Archive

Student Loan Cap Extended

Posted 10:13pm Thursday 5th July 2018 by Esme Hall

Want to stay at University forever? Well, now you (almost) can. If you are a student of Medicine, Dentistry, Optometry or Veterinary Science, the Government has extended the student loan limit from seven to ten years, meaning you will no longer need to take out personal loans to complete your Read more...

How a Sexual Harassment Scandal Brought Down a Million-Dollar Student Campaign to End Sexual Violence

Posted 10:08pm Thursday 5th July 2018 by Sinead Gill

Content warning: sexual harassment, bullshit bureaucracy   Last year, the New Zealand Union of Students’ Associations was celebrating a $1.4 million dollar contract with ACC to combat sexual violence.  The deal was quietly cancelled due to a sexual harassment scandal within Read more...

Auckland University Students’ Association Loses More People

Posted 10:05pm Thursday 5th July 2018 by Esme Hall

The co-editors of Auckland University’s student magazine Craccum have resigned, alongside the International Students’ Officer of the Auckland University Students’ Association (AUSA), due to unsustainable workloads. This marks five total resignations for student reps at AUSA this Read more...

University Reveals Boring Surprise

Posted 10:03pm Thursday 5th July 2018 by Charlie O’Mannin

The Black Wall of the lie-brary. Who can remember when it came, that impenetrable eternal Wall. A computer lab is lost in the golden lake of memory and all that’s left is the Wall, flashing cryptic messages from our masters. WATCH THIS SPACE WE ARE CREATING A NEW SERVICE FOR YOU OPENING NEXT Read more...

Selwyn College Students Secretly Voted on the Fresher Girl with the 'Best Rack'

Posted 10:02pm Thursday 5th July 2018 by Joel MacManus

Second year Selwyn College students secretly voted on and publically awarded a prize for the fresher girl with the “Best Rack,” among other derogatory awards. Monica Nelson, who was given the award in 2014, described it as “sexist and bullying”. The tradition was part of Read more...

Why We Didn't Name A Sexual Harasser

Posted 9:50pm Thursday 5th July 2018 by Joel MacManus

EDITORIAL: Hola! Welcome back to Dunners for another semester. It’s cold as fuck, so remember it’s perfectly OK to wear a puffer jacket to town.  I wish I had some fun news to yarn about, but unfortunately our news team is just too damn hard-hitting. Blame Charlie Read more...

Postgraduate Officer Kirio Birks Narrowly Escapes Vote of No Confidence

Posted 1:00am Sunday 27th May 2018 by Charlie O’Mannin

Kirio Birks, OUSA Postgraduate Officer, has avoided being removed from his position by a margin of two votes after a motion for a vote of no confidence in him was raised at a Student General Meeting last Friday. Matthew Schep, postgraduate student, introduced the motion, claiming that Kirio had Read more...

Students Protest University Censorship

Posted 12:59am Sunday 27th May 2018 by Esme Hall

Otago University Students formed a protest movement last week, while facing close scrutiny from Campus Watch, following the University’s decision to seize and destroy issues of Critic last week. Immediately after the University admitted to destroying copies of Critic’s Menstruation Read more...

The Cover Story

Posted 12:58am Sunday 27th May 2018 by Esme Hall

If you were wondering why there were no copies of Critic on campus last week and don’t follow any news outlets in the world, last Monday 2000 copies of Critic’s Menstruation Issue were siezed and destroyed by Campus Watch in a night-time raid because of its cover illustration depicting a Read more...

Letters | Issue 13

Posted 12:45am Sunday 27th May 2018 by Critic

Letter of the Week Hello, On behalf of the Board of Directors of the 40 year old international Society for Menstrual Cycle Research, I write to express our extreme dismay at the University of Otago’s censorship of the student magazine Critic’s Menstruation Issue, and our support of Read more...

Bloody Hell, What a Week

Posted 12:35am Sunday 27th May 2018 by Joel MacManus

EDITORIAL: There’re too many things I want to say and too little space to say them in, so here’s a big ol’ list of random thoughts about the Menstruation Issue. It wasn’t 500 copies, as the Uni insisted. I reckon it was somewhere around 1500-2000 copies.  We print Read more...

Teddy Bear Hospital Is So Cute

Posted 10:46pm Thursday 24th May 2018 by Esme Hall

Otago University Medical Students’ Association (OUMSA) has run its adorable Teddy Bear Hospital for the eighth year in a row. Busloads of kindergarteners arrived at Elim Church and the Hunter Centre last week to get check-ups for their soft toys. Health Professional students donned their Read more...

The Best Anonymous Comments From the OUSA Referendum

Posted 10:45pm Thursday 24th May 2018 by Charlie O’Mannin

The OUSA Referendum happened and everything went pretty much as expected. All the boring questions passed because no one properly understood them. The environmental, drug, and miscellaneous ones pretty much passed with high majorities. The only close ones were whether OUSA should ban tickets in its Read more...

An Open Letter On The Removal and Destruction of Latest Issue of Critic Magazine by the University of Otago

Posted 11:10am Wednesday 23rd May 2018 by Critic

Dr Royden Somerville QC Chancellor University of Otago   BY EMAIL: registrar@otago.ac.nz   Dear Sir   RE: Removal and destruction of latest issue of Critic magazine by University of Otago   We are writing to express our deep concern over the recent Read more...

Otago Scientist to Tackle The Mystery of Loch Ness

Posted 10:04am Monday 21st May 2018 by Staff Reporter

The story of the Loch Ness monster is one of the world’s greatest mysteries. We have waited more than a thousand years for an answer on its existence. Now, it is only months away.   A global team of scientists, led by Professor Neil Gemmell of the University of Otago, New Zealand, Read more...

University Lies About Sanitary Bin Numbers in Female Toilets

Posted 9:49pm Thursday 17th May 2018 by Charlie O’Mannin

The University does not have enough sanitary disposal bins in its female toilets and provides none in their male toilets. The University’s Property Services Division Director Barry MacKay told Critic that, “Every female toilet cubicle has a sanitary bin”. This is not true. Read more...

OUSA Postgrad Officer Facing Vote to Remove Him From Office

Posted 9:48pm Thursday 17th May 2018 by Charlie O’Mannin

OUSA Postgraduate Officer Kirio Birks may be removed from his position after a vote of no confidence, which will be brought against him at a Student General Meeting, held on Thursday at 1pm in the Main Common Room.   The motion was introduced by postgraduate student Matthew Schep, who says Read more...

Former OUSA Presidential Candidate Running for NZUSA Vice President

Posted 9:46pm Thursday 17th May 2018 by Esme Hall

Former OUSA presidential candidate Finn Shewell, who narrowly lost to Caitlin-Barlow Groome by 91 votes is standing for Vice President of the New Zealand Union of Students’ Association (NZUSA), after previous VP Melissa Evans resigned mid-year. The only other candidate is current NZUSA Read more...

Main Common Room Could Be Revamped into Student Bar

Posted 8:20pm Thursday 17th May 2018 by Joel MacManus

The University Union Main Common Room becoming a licensed space could meet the need for a decent on-campus student bar, said University of Otago COO Stephen Willis. As the only late-night entertainment venue on campus, U-Bar is not up to scratch in terms of capacity, and lines of over 200 people Read more...

Where to Get Free Sanitary Products: A Critic Investigation

Posted 8:19pm Thursday 17th May 2018 by Sinead Gill

Sanitary items are super expensive, and if you menstruate, there is no avoiding them. Being a broke student means that having to trade in a night out with mates for tampons and pain medication is an inconvenient, but doable, sacrifice. But what if getting your period means having to skip meals, Read more...

NZUSA on the Brink of Financial Collapse

Posted 8:13pm Thursday 17th May 2018 by Charlie O’Mannin

The New Zealand Union of Students’ Associations (NZUSA) is in what President Jonathan Gee called a “precarious financial situation”, and has had to ask its member associations to pay over $100,000 in advance in order to save the organisation. The OUSA exec voted to immediately Read more...

Carol’s Back and She’s Complaining About Students Again

Posted 8:11pm Thursday 17th May 2018 by Joel MacManus

Dunedin resident Carol Devine, whose role in the widely-criticised 2015 TVNZ Sunday piece “Party Central” made her public enemy number one for many Otago students, has hit headlines again this week after another complaint of excessive noise from students who live near her Read more...

Scandal Alert: Steamy OUSA Prez / Vice-Prez Love Affair Revealed

Posted 8:09pm Thursday 17th May 2018 by Charlie O’Mannin

In what has been described as “The greatest scandal OUSA has seen in the last 10 years,” it has come to light that OUSA President Caitlin Barlow-Groome and Vice-President Cam Meads had a brief, but passionate, romantic encounter in their first years. The explosive information was Read more...

How To: Talk Sports With Your Dad

Posted 6:03pm Thursday 17th May 2018 by Charlie Hantler

Your dad is old, I mean really old. It’s just one of the facts of life. Here are the facts of life, by the way: Your dad is old  Everybody fucking hates the Chiefs.  But back to your dad. He’s old. It’s not his fault that he’s old, but he is Read more...

We Almost Won a Proper Award for Real Media

Posted 5:56pm Thursday 17th May 2018 by Joel MacManus

EDITORIAL: Critic made history last week by nabbing what the organisers reckoned was the first-ever nomination for a student magazine in any category at the Voyager Media Awards (formerly Canon Media Awards).  Trevor Cokley was among the top three finalists in the Best Photographer Read more...

Talking About Periods Is a Very Good Thing

Posted 5:55pm Thursday 17th May 2018 by Esme Hall

GUEST EDITORIAL: My friends and I recently had a conversation about periods. We discovered that one friend had been going through life with some very wack assumptions. Firstly, he thought that people on their periods wore pads all the time like diapers. Secondly, he thought pads stuck to skin Read more...

Counter-Protest Drowns Out White Nationalist Meeting

Posted 11:12pm Friday 11th May 2018 by Thea Bailie-Bellew

The National Front, a white supremacist, alt-right group, held a sparsely attended meeting at Queens Gardens on 4 May. The event was heavily counter-protested. The National Front is a group of racists that claim to encourage free democracy for New Zealanders, in which individuals are free to make Read more...

Should Sportspeople Be Role Models?

Posted 11:11pm Friday 11th May 2018 by Charlie Hantler

There’s been some pretty shitty stuff happening in sports recently. David Warner, Israel Folau, Conor McGregor and Steve Smith are just a few of the names that have made the headlines, and it’s forcing us to bring out that tired old cliché “the spirit of the Read more...

Critic Breaks Down the OUSA Referendum Questions

Posted 11:09pm Friday 11th May 2018 by Joel MacManus

OUSA’s Referendum opens 9am Monday. Even though they rejected some of our best questions, like “Should the Clubs and Societies building be turned into a big old gay bar?” and “Should OUSA adopt the stegosaurus as its official dinosaur?” you should still vote. For those Read more...

Uncertainty for Te Rangi Hiroa after Dunedin Hospital Announcement

Posted 11:01pm Friday 11th May 2018 by Esme Hall

The future of Te Rangi Hiroa College is unclear after the Government announced its building is part of the new site for the Dunedin Hospital. Dunedin’s new hospital will be built on the Cadbury site and on the next block to the north, which currently contains a Wilson’s carpark and Te Read more...

Gastro Outbreak Hits 70 Selwyn Students

Posted 9:01pm Friday 11th May 2018 by Charlie O’Mannin

Two weeks ago Critic was walking through campus, taking pictures for the esteemed Critical Tribune, when a group of clearly blazed women accosted us with a large bottle of hand sanitiser, claiming that there was gastro around. If only we’d listened.  An outbreak of gastroenteritis Read more...

The OUSA Exec Are Making Less Than Minimum Wage. How Is That OK?

Posted 8:55pm Friday 11th May 2018 by Esme Hall

OPINION: Student Association Executives are vital for ensuring that students are represented at the university, regional and national levels. But they’re overworked and underpaid. That isn’t right. Two weeks ago Critic reported on the resignation of two Executives of the Auckland Read more...

OUSA President Apologises for Being too “Passionate” Attacking DCC

Posted 8:52pm Friday 11th May 2018 by Charlie O’Mannin

OUSA President Caitlin Barlow-Groome has walked back her comments criticising the Dunedin City Council (DCC) for not caring about students after she received significant blowback from both the DCC and others within OUSA. In her President’s column two weeks ago, titled “The DCC Read more...

Scarfie Things: Capping Show Preview

Posted 8:31pm Friday 11th May 2018 by Joel MacManus

It’s Tuesday evening. Shaun Swain sits alone in the middle of the tenth row of the College Auditorium, surrounded by empty chairs. He watches an empty stage with an intense, focused stare. Nothing happens. The stage lights beat down on empty wood. Then someone rushes in from the upstairs left Read more...

Outbreak of Gastro at Selwyn College

Posted 6:47pm Monday 7th May 2018 by Charlie O’Mannin

There has been an outbreak of gastroenteritis (gastro) at Selwyn Residential College. Gastro symptoms include diarrhoea, vomiting, nausea, abdominal pain, fever and muscle pains. The disease can last between one to three days and spreads by ingestion of contaminated food or water, contact with Read more...

NZ Business Is Screwing Over Our Generation

Posted 9:15pm Saturday 5th May 2018 by Cameron Meads

OPINION: As OUSA Vice-President, I attended the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) summit in Wellington a couple of weekends ago. My hope that NZ businesses were proactively working towards sustainability was completely shat on. The SDGs encompass all aspects of sustainability, not Read more...

Why Isn't The Good One Party Register Working?

Posted 9:08pm Saturday 5th May 2018 by Joel MacManus

OPINION: Dunedin recently launched the Good One Party Register to very little fanfare and minimal success. In fact, of the ten students Critic very informally surveyed, just one of them knew what it was. Basically, Good One is a website where you fill in the address and expected size of a party Read more...

Why Otago University Needs A Marae

Posted 9:04pm Saturday 5th May 2018 by Tiana Mihaere

OPINION: To many indigenous people, the marae or wharenui is a place of great cultural significance. It is a place where we come together to welcome new people to our whenua, to celebrate life, to mourn those who have passed. It is a place where we can address past grievances, express ourselves and Read more...

Students Challenge Sexual Violence Stereotypes

Posted 9:02pm Saturday 5th May 2018 by Esme Hall

Content Warning: discussion of sexual violence, child sexual abuse, rape, intimate partner violence     As part of Rape Awareness Week, Union Hall turned into an exhibition of clothing of survivors of rape and sexual assault. The Students Against Sexual Violence (SASV) Read more...

Hunters Gear Up for Magic Mushroom Season as Cold Weather Hits

Posted 9:01pm Saturday 5th May 2018 by Charlie O’Mannin

Summer is fading away to autumn, the temperature is dropping, the puffer jackets are multiplying, and getting out of bed is harder than making cool friends. It is also the start of magic mushroom season.  Critic approached some mushroomeers to ask how the season’s shaping up. Read more...

Students ‘Heart-Broken’ After Fortune Theatre Shuts Down

Posted 8:59pm Saturday 5th May 2018 by Charlie O’Mannin

Students expressed their sadness last week as the Fortune Theatre, Dunedin’s only professional theatre, closed permanently, as it was no longer financially viable. The theatre will cancel all its current and future shows, and close its facilities to outside groups.  “We have Read more...

Why Haven't Our Students Associations Done Anything About V.S.M.?

Posted 8:33pm Saturday 5th May 2018 by Joel MacManus

EDITORIAL: VSM is the most important issue facing students right now. So why the fuck aren’t we doing anything about it? Voluntary Student Membership, or VSM, was the worst thing to ever happen to students’ associations. When the ACT Party Bill passed in 2011, it was Public Enemy Read more...

OUSA President: The DCC Don't Give a Flying Fuck About Students

Posted 3:16pm Tuesday 1st May 2018 by

OPINION: The DCC don’t give a flying f about OUSA. They don't care about you or me personally. Actually, they don't care about anyone between the ages of 18-24, and if you’re a mature student, they probably don’t care about you either. My biggest problems with the Read more...

Sexual Violence Prevention Centre Opening During Rape Awareness Week

Posted 2:36am Monday 30th April 2018 by Staff Reporter

The University is opening a dedicated sexual violence prevention centre, Te Whare Tawharau (a place of shelter), at 5 Leithbank (between the college of education and the commerce building) following a 3-year-long review of sexual misconduct policies. Te Whare Tawharau is a drop-in centre that Read more...

Quality of Fake Hyde Street Bands Catches Security By Surprise

Posted 2:34am Monday 30th April 2018 by Joel MacManus

Fraudsters and shucksters stepped up their game for this year’s Hyde Street, as fake wristbands saw a level of professionalism never before seen. Event staff said that several of the wristbands scanned over the course of the day all showed up as the same female second year law student, Read more...

Computer-based examinations for seven papers this semester

Posted 2:32am Monday 30th April 2018 by Esme Hall

Seven papers will introduce computer-based exams this semester as the University trials computer-based examinations. OUSA Campaigns Officer Roger Yan sits on the Computer Based Examinations working group that has the “goal of finding a working product that the University can use if it wants Read more...

Pharmacy Students “Mucked Around” by Bus Company

Posted 2:30am Monday 30th April 2018 by Charlie O’Mannin

The Pharmacy Students’ Association (NZAPS-O) has been fucked over by a bus company while trying to attend their annual Pharmacy Camp. In February this year NZAPS-O chartered Ritchie’s Bus Service to take 120 students to Pharmacy Camp. Laura Pidcock, the NZAPS-O President, confirmed Read more...

Two AUSA Executive Members Resign

Posted 2:29am Monday 30th April 2018 by Esme Hall

Two Auckland University Students’ Association executive members have resigned in the space of two days over claims of unreasonable work hours and poor management. Welfare Vice-President Isabel Holm resigned on Wednesday 18th April and Queer Rights Officer Isabella Francis resigned on Friday Read more...

Hyde Street Is Boring Now. And That’s a Very Good Thing.

Posted 2:19am Monday 30th April 2018 by Joel MacManus

Editorial: Hyde Street 2018 was boring. And that’s exactly how it should be. I don’t mean it was boring for the attendees; the crowds we saw there were having an absolute frother of a time (at least until the rain hit). But media were well and truly disappointed. In the six years Read more...

Proctor Tries to Shut Down Student Party, Fails

Posted 8:56pm Thursday 19th April 2018 by Charlie O’Mannin

A student-run party to raise money for the Dunedin Wildlife Hospital went ahead last week despite the Proctor’s attempts to shut it down. Pedro, one of the organisers, told Critic that he went to see the Proctor to gain the University’s approval for the party, and that the Proctor Read more...

Student Bar Might Actually Happen After All

Posted 8:38pm Thursday 19th April 2018 by Joel MacManus

University of Otago COO Steve Willis has indicated that a new or revamped student bar on campus could be a possibility as the Uni looks at new developments over the next couple of years. The Union Food Court is “not losing money any more,” Willis said, while addressing the OUSA Exec Read more...

Men’s Only Med Group Hopes to Combat Mental Health

Posted 8:35pm Thursday 19th April 2018 by Esme Hall

The Otago University Medical Students’ Association (OUMSA) has started a men’s only social group for mental health support called “Men in Med”. It forms part of OUMSA’s wider initiative to provide social events that aren’t centred around alcohol. Third-year Read more...

Recreation Officer’s Re-Created Report Accepted

Posted 8:31pm Thursday 19th April 2018 by Joel MacManus

Success! Josh Smythe, OUSA Re-Creation Officer, has had his quarterly report passed, granting him his honorarium for the first quarter. Josh’s report, which was covered in Critic #6, was dedicated to “the breathas and the homies,” insisted on listing his title as Re-Creation Read more...

Burglars hit Hyde Street

Posted 8:28pm Thursday 19th April 2018 by Charlie O’Mannin

Hyde Street resident Sam Gallagher, says he is “pissed” after having a Playstation 4 and an Xbox One stolen from his flat. After “a big night” out on the piss, he got home and went to bed, but couldn’t sleep because he “accidentally drank pre-workout Read more...

Freshers Do Sport, Critic Makes Up Results

Posted 8:24pm Thursday 19th April 2018 by Joel MacManus

The season kicked off last Saturday for the turgid, semi-competitive shambles that is the inter-college sports league. Critic did not send a reporter down to watch any of the games, because if we wanted to watch a whole lot of sweaty freshers yell and bump into each other, we’d just go to Read more...

CCTV Cameras Begin to Roll Out

Posted 8:20pm Thursday 19th April 2018 by Esme Hall

CCTV camera installations are “running a little late” but they have arrived, says a University spokesperson. Two new cameras are now operational. One faces west on Albany Street outside the Link, while the other faces north on Leith St at the corner of St David, which “is kinda Read more...

OUSA Lobby for More Seats on University Council

Posted 8:19pm Thursday 19th April 2018 by Charlie O’Mannin

OUSA have drafted a submission lobbying the government to increase the number of student seats on the University Council. There is only one seat currently reserved for a student, held by the OUSA President. Sam Smith, OUSA Finance Officer, said that only having one student is “not adequate Read more...

By Underpaying RAs, the University is Taking Advantage of its Most Kind-Hearted Students

Posted 8:06pm Thursday 19th April 2018 by Joel MacManus

Editorial: My first year at Otago in a residential college was the worst year of my life. I had left my small school where I had known most of my classmates since childhood, and been transplanted into a hectic mixing pot where I didn’t know anyone and felt like I didn’t fit in. I was Read more...

President’s Pet Fish Murdered in Brutal Homicidal Rampage

Posted 5:47pm Thursday 19th April 2018 by Charlie O’Mannin

OUSA President Caitlin Barlow-Groome has been in mourning this past week after her beloved pet fish were eaten alive by her flatmate’s friend. The gruesome mouthal assault occurred after her flatmate and his friend had been drinking alcohol and perhaps swearing. The friend menacingly plucked Read more...

“Stress and Uncertainty” for Uni Staff Over Job Cuts

Posted 12:45am Friday 13th April 2018 by Esme Hall

The University of Otago has admitted causing “stress and anxiety” after unspecified job cuts were announced, leaving many support staff unsure of their future. The University announced in July last year that 160 equivalent full-time jobs would disappear after the Support Services Read more...

Editorial: Critic Announces Bold New Plan to Make the OUSA Referendum Suck Less

Posted 8:28pm Thursday 12th April 2018 by Joel MacManus

The OUSA Referendum is always boring as shit and no one ever submits any questions. Mostly because it seems like it takes actual time and effort and requires a passion for student politics that most people simply don’t have. The thing is, it’s not that hard to get stuff added to the Read more...

Opinion: Kicking up a Fuss About a Change in Petrol Excise Tax Is a Waste of Time

Posted 8:15pm Thursday 12th April 2018 by Ben Hay-Smith

Anyone who is calling out the current Labour government for lying and turning back on their pre-election promise of “no new taxes” until 2020 is either: An idiot. Arguing semantics to make a minor issue seem larger than it is. When the Labour party promised in the lead-up to Read more...

Wild Dunedin Festival Getting Back to Nature

Posted 8:13pm Thursday 12th April 2018 by Thea Bailie-Bellew

When you first look at the programme for the Wild Dunedin Festival, it’s a little overwhelming to see so many events crammed into only five days. There are express tours to the albatross colony, a wildlife photography exhibition, a penguin kite-building workshop, and documentary viewings, and Read more...

Anonymous Domestic Abuse Support Available on OUSA Website

Posted 8:11pm Thursday 12th April 2018 by Esme Hall

OUSA has introduced access to the Shielded Site Project through its website. Shielded Site is put together by Women’s Refuge New Zealand and is an icon that sits on any website and launches anonymous resources to help those in domestic violence situations. Victims of abuse can access Read more...

OPINION: Postgrads Need to Eat Too

Posted 8:10pm Thursday 12th April 2018 by Chelle Fitzgerald

As a third year student who depends on the student allowance in order to keep my miserable existence in a run-down flat (up a hill no less!), I have been anxiously watching and wondering about Labour’s 2017 election promise to reinstate the postgraduate student allowance. Currently, honours Read more...

BREAKING INVESTIGATIVE REPORT

Posted 8:08pm Thursday 12th April 2018 by Charlie O’Mannin

In recent weeks a sinister Wall has emerged on the bottom floor of the lie-brary, where the computers used to be. The Wall has been painted black, with strange runic symbols daubed in invisible ink, and white plastic, the colour of white, girdles its extremities.  A pair of large double Read more...

Hyde Street to Become Fully Self-Funded After Ticket Price Increase

Posted 8:02pm Thursday 12th April 2018 by Charlie O’Mannin

Ticket prices for the Hyde Street Party are increasing this year as OUSA make the event financially independent. Ticket prices for the average student are going up from $20 to $35, and ticket prices for residents are going from $2 to $5.      OUSA Events Manager Jason Read more...

Students Pay Tribute To Departing Law Dean

Posted 7:59pm Thursday 12th April 2018 by Joel MacManus

Tributes have poured in from current and former Otago University Law Students following Mark Henaghan stepping down as Dean of the Otago Faculty of Law. A Facebook group, “Seeking Mark Henaghan Tributes” was created on April 6 by former students Andrew Row and Harriet Enright, and Read more...

OUSA No Longer Offering Free Flu Jabs

Posted 8:48pm Thursday 5th April 2018 by Thea Bailie-Bellew

OUSA has decided not to give out free flu shots to students this year. As if the fresher flu wasn’t bad enough, now we don’t even have the chance to escape it. Back in 2016, OUSA ran a pilot scheme of 150 free flu vaccinations in order to gauge interest prior to launching a bigger Read more...

OPINION: How Gay Is Gay Enough?

Posted 8:46pm Thursday 5th April 2018 by Sinead Gill

I’m not sure how proud I feel during Pride Week. Let me cover my ass real quick. I’m not saying I’m not proud of the events on offer, or of the people who work tirelessly to put them on. Pride Week 2018 looks cool. I’m just saying that there are still internal conflicts in Read more...

OUSA Battle of the Bands Poster “Culturally Insensitive”

Posted 8:44pm Thursday 5th April 2018 by Joel MacManus

A promotional billboard for the OUSA Battle of the Bands event has been pulled after it sparked controversy for its use of a hodgepodge of cultural symbolism for a seemingly unrelated event. The image shows a person in some sort of traditional headdress from an unspecified South American culture, Read more...

Pride Week is back, bitches!

Posted 8:42pm Thursday 5th April 2018 by Sinead Gill

A cause for celebration! Pride Week is back after its three-year hiatus. And it looks to be a cracker week, boasting an impressive line-up of 17 events over nine days. If you’re worried about missing out on cool stuff because of classes, don’t fear! Some of their events are running Read more...

Critic Offers to Purchase Vic Uni Student Mag Salient for $1500 and a Playstation 2

Posted 8:41pm Thursday 5th April 2018 by Joel MacManus

A recent fire sale at Victoria’s Salient Magazine isn’t solving the real problem, according to Waikato and Otago student magazine editors. Salient Magazine is facing a funding crisis recently after receiving $10,000 less than originally anticipated from Victoria University of Read more...

No Third Gender Option for Otago University Enrolment

Posted 8:39pm Thursday 5th April 2018 by Joel MacManus

There is no gender option other than male or female on University of Otago enrolment forms, something critics say is alienating potential transgender or intersex students. One student, who was interested in enrolling but found there were no options which accurately reflected their gender Read more...

No Non-Binary People Allowed in OUSA Women’s Room

Posted 8:38pm Thursday 5th April 2018 by Esme Hall

OUSA has rejected a request to allow non-binary women to use the OUSA Women’s Room. OUSA’s policy says the Women’s Room in the Union Building is a safe space for women to feel “welcome and free from harassment of any kind”. After a suggestion from Otago Read more...

OUSA Battle of the Bands poster ‘Culturally Insensitive’

Posted 5:16pm Tuesday 27th March 2018 by Joel MacManus

A promotional billboard for the OUSA Battle of the Bands event will be pulled after it sparked controversy for its use of a hodgepodge of cultural symbolism for a seemingly unrelated event.   The image show a person in some sort of traditional headdress from an unspecified South American Read more...

Why I Hope Joseph Parker Loses

Posted 11:21pm Thursday 22nd March 2018 by Charlie Hantler

On April 1 this year, plenty of people will be made to look like fools all over the world, but none more so than the big kiwi, Joseph Parker. He’s almost certainly going to lose to a far better opponent, and I am thrilled about that. Not because of Joseph himself, but because of his piece of Read more...

Comp Sci Students Make Their Own Timetable App Because eVision Sucks

Posted 11:20pm Thursday 22nd March 2018 by Esme Hall

A group of Computer Science students have developed an app called WingIt to alow students to view their eVision timetable on mobile phones. One of the developers, William “your friendly neighbourhood computer nerd” Warren said, “it's 2018 already. What self-respecting Read more...

Free Te Reō Classes Return

Posted 11:18pm Thursday 22nd March 2018 by Charlie O’Mannin

In 2016 Te Roopū Māori, the Otago University Māori Students’ Association, started offering free Te Reo Māori classes. The response was impressive, with the beginners’ class in 2017 peaking at 120 people, most of whom were not Māori. “We were overwhelmed Read more...

A Conspiracy Unmasked

Posted 11:17pm Thursday 22nd March 2018 by Charlie O’Mannin

You woke up this morning ignorant and innocent. The sunshine sunk into your skin like a spoon into a puddle of thick custard, and the world oozed contentment. BUT NOW IT WILL ALL CHANGE. A letter was sent to the OUSA Exec on the 12th of March by brave whistleblower Fiona A. Bowker informing Read more...

OUSA Spent $250 on a Portrait of Sexy Garfield

Posted 11:15pm Thursday 22nd March 2018 by Joel MacManus

$250 of student money was spent by OUSA last year on a 103cm x 78cm, framed portrait of the cartoon cat Garfield wearing pink lingerie, stockings and high heels. The artwork “Lasagnerie” by student Emily Davidson, was featured as a pull out poster in Critic issue 11, 2017, and was Read more...

OUSA Executive Endorse Medical Marijuana

Posted 11:13pm Thursday 22nd March 2018 by Charlie O’Mannin

The OUSA Executive have backed a submission from the Otago Campus Greens on the Government’s new medical marijuana bill. Marijuana, also known as dank weed, the devil’s lettuce, reefer, Chronicles of Narnia, combustible herbargy, buckle truckle, wacky-backy, munt moss, canobinisinis, Read more...

Misleading Maths from the Uni on CCTV Support

Posted 11:10pm Thursday 22nd March 2018 by Esme Hall

The Uni have used some creative statistics to boost the appearance of student support for CCTV cameras which are about to be installed around North Dunedin. A brochure set to be delivered to student mailboxes says that “65% of students who provided feedback to the University said that they Read more...

Opinion: Why Is the OUSA President Making Excuses for the University?

Posted 11:08pm Thursday 22nd March 2018 by Alex McKirdy

In OUSA President Caitlin Barlow-Groome’s recent opinion piece, she discussed how our university has been trying their best at student consultation. Trying something, for sure. Caitlin, you’re doing alright, but the last thing you need to do is make excuses for our university. Take Read more...

Editorial | Boy, the ODT Sure Is Good at Journalism.

Posted 9:41pm Thursday 22nd March 2018 by Joel MacManus

In the Critic office there is a whiteboard which months ago was permanently marked by a reporter on some journalism-related rage. “Fuck the ODT,” they scrawled. Below it someone else came along and wrote, “If you do that your crotch will get dusty”. My favourite thing Read more...

Opinion: Why the fuck weren’t students consulted about sweeping changes to the Humanities Division?

Posted 10:42pm Thursday 15th March 2018 by Sinead Gill

The Pro Vice Chancellor, Professor Tony Ballantyne, has proposed a restructuring of the humanities division. This restructure would result in building shuffles (word on the street is that the Richardson Building is being considered), and the downsizing of humanities from 16 units to 7. These units Read more...

Teams I Hate and Why You Should Hate Them Too: The Golden State Warriors

Posted 10:12pm Thursday 15th March 2018 by Charlie Hantler

Fuck Draymond Green This could very easily be an article in itself. The man sits on stage alongside the likes of Steve Smith, Quade Cooper, Bernard Tomic and Justin Gatlin for the most hateable person in sports, and he probably takes out the prize. Affectionate Warriors ‘fans’ Read more...

Some Law Professors Teach You How To Talk to The Police

Posted 10:09pm Thursday 15th March 2018 by Colin Gavaghan

OUSA’s “UNI 101 2018 Guide to Student Life” advice [put together by Critic] on how to talk to the police includes the following: “Be honest. You’ve been stopped for a reason so lying to the cops won’t do you any favours. Fess up and apologise.” Not Read more...

Student Area Terrorised by Violent, Knife-Wielding Children

Posted 10:06pm Thursday 15th March 2018 by Charlie O’Mannin

Vice-Chancellor Harlene Hayne has slammed the numbers of high school kids attending student parties in North Dunedin, arguing that they cause much of the disorder in the student area. “We have a couple of unwanted visitors at parties, particularly on Castle Street and Hyde Street that are Read more...

Alcohol Crackdown at Physio and Med Flat Crawls

Posted 10:04pm Thursday 15th March 2018 by Esme Hall

The Physiotherapy and Medical Students’ Associations can no longer provide alcohol at their Flat Crawl events in accordance with stringent new University policy. In the past student-organised Flat Crawls have provided alcohol, but this year Students Associations had to ask attendees to Read more...

Hare Krishna $3 Lunch Pumping as Always

Posted 10:02pm Thursday 15th March 2018 by Esme Hall

Queues for the Hare Krishna $3 Lunch have been snaking out the door of OUSA Clubs and Societies Centre every lunchtime since the start of semester. Jane Ma runs the vegan lunch, singing and calling people “sweetheart”. Monday is pasta, Tuesday is veggies and rice, Wednesday is soup Read more...

Why Cricket Is a Better Metaphor for Sex Than Baseball

Posted 10:00pm Thursday 15th March 2018 by Joel MacManus

I recently found myself in a heated debate over the exact definition of the term “third base”. We all know first base is kissing and second base is feeling a boob, but then where does it go from there? Is third base oral, or is it hand-on-genital contact? If hand-on-breast comes under Read more...

Landers Get The Job Done At The Glasshouse

Posted 10:12pm Friday 9th March 2018 by Charlie Hantler

Highlanders 33 (Squire, A. Smith (2), Naholo, Whitelocktries; Sopoaga 4 conversions), Stormers 15 (Van Zyl, Willemse tries; Marais conversion, penalty)     Getting into the third week of the year, the Freshers were starting to Read more...

Critic Interviews Green MP Marama Davidson

Posted 9:56pm Thursday 8th March 2018 by Joel MacManus

Why did you decide it was important that you run for Green Party Co-Leader? It wasn’t the easiest decision, but in the end I felt I was best to maintain our independence, grow our movement, and be transparent for our membership. It’s going to be really important for us as a smaller Read more...

Critic Interviews Green MP Julie Anne Genter

Posted 9:55pm Thursday 8th March 2018 by Jim Eunson

What do you think young people can expect from the Greens in the next few years? They can expect us to keep leading the call for meaningful action on issues like inequality and climate change. Young people will be hit hardest by both if we don’t change course soon. They can also expect us Read more...

Rule Change Means Students No Longer Lose Marks for Helping Others Cheat

Posted 9:52pm Thursday 8th March 2018 by Staff Reporter

New rules around academic misconduct mean that students will no longer lose marks because of misconduct that doesn’t relate to a paper they are enrolled in or isn’t intended to gain them an academic advantage. This means that any cheating which doesn’t directly benefit Read more...

Black Caps Hold Down The Fortress

Posted 9:16pm Thursday 8th March 2018 by Charlie Hantler

New Zealand 339 for 5 (Taylor 181*, Latham 71) beat England 335 for 9 (Bairstow 138, Root 102, Sodhi 4-58) by five wickets   You know those moments in childhood when you’d rock on down to the local dairy and nab a dollar mix, and the feeling you’d get Read more...

Landlord Mike Harbott rented “unliveable” flats, ignored Tenancy Tribunal rulings, and has not paid the ordered compensation

Posted 9:14pm Thursday 8th March 2018 by Charlie O’Mannin

In 2016 eight girls signed a flat with Mike Harbott at 41 Gladstone Road. He told them that the property was being renovated but that the renovations would be complete well before the end of the year. Many of the renovations were not completed. There was no source of heat, no ventilation in the Read more...

Law Camp Cancelled Amidst a Media Frenzy

Posted 6:36pm Thursday 8th March 2018 by Esme Hall

Law Camp was set to take place March 9th to 11th, but in a meeting between Pro-Vice Chancellor for Humanities Tony Ballantyne and the Society of Otago University Law Students (SOULS), the University withdrew support from Law Camp. SOULS said that “without this support” they were Read more...

We Crashed the Prime Minister's Tea Party

Posted 6:33pm Thursday 8th March 2018 by Joel MacManus

Critic often doesn’t get invited to important stuff. Mostly because we aren’t important and no one really likes us. So we decided to start inviting ourselves. We had no idea that Jacinda Ardern was in town, reopening the Dunedin Law Courts and announcing Labour’s Read more...