Archive
Weeding Out the Poor Performers
Posted 8:23pm Sunday 14th July 2013 by Jamie Breen
In a sign of growing intolerance against drugs and alcohol in the workplace, wider testing mechanisms are being introduced for workers and beneficiaries. The New Zealand Government is set to introduce new requirements on 15 July whereby a beneficiary will need to test for various forms of drugs and Read more...
Critic Keen on Puns
Posted 8:23pm Sunday 14th July 2013 by Staff Reporter
A new student-made app, brazenly billed as “Twitter meets Facebook meets Snapchat,” has been launched in Dunedin by start-up Keen. Co-founder Emily Sutton describes Keen as “an app that enables people to spend less time with technology.” The app allows its users to post about Read more...
Dunedin Craft Beer Festival
Posted 8:23pm Sunday 14th July 2013 by Zane Pocock
Due to a partnership between Forsyth Barr Stadium and Lion Nathan, the name “Dunedin Craft Beer Festival” is set to be somewhat ironic. The stadium has a contract with the beer mass-producers/ monopoly-holders that requires any event involving alcohol to include the company’s brands. Read more...
Campus Produces Two Council Hopefuls
Posted 8:23pm Sunday 14th July 2013 by Jack Montgomerie
Students looking for representation on the Dunedin City Council in October’s general election are spoiled for choice this year, with two candidates already courting the student vote. Aaron Hawkins, who came fourth in the 2010 mayoral election with three per cent of the first preference votes, Read more...
Otago Considers Recreating Christchurch
Posted 8:23pm Sunday 14th July 2013 by Claudia Herron
The University is considering demolishing both the Arts building (Burns) and the Property Services building on Albany Street after the two buildings were deemed earthquake-prone under the University’s Seismic Programme. The University’s Seismic Strengthening Policy states that all buildings Read more...
Dalai Lama Visits New Zealand’s First University
Posted 6:05pm Sunday 7th July 2013 by Phoebe Harrop
The Dalai Lama’s recent visit to Dunedin was, in local terms at least, quite the scandal. Before the visit, Mayor Dave Cull had joined the ranks of other esteemed political figures (Barack Obama, Julia Gillard, John Key) who, wanting to be BFFs with China, have refused to officially welcome his Read more...
Students on the Streets in Turkish Turmoil
Posted 6:05pm Sunday 7th July 2013 by Jack Montgomerie
What began as a protest against the construction of a shopping centre has turned into the largest public demonstration seen in Turkey in recent years. Students have been at the forefront of the protests, which erupted in Istanbul, Ankara and many smaller cities and towns. “Innocents have been Read more...
What’s Up, Doc? Not Much
Posted 6:05pm Sunday 7th July 2013 by Claudia Herron
Doc’s Coffee House has sadly closed up shop in George Street and filed for bankruptcy after a series of relocations saw it go from a profitable business to “essentially drowning.” Critic spoke with Doc’s owner/ operator Phil McDonald about the future of the café, which is looking to return in mobile Read more...
Dunedin: New Zealand’s Second-Best Wellington
Posted 6:05pm Sunday 7th July 2013 by Zane Pocock
On 14 September, OUSA will be bringing the inaugural Dunedin Craft Beer Festival to Forsyth Barr Stadium. The beer brands involved are still being finalised; however, they are likely to include such South Island companies as Emerson’s, Mac’s and Moa. Many different food vendors will Read more...
Yet Another Fran-Said-Dan-Said
Posted 6:05pm Sunday 7th July 2013 by Sam McChesney
The OUSA Representation and Governance Review is now underway, with a Working Party appointed over the break. The Working Party will hear student submissions and make recommendations on changes to OUSA’s governance structure and constitution. The Working Party is comprised of 11 members, Read more...
Peter Dunne: An Obituary
Posted 6:05pm Sunday 7th July 2013 by Zane Pocock
It is with great sadness that Critic farewells an old friend – a rooster of epic proportions who once crowed the loudest stories of incompetence and befuddlement. Although not yet dead, the career of MP Peter Dunne has been given only a year to live. Long holding a cherished position in the Read more...
Re-O-Week to Bring Paint, Sexism
Posted 6:05pm Sunday 7th July 2013 by Brittany Mann
OUSA has been working around the clock to deliver students the biggest Reorientation Week yet, say OUSA figures. Critic staff members dispute the accuracy of this statement, however, having observed the Events team working only until 5pm. Wednesday 10 July sees the return of the Illuminate Read more...
Captain Cook Runs Aground, Is Eaten by Savages
Posted 6:05pm Sunday 7th July 2013 by Josie Cochrane
Hold back the tears everyone – the Captain Cook Tavern will have its doors shut throughout Re-O-Week and potentially for good, although the owners are still looking to have someone take over the lease. Dominion Breweries and James Arnott, one of the owners of the Cook, are no longer Read more...
UBS: Unemployed Book Sellers?
Posted 6:05pm Sunday 7th July 2013 by Claudia Herron
Staff restructuring at the University Book Shop (UBS) has seen a number of positions made redundant, with those staff members affected invited to reapply for newly-created positions. The restructuring is the culmination of six years of falling profits due to the difficult trading conditions faced by Read more...
Dalai Lama visits Dunedin
Posted 1:13pm Thursday 13th June 2013 by Phoebe Harrop
500 people packed out St. David lecture theatre on Tuesday to see the 14th Dalai Lama. Despite earlier trips to the city, this was his Holiness’ first official engagement at the University of Otago, and his first at any New Zealand university. His Holiness was welcomed in typically eclectic Read more...
Execrable | Online
Posted 4:46pm Wednesday 5th June 2013 by Sam McChesney
The last Executive meeting Critic attended was a desperately dull affair, full of hot air, procedural inanities, and general self-aggrandising pointlessness. The prospect of another snorefest loomed, before Critic noticed that nearby execcies’ regular chirpy demeanours had been replaced with grim, Read more...
Protests break out across Turkey
Posted 2:05pm Sunday 2nd June 2013 by Jack Montgomerie
What began as a protest against a shopping mall has turned into massive demonstrations against police violence in Turkey. Protestors had initially staged a sit-in objecting to the ruling Justice and Development Party’s (AKP) plans to build a shopping mall on Gezi park, which sits in the middle of Read more...
“I hate that shit. I can’t stream Pirates anymore.”
Posted 3:03pm Sunday 26th May 2013 by Josie Cochrane
Computer network traffic at the University decreased by over 30% last year, following the introduction of restrictions on illegal downloading through the University network. Usage dropped from 464,159 GB in 2011 to 315,847 GB last year, a difference equivalent to over 400,000 hours of torrented Read more...
Busin’ like a bus
Posted 3:03pm Sunday 26th May 2013 by Thomas Raethel
The Otago Regional Council (ORC) has been lobbied by several student bodies to discount Dunedin’s bus fares for both University and Polytechnic students. OUSA, OPSA and Generation Zero all submitted material supporting Dunedin bus reforms at a Council meeting held on 15 May. OPSA spokesman Read more...
Cadbury’s new product
Posted 3:03pm Sunday 26th May 2013 by Bella Macdonald
Cadbury has announced a new product to be made in Dunedin that will be tailored to “New Zealand tastes.” It is expected to arrive on the shelves later this year. The announcement of the new product comes after Cadbury’s Dairy Milk blocks underwent a packet transformation, including a Read more...


