Archive

Execrable (Feat. Vice Chancellor Harlene Hayne) | Issue 10

Posted 4:20pm Sunday 4th May 2014 by Claudia Herron

The OUSA Executive meeting held on 29 April was attended by the University’s Vice-Chancellor Professor Harlene Hayne, whose presence may have rendered the Executive slightly less audible than in previous meetings. During her visit she said she didn’t “think we should be afraid to knit the Read more...

Generation Zero report call to policy makers

Posted 4:20pm Sunday 4th May 2014 by Carys Goodwin

On Thursday 1 May, environmental organisation Generation Zero released their first of three comprehensive climate change action reports. Comprising more than forty pages of research and suggestions for policy makers, the report marks the beginning of Generation Zero’s campaign for a Clean Energy Read more...

International enrolments decline

Posted 4:20pm Sunday 4th May 2014 by Emily Draper

The number of international student enrolments at the University has dropped by 3.7 per cent, according to numbers released at the most recent University Council meeting. The figures reveal a drop to 1191 full-time international students enrolled in the University, down from 2011’s peak at 1664, and Read more...

1271 Students give OUSA some satisfaction

Posted 4:20pm Sunday 4th May 2014 by Claudia Herron

The 2014 OUSA Student Satisfaction Survey has revealed the general sentiment towards OUSA and the services they offer, as well as the general student impression regarding the importance and use of those services. With 1,271 student responses, the survey shows that OUSA continues to please students Read more...

Datacom(e) pay your power

Posted 4:20pm Sunday 4th May 2014 by Claudia Herron

The IT industry’s innovative ways have now extended to their recruitment process with one company offering to pay a flat’s power bill when applying for a role within their company. Datacom Systems Limited has been coming to the University’s career expos for around eight years now, but last year Read more...

Uni pays $5.5 million to "improve quality of service"

Posted 4:20pm Sunday 4th May 2014 by Nina Harrap

The University of Otago has spent more than $5.5 million on staff redundancies over the past four years, but has still been ranked as the 13th best place to work in the country. Figures released under the Official Information Act by the University show that 121.88 Full-Time Equivalent (FTE) Read more...

Queens suffers ungraceful fall from grace

Posted 4:20pm Sunday 4th May 2014 by Claudia Herron

Popular Dunedin venue Queens Bar has had its application for an on-licence declined following a hearing before the Dunedin District Licencing Committee on 11 April. The decision concerned applicant Ian Robbins, of Dogtown Limited, who sought a licence after letting his expire at the end of the first Read more...

OUSA to beer competition

Posted 4:20pm Sunday 4th May 2014 by Josie Cochrane

OUSA’s Dunedin Craft Beer and Food Festival will this year be held on 4 October at Forsyth Barr Stadium and is set “to build on the success of last year’s event,” says OUSA General Manager Darel Hall. However, competing with the event is Matthew Black of Brighton Holdings Ltd, who assisted OUSA in Read more...

Winston Peters

Posted 2:48pm Sunday 27th April 2014 by Carys Goodwin

Critic: So the first thing I want to talk about is the fact that the youth vote is a sector that is untapped almost, because we have such little voter turnout. And I was wondering what sort of policies you would advocate for in order to increase the youth turnout and what you’d bring to the table Read more...

Continuing changes to student loan now include prison time

Posted 1:58pm Sunday 27th April 2014 by Josie Cochrane

From 1 April 2014, Inland Revenue will be able to request an arrest warrant for borrowers who knowingly defaulted on their overseas-based repayment obligation and are about to leave New Zealand. This follows on from four years of extensive restrictions being imposed on the student loans and Read more...

Greatest hits / Greatest shits | Issue 09

Posted 1:58pm Sunday 27th April 2014 by Carys Goodwin

Greatest HitsThis week’s Greatest Hit goes to my favourite NZ politician/DJ hybrid. No, not Kim Dotcom (whose album ‘Good Times’ spurred an active Facebook campaign to get him to Starters Bar during O-Week), but Laneway alumna Jacinda Ardern. After realising her flight from Wellington to Auckland Read more...

Politweets | Issue 09

Posted 1:58pm Sunday 27th April 2014 by Carys Goodwin

Telling it how it is. The secret to her kiss (true). We're so sorry. Yeah Josh. Read more...

Critic tackles election year | Issue 9

Posted 1:58pm Sunday 27th April 2014 by Carys Goodwin

Before I even began my interview with the mighty Winston Peters he was on great form, spotting the Photoshopped Critic image of Peter Dunne smoking a fat joint and determining, after a lengthy pause, “it’s a fake.” Say what you will about Winston, he’s one of the most famous politicians we’ve ever Read more...

Should they stay or should they go?

Posted 1:58pm Sunday 27th April 2014 by Daniel Lormans

To the “did he go or was he pushed desk,” and it seems that the struggling rugby league convert Benji Marshall has thrown his toys again and is apparently looking to return to the NRL as soon as possible with his tail between his legs. After 10 years at the Tigers in West Sydney, Marshall Read more...

Freshers contribute to higher enrolments

Posted 1:58pm Sunday 27th April 2014 by Laura Munro

This year has seen an overall increase in enrolment at the University, largely due to strong first year domestic growth over the past three years. It also marks the highest ever proportion of commencing students from outside of Dunedin. Over 85 per cent of students commencing at Otago are from other Read more...

Synthetic zoning causes users to lapp around

Posted 1:58pm Sunday 27th April 2014 by Nina Harrap

The Dunedin City Council is currently drafting legislation that may stop some retailers from selling legal highs. The Psychoactive Substances Act, which was passed by Parliament last year, gives local government bodies the ability to pass a Locally Approved Product Policy (LAPP), meaning councils Read more...

Burst pipe streams deluge onto unsuspecting nerds

Posted 1:58pm Sunday 27th April 2014 by Claudia Herron

More than half of the Central Library’s ground floor computer lab was forced out of commission during library hours after thousands of litres of water flooded the area prior to the Easter Break. A burst water pipe in the ceiling caused water to cascade from light fittings both in the Central Library Read more...

$1 million dollar microscope first in New Zealand

Posted 1:58pm Sunday 27th April 2014 by Nina Harrap

The University of Otago has recently paid one million dollars for a state-of-the-art microscope that will allow researchers to study the development of neurological diseases such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s. For the first time, Otago medical scientists will be able to view and analyse living Read more...

Kiwis traverse Europe with help of bobbies

Posted 1:58pm Sunday 27th April 2014 by Laura Munro

A chaotic seven days traversing 1,000km across Europe has seen three Otago students take out a number of places among a huge group of international teams in Red Bull’s “Can You Make It” challenge. Representing the University of Otago were Tish McNicol, Finn Henry and Chessie Henry, also known as the Read more...

Execrable | Issue 9

Posted 1:58pm Sunday 27th April 2014 by Zane Pocock

The Executive meeting held on 15 April was complete with guest proposals, agenda thieves, and banter on Winston Peters’ campus visit. Kicking off the meeting, guest Sue Heap spoke to her proposal for OUSA to “look into the matter of street harassment.” Proposed courses of action were to Read more...