another better for an upcoming group project on the first of March. The assignment was pretty straightforward, but students were taken aback when the eight page Read more...

Data Mining Dunedin Noise Complaints

Posted 12:36pm Sunday 13th March 2022 by Keegan Wells

Data seen by Critic Te Arohi has shed light on where, when and why noise complaints were lodged around Dunedin. One Otago student managed to rack up nine in a single semester.  According to Dunedin City Council data seen and painstakingly analysed by Critic Te Arohi, 3,613 noise complaints Read more...

Researchers Find Big Fossilised Duck in Central Otago

Posted 12:34pm Sunday 13th March 2022 by Denzel Chung

A team of researchers, including Otago staff and students, have discovered an exciting new fossil at St Bathans in Central Otago: a species of shelduck. The original animal is believed to have been massive, standing at a whopping 70cm. For a duck, that’s pretty tall. The duck was believed Read more...

Outcry Over Positive RAT Sale

Posted 12:31pm Sunday 13th March 2022 by Sean Gourley

A local caused a minor uproar when he claimed to be selling positive COVID tests for just $49 on the Facebook group Otago Flatting Goods. It is unclear from the post whether the four tests on offer were being sold separately or as a pack, or if it was even a genuine offer. The post first asked Read more...

“Satdee Night Antics” Lead To Stolen Sign

Posted 12:29pm Sunday 13th March 2022 by Denzel Chung

A brand-new promotional sign outside on Cumberland Street was stolen, with the theft blamed on “satdee night antics”. As of press time, it had not been found despite a juicy financial reward on offer. The sign was purchased just before Christmas by the Northgate Shop, which runs the Read more...

Polytech Provides Frozen Meals to Isolating Students

Posted 12:27pm Sunday 13th March 2022 by Zak Rudin

Polytech students rejoice: thousands of frozen meals are winging their way to your flats, dreamt up and prepared by a team of staff and students. The project began with Polytech senior lecturer Tony Hepinstall, who started the initiative as “a social enterprise where students could give Read more...

New Pastoral Care Code

Posted 12:23pm Sunday 13th March 2022 by Zak Rudin

A new Pastoral Care Code of Practice has been introduced this year, formalising the guidelines for how unis will take care of their students. It remains to be seen whether the changes on paper will translate into changes in practice. The Code of Practice came into effect on January 1st this year. Read more...

Second Week of Protests as Situation in Ukraine Intensifies

Posted 5:12pm Saturday 12th March 2022 by Aiman Amerul Muner

For the second weekend in a row,  a small crowd consisting of Ukrainians, Russians and others gathered in the Octagon to oppose Russia’s attack on Ukraine. Among them are students whose families have been forced to flee what has now become a war zone.  Among those in attendance on Read more...

Small But Vocal Socialist Counter-Protest On Museum Lawn

Posted 5:02pm Saturday 12th March 2022 by Denzel Chung

A protest intended to oppose the Wellington anti-mandate protest had to quickly pivot after the shutdown of the Wellington protest just two days before. Despite being small in number, those attending insisted the cause was still urgent enough to motivate them.    Organised by Read more...

Official Endorsement for Mirror on Society

Posted 4:58pm Saturday 12th March 2022 by Fox Meyer

On Tuesday, 8 March, the University Council formally endorsed Te Kauae Parāoa, also known as the Mirror on Society Selection Policy. A recent review, involving staff as well as student voices  highlighted a need to provide more support for students with disabilities, which was incorporated Read more...

“Systemic Racism, Discrimination, Bullying” Found in PE School, Wider Uni

Posted 4:29pm Thursday 10th March 2022 by Denzel Chung

A scathing review of “conduct and culture” in the School of Physical Education, Sport and Exercise Sciences has found serious concerns about “systemic racism, discrimination and bullying at the School and… within the [wider] University”. In response, new Read more...

University Shops Struggle With Omicron

Posted 2:58pm Sunday 6th March 2022 by Denzel Chung

The Omicron outbreak has hit Otago Uni’s cafés and food outlets hard. A one-two punch of fewer students on campus and staff shortages have led to financial losses and rolling closures of outlets.  The University Union is like the Pablo Escobar of Dunedin’s campus – Read more...

Wanted: Chip Packets to turn into Survival Blankets

Posted 2:55pm Sunday 6th March 2022 by Denzel Chung

Some of Dunedin’s chip packets will be getting a second chance at life, with a new initiative turning them into survival blankets for rough sleepers.  Jessica Ladbrook is Dunedin’s volunteer coordinator for the Chip Packet Project NZ (CPPNZ). With origins in the British Read more...

Iso Rules Baffle Students

Posted 2:52pm Sunday 6th March 2022 by Denzel Chung

Jake, a Master’s student living in Brighton, is in the middle of a 20 day isolation.  “At the end of our first 10-day isolation we were all joking and saying “oh we’re gonna get it again, haha, we’re gonna have to restart”, and then that’s exactly Read more...

New IPCC Report: Impending Irreversible Climate Devastation (again)

Posted 2:35pm Sunday 6th March 2022 by Zak Rudin

As if a global pandemic and the threat of world war weren’t enough, the cheerful souls at the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change have threatened climate-related mayhem will be coming for us as well. Again.  The IPCC report, “Climate Change 2022: Impacts, Read more...

CCTV Project Phase 3 Foiled by Covid-19, Budget Constraints

Posted 2:33pm Sunday 6th March 2022 by Zak Rudin

The University’s plans to install more CCTV cameras around North D has hit a snag. The culprit: our old friend Covid-19.  The new CCTVs were planned to be placed on Union Street, between Campus and Unipol. They had claimed that this move would provide “safety for students and Read more...

Clubs Struggling without Clubs Day

Posted 1:58pm Sunday 6th March 2022 by Denzel Chung

The Omicron outbreak really screwed up many clubs’ recruitment plans. Most are relying on social media and word-of-mouth, but are finding they cannot replace a good ol’ Clubs Day tent. For the Otago University Tramping Club (OUTC), historically the largest club on campus by Read more...

“Good Karma” Nets OUSA’s $800 Camping Giveaway

Posted 1:56pm Sunday 6th March 2022 by Fox Meyer

OUSA recently held an online giveaway for $800 worth of new camping gear. The winner, Tayla, reckoned that “good karma” won her the grand prize, which she is hoping to show off at R&A.  “Never have I ever won something like this,” said Tayla. She’d entered a Read more...

Peace and Conflict Centre Begins Improvements

Posted 1:53pm Sunday 6th March 2022 by Denzel Chung

A review into the National Centre for Peace and Conflict Studies has found an “unsustainably toxic” workplace culture despite “excellent” teaching staff and “enthusiastic” students. The University of Otago has committed to a “fundamental reset” in Read more...

Anti-war Protest in the Octagon as Russia Invades Ukraine

Posted 1:49pm Sunday 6th March 2022 by Denzel Chung

A crowd of around 50, including Ukrainians, Russians and others, amassed in the lower Octagon on the 26th to peacefully protest Russian aggression against Ukraine. An anti-mandate convoy passed through at the same time, providing a backdrop of honking, yelling and loud music. The group gathered Read more...

Offshore Students Frustrated but Hopeful

Posted 3:04pm Sunday 27th February 2022 by Ransford Antwi

Hundreds of international Otago students are stuck overseas, paying full fees for an educational experience that many feel is not reflective of the cost.  If you thought a few weeks of online lectures and Zoom tutes was rough, imagine what it’s like to be an international student stuck Read more...

Flo and O Parties: Dying But Not Quite Dead

Posted 2:56pm Sunday 27th February 2022 by Denzel Chung, Keegan Wells & Ruby Werry

Flo and O-Weeks were notably quieter this year, with Covid cases on Castle sending a chill through North D’s collective spine. Apart from the usual suspects, though, most students seemed to make a reasonable effort at following the rules. Flo saw a sleepy Castle, with few students on the Read more...

OUSA Gives out 650 “Gifts of Generosity and Grace”

Posted 2:51pm Sunday 27th February 2022 by Fox Meyer

In less than a week, OUSA has distributed 650 care packages to isolating students across the city. The initiative comes as Omicron rips through the student population in North Dunedin.  These packages are being delivered free of charge to students who are isolating. They contain food staples Read more...

Where the Hell are all these Wasps Coming From?

Posted 2:47pm Sunday 27th February 2022 by Fox Meyer

Wasp populations are at their yearly high, and students have reported fear, frustration and an “absolute fuck-ton” of the stinging insects around town. Critic Te Arohi reached out to the Zoology Department to get to the bottom of this. The short answer is simple: wasp colonies follow Read more...

Management Meddling Moves Fresher Frenzy From Friday

Posted 2:43pm Sunday 27th February 2022 by Denzel Chung

It was no coincidence. In a bid to end “antisocial behaviour” on Health Sci Friday, the Proctor worked together with Uni management to shift Health Sci exam dates last year. This attempt to minimise partying worked about as well as you would expect. With the final HSFY exam for Read more...

Proctor Cracks Down on Alcoholic Flat Party Sponsors

Posted 2:41pm Sunday 27th February 2022 by Sean Gourley

Some alcohol companies who have been unofficial sponsors of student flat parties have not been fined, but appear to have received a very stern talking to by the Proctor and the Police. According to the Proctor’s disciplinary report for 2021, some “alcohol manufacturers were Read more...

New ID Cards: Frothed by Freshers, Loathed by Most

Posted 2:38pm Sunday 27th February 2022 by Ruby Werry

The Uni has made big changes to enhance ID card security in 2022, bringing in a new, “minimalist,” overwhelmingly white design. Our informal survey suggested almost everyone hates it - with the notable exception of first-years, who don’t know any better. After the Proctor raised Read more...

$4 Lunches Under New Management

Posted 2:33pm Sunday 27th February 2022 by Denzel Chung

For the first time in over 20 years, OUSA’s famous $4 lunches will no longer be served by the Hare Krishna community. This is after Jane Beecroft, known as the “lunch lady” of the Hare Krishnas, announced her retirement in February.  South Dunedin restaurant Tandooree Read more...

New VC Just Dropped

Posted 2:31pm Sunday 27th February 2022 by Fox Meyer

David is your new Vice Chancellor, sort of like the Uni’s CEO. He’s an infectious disease expert, a guitar-maker, and a very kind man who looks a bit like a more scholastic Colonel Sanders. Critic recently sat down with David to give him a quick vibe check, which he passed with flying Read more...

Testing Centres "Swamped" after Castle St. Covid Case

Posted 1:40pm Thursday 17th February 2022 by Denzel Chung

Students have flocked to North Dunedin’s Covid-19 testing centre in the hours since a positive case was linked to a Castle Street party. They are now turning away asymptomatic people, asking them to self-isolate instead.   Barely two hours after the University advised all students Read more...

OUSA Discourages Partying, Receives Backlash

Posted 5:10pm Tuesday 15th February 2022 by Denzel Chung

An Instagram post requesting that students “put the parties on pause” has been taken off of OUSA’s story after receiving backlash from students. OUSA has since clarified that they “are not here to kill any good vibes for students,” but wants to ensure parties are kept Read more...

Prof. Jo Baxter Announced As New Dunedin Med School Dean

Posted 2:28pm Friday 11th February 2022 by Denzel Chung

The Dunedin School of Medicine has just announced that Professor Joanne ‘Jo’ Baxter (Ngāi Tahu, Ngāti Mamoe, Waitaha, Ngāti Apa ki te Rā Tō) will take over the Dean’s role from July 2022. She will be the first wahine Māori to ever hold the Read more...