Archive

Alt-Right Activist Claims “Harassment” from Campus Watch

Posted 11:12pm Thursday 30th August 2018 by Joel MacManus

Otago student Malcolm Moncrief-Spittle is claiming “harassment” from Campus Watch after officers removed a poster he put on a public noticeboard in the Richardson Building. Moncrief-Spittle had put up a number of posters promoting Far-Right activist Lauren Southern’s videos. A Read more...

University to Cut Art History Programme

Posted 11:11pm Thursday 30th August 2018 by Charlie O’Mannin

Students are angry at what they see as the University prioritising profits after the University announced that it is looking to cut the Art History and Visual Culture programme over a continuing decline in the number of students taking the subject.   There has been a 75% decline in Read more...

How to Connect with the Youths, by Otago University

Posted 8:32pm Thursday 30th August 2018 by Joel MacManus

EDITORIAL:  Kids these days are complicated. What with all their tech gadgets and their Fork Knife game and their liberal views, it can be hard to really connect with them. They spend all their time surfing the interwebs, so the number one way to get ‘In Yo Face’ is through their Read more...

Critic and Radio One to Host OUSA Election Debate at UBar

Posted 10:08pm Sunday 19th August 2018 by Charlie O’Mannin

In a move to shock the ages the OUSA Exec have allowed Critic and Radio One to moderate the OUSA elections forums, after last year’s forums, described by Critic Editor Joel MacManus as a “shitshow,” were moderated by then-OUSA President Hugh Baird. Last year’s forums Read more...

Varsity Comes Out Top of Rugby Premiership

Posted 10:07pm Sunday 19th August 2018 by Joel MacManus

The Otago University Rugby Football Club (OURFC) has continued its run as the winningest rugby club in New Zealand, picking up three senior grade championships. The Women’s Senior A team had the strongest season of any senior team in any grade, going undefeated in 10 games, with an average Read more...

Student Start-Up “Ento” Wants to Make Eating Bugs Mainstream

Posted 10:06pm Sunday 19th August 2018 by Sinead Gill

While your flatmates are arguing about dishes and being too loud past 10pm, there is a flat full of students who are working to make the world a more sustainable place. They have started a company called Ento (the Latin word for insect), and they want to make insect consumption mainstream in New Read more...

OUSA Postgrad Officer Resigns Due to “Workload”

Posted 9:23pm Sunday 19th August 2018 by Charlie O’Mannin

Kirio Birks, OUSA Postgraduate Officer, has resigned from his position, citing his other commitments. In his resignation letter, Kirio said, "After reflection on the academic workload in front of me as a student, and the new opportunities I have been presented with, I must make a Read more...

It’s Red Card Season, Comrades!

Posted 8:53pm Sunday 19th August 2018 by Joel MacManus

Welcome to another loosely themed issue of Critic. This week we’re telling you what to think by reviewing a bunch of stuff like carpet, Chinese food, and Vodka Cruisers so that you know what the best stuff is and you don’t have to have any original thoughts or opinions. While Read more...

The Revue Review

Posted 5:35pm Thursday 16th August 2018 by Charlie O’Mannin

Every year a bunch of law students and a bunch of med students get together and try to be funny. Critic reviews how successful they were.   Med Revue Med Revue, despite being punishingly long at well over three hours and punishingly full of puns, wasn’t as shit as I was Read more...

Students Concerned About Enrolment Numbers Increase

Posted 5:18pm Thursday 16th August 2018 by Thea Bailie-Bellew

Some students are worried about space in courses and libraries as the University of Otago announced that its enrolment figures for 2018 show an increase of about 380 equivalent full-time students (EFTS) on 2017. Most these extra students are enrolled in first-year undergraduate programmes and are Read more...

Opinion: The OUSA Exec Needs a Massive Overhaul

Posted 5:01pm Thursday 16th August 2018 by Sam McChesney

Back in the day, the OUSA executive had almost 20 members. They fought a lot and spent lots of money. They were a bit like a pretentious, high-rolling kindergarten. They had positions for everything. They even had two “general reps,” who did…well, nobody really knew what they did. Read more...

Fire Engines Called to Steamy Scenes at Geology Camp

Posted 4:59pm Thursday 16th August 2018 by Esme Hall

Two fire engines were called to an Otago Uni Geology camp in Omaui after shower steam set off the fire alarm. A group of students studying Igneous Petrology and Volcanology were staying at the Omaui YMCA lodge for an exciting weekend of looking at rocks around Bluff. The Read more...

Is Agnew The New Hyde? Not Yet, But It Was Still Pretty Sweet

Posted 4:57pm Thursday 16th August 2018 by Sophia Carter Peters

The Agnew Street party has left its mark on North Dunedin. The self-proclaimed “Hyde’s ugly stepsister,” Angew is the younger generation’s un-ticketed paradise of day-drinking, bass thumping, and regrettable hookups. First and second years travelled across campus, and up a Read more...

Education Minister “Cannot Make a Commitment” to VSM Repeal

Posted 11:38pm Thursday 9th August 2018 by Charlie O’Mannin

Minister for Educations Chris Hipkins has rejected a request to repeal from the New Zealand Union of Students’ Associations (NZUSA) to repeal Voluntary Student Membership, saying he “cannot make a commitment” at this stage. VSM, which was introduced by ACT back when it was Read more...

Police Fail to Catch 4chan Shitposter

Posted 11:37pm Thursday 9th August 2018 by Charlie O’Mannin

The extensive police investigation into the Otago University anonymous shooting threat made in 2015 has reached a dead end, according to a police report released to Stuff and later Critic under the Official information Act.  In October 2015 an anonymous person posted on 4chan, "If Read more...

Third Student Flat Wins Tenancy Payout Against Landlord Mike Harbott

Posted 11:35pm Thursday 9th August 2018 by Charlie O’Mannin

Landlord Mike Harbott, who owns several student flats in the North Dunedin area, has been ordered to pay $4,020 in exemplary damages to the residents of 9 Duke Street for failing to provide smoke alarms, lodge the bond, or provide and maintain the flat in a reasonable state of repair.  This Read more...

Critic Takes Over AskOtago And Makes It Way More Useful

Posted 11:27pm Thursday 9th August 2018 by Joel MacManus

At the start of the semester, the mysterious wall of mystery that mystified the masses on the ground floor of Central Library came down, and the TRUTH was revealed to all. Unfortunately, that TRUTH was really just the Uni coming up with an excuse to lay off a bunch of staff and build some yellow Read more...

OUSA Joins Wā Collective To Provide Discounted Menstrual Cups

Posted 8:23pm Thursday 9th August 2018 by Esme Hall

OUSA has partnered with the Wā Collective to offer affordable menstrual cups to Otago students. The Wā Collective is a kiwi social enterprise that fights period poverty by providing $15 medical grade menstrual cups to students across the country. Menstrual cups are reusable and are worn Read more...

No Change to Number of Selwyn College Returners After Students Fight Back

Posted 8:22pm Thursday 9th August 2018 by Esme Hall

After pressure from students, the Selwyn College Board of Governors has shut down a proposal to reduce the intake of returning second year students at the college for 2019 from over fifty to twenty-five.  The Selwyn College Students’ Association (SCSA) presented their opposition at a Read more...

OPINION: The Mess of Medicinal Marijuana Politics

Posted 8:21pm Thursday 9th August 2018 by Esme Hall

New Zealand now has cross-party support on medicinal marijuana. And 78% of New Zealanders are in favour of legalising medicinal marijuana for pain relief, according to a Drug Foundation research poll. But, no political party is willing to put their name to another party’s Bill on the issue. Read more...

OUSA Grants Funding Runs Out

Posted 8:19pm Thursday 9th August 2018 by Sinead Gill

As of last week, the OUSA grant budget has run out of money early, with just over $3400 left out of an initial pool of $80,000, according to OUSA Recreation Officer Josh Smythe.  OUSA grants are typically available throughout the year for groups or individuals who need money. This can range Read more...

Unprecedented Demand for Beer Festival Tickets

Posted 8:14pm Thursday 9th August 2018 by Joel MacManus

The Dunedin Craft Beer and Food Festival sold out of tickets in a record three minutes after going on sale last Friday. The OUSA-owned festival, which is scheduled for November 10, made 6000 tickets available. 2000 were made available to email subscribers on Wednesday August 1, which sold out in Read more...

Why We Need Landlord Licensing

Posted 8:10pm Thursday 9th August 2018 by Joel MacManus

EDITORIAL: In issue three of Critic this year we labelled Mike Harbott as “Dunedin’s Dodgiest Landlord” after he rented unliveable flats, ignored Tenancy Tribunal orders to make repairs, and failed to pay thousands of dollars of compensation.  Adding to that, he threatened Read more...

By Refusing to Ban Tickets, OUSA Exec Turned Their Back on Students to Serve Themselves

Posted 8:00pm Thursday 2nd August 2018 by Joel MacManus

OPINION: What’s the word for when politicians rig the system against the will of the people to keep themselves in power? Because maybe someone should teach it to the baby politicians on the OUSA Executive. In this year’s OUSA referendum, students voted to ban people from running on Read more...

The Otago Uni Student Swimming the Foveaux Strait

Posted 7:48pm Thursday 2nd August 2018 by Esme Hall

Hannah Morgan is a swimmer. Not a ‘yes I swim laps at Moana Pool every now and then’ kind of swimmer. She’s an open ocean swimmer and, in February next year, she’s going to swim the Foveaux Strait. You know, that shark-infested stretch of sub-Antarctic water separating the Read more...

OUSA Fighting for Increase to RA Pay

Posted 7:44pm Thursday 2nd August 2018 by Charlie O’Mannin

OUSA is currently lobbying the University to increase pay for RAs after 85% of students in the recent OUSA referendum said that they wanted RA’s pay to entirely cover their accommodation costs. Currently, after their pay is deducted, an RA at a University-owned college still has to pay Read more...

Microwave Reinstated in Women’s Room After Two-Year Struggle

Posted 7:43pm Thursday 2nd August 2018 by Esme Hall

In the most important news Critic breaks this week: a microwave has been reinstated in the Women’s Room on a trial basis after a two-year struggle, although the University said the microwave will be removed again if people revert to the dangerous behaviour of leaving their cooking Read more...

International Students Feel Like The University’s ATM

Posted 7:40pm Thursday 2nd August 2018 by Umi Asaka

OPINION:  International students pay far more for their fees than domestic students, and, because there is no cap on how much the university can increase international fees, that amount only keeps going up every year for most of the departments.  On average, international Read more...

Can We Stop with the Double Standards on Gendered Spaces?

Posted 7:21pm Thursday 2nd August 2018 by Esme Hall

OPINION: Recently, the Women’s+ Club was affiliated by OUSA, despite specifically excluding membership for cis-gender males. Last semester, Men in Med, a social and emotional support group for male medical students, was shut down for being ‘too exclusive’. By the same logic, one Read more...

Power Use Overloads Infrastructure During Free Hour of Power

Posted 7:18pm Thursday 2nd August 2018 by Charlie O’Mannin

Students have been left “frustrated” after repeated power cuts in the student quarter due to system overloads during Electric Kiwi’s Hour of Power.  For the first few weeks of semester two, power use has been so high during the Hour of Power that Dundas Street, as well as Read more...

Diversity Week Was Cool

Posted 7:14pm Thursday 2nd August 2018 by Sinead Gill

Diversity Week is an annual campaign by OUSA Queer Support and student volunteers to increase visibility and awareness of sexuality and gender diversity, and provides a platform for experts and students to educate each other on issues that the LGBTQIA+ community faces.  The week started with Read more...

ART: The Big Friendly Giant

Posted 7:05pm Thursday 2nd August 2018 by Jessica Thompson Carr

GUEST EDITORIAL:  Art is daunting. Art is broad. Art is the big friendly giant who wakes you up in the middle of the night to give you a good fright, but turns out to be your best friend who takes you on adventures.  I am not going to go on with more ideas on what art is because Read more...

New Plan for Suicide Prevention at Otago University

Posted 3:41pm Friday 27th July 2018 by Esme Hall

TRIGGER WARNING: contains discussion of suicide     The University is currently operating with no specific suicide prevention or postvention policy, though a new plan hopes to bring together existing efforts in an over-arching system.  While some students that Critic Read more...

Women’s+ Club Causes Controversy Over Cis Male Exclusion

Posted 6:39pm Thursday 26th July 2018 by Charlie O’Mannin

The Women’s+ Club has been affiliated to OUSA despite controversy about its policy of excluding cis men from membership.  Members of the OUSA executive raised concerns with the group in an exec meeting, as it would be the only group affiliated with OUSA that excludes membership to a Read more...

Man Flown the Coop! Critic Cracks the Case and Gets Another Feather in Its Cap

Posted 6:37pm Thursday 26th July 2018 by Charlie O’Mannin

The system has failed us. The masked person who ran naked into a first year health sci lecture and released a live rooster before running out again is still at large. A university spokesperson told Critic when we asked if the Proctor’s office had caught him yet, “No. Unable to identify Read more...

NZUSA Begging for Cash

Posted 6:35pm Thursday 26th July 2018 by Esme Hall

In the latest instalment of the New Zealand Union of Students’ Association's dire financial situation, the association has started asking alumni for donations.  NZUSA President Jonathan Gee said in an email requesting money that the organisation is at a “financial and Read more...

Sold Down the River

Posted 6:34pm Thursday 26th July 2018 by Chelle Fitzgerald

As the clock tolled 1pm, the winds were quiescent across the soon-to-be tainted Leith river. Several hundred* protesters craned their necks as Charlie O’Mannin, a self-professed “Beleither” and part-time activist, took his place on the centre of the creeping iron bridge. Wearing Read more...

Lack of Health Cover for International Students "Unfair"

Posted 6:33pm Thursday 26th July 2018 by Sinead Gill

International students are not covered for the same health issues as domestic students are, despite paying high rates for insurance, with many labelling the system as unfair.  The insurance plan that Otago automatically enrols international students into  - Studentsafe University - Read more...

Advocates Push for Flatmate Violence to be Recognised as Domestic Violence

Posted 6:31pm Thursday 26th July 2018 by Joel MacManus

Flatmate violence is being treated as less serious than family or domestic violence by the police and the courts, despite there being no legal difference, according to lawyers at Community Law Otago. According to Caryl O’Connor, Managing Solicitor of Community Law Otago, the courts are Read more...

10Bar to Rebrand, Add Door Charge

Posted 6:30pm Thursday 26th July 2018 by Sophia Carter Peters

Popular nightclub 10Bar will be rebranding in 2019 to “change the club scene for the better”.  Owner and manager of Vault21, Andre Shi, said he’s looking to revamp the student hub in the Octagon and hopefully contribute to a more positive student image.  He’s Read more...

It’s Not Clifford the Regular-Sized Red Dog

Posted 6:28pm Thursday 26th July 2018 by Joel MacManus

EDITORIAL: Clifford the Big Red Dog is my absolute number one favourite after-school children’s cartoon TV show of the early 2000s. I would even make the bold call of arguing that it was better than the books.  For one, Clifford could talk in the TV series, meaning he actually had a Read more...

Why Students Struggle to Hold Their Landlords to Account, Even After Winning at The Tenancy Tribunal

Posted 8:14pm Thursday 19th July 2018 by Esme Hall

The Tenancy Tribunal is like a court you go to to resolve issues with your landlord when normal communication has failed. But, even after successful Tribunal rulings, some students are struggling to get justice. Esme Hall reports.      Victoria’s current flat is Read more...

Dunedin Wildlife Hospital Denied Funding from the Otago Regional Council

Posted 8:08pm Thursday 19th July 2018 by Charlie O’Mannin

The Dunedin Wildlife Hospital is still going strong despite the Otago Regional Council (ORC) recently denying them funding. The hospital, which opened its doors in January 2018, has seen much higher demand than initially expected. The hospital’s co-chair, Steve Walker, told Critic that they Read more...

Cock Throws Cluckin Foul Play Before Winging It After Running Afowl of Egg-thority

Posted 8:07pm Thursday 19th July 2018 by Charlie O’Mannin

The Friday before last, a naked man wearing a mask ran into Castle 1 during a first year health sci lecture and threw a live rooster into the seats before running out.  The lecturer tried to remove the rooster, but according to one student, the rooster “wasn’t having any of it so Read more...

How to Park for Free on Campus: A Critic Investigation

Posted 8:04pm Thursday 19th July 2018 by Sinead Gill

Parking for free where you shouldn’t be is not without its risks, but here are some helpful tips the next time you can’t be bothered getting out of bed at 8am for an early bird freebie park. Tips are ranked according to a very scientific risk-to-reward analysis. 5. The one-hour park Read more...

OPINION: The Otago Regional Council Are Trying to Ruin the Leith

Posted 8:02pm Thursday 19th July 2018 by Charlie O’Mannin

The Otago Regional Council have unveiled plans to drastically remodel the lower Leith, from the Clyde Street bridge to the stadium. THIS IS A TRAVESTY. The designs, which have been approved by the ORC, represent the complete destruction of everything good and pure in our world.  The Read more...

Tenants Still Waiting for Landlords to Meet Healthy Homes Requirements

Posted 7:59pm Thursday 19th July 2018 by Esme Hall

From July 2019, rental accommodation must meet minimum standards for heating, insulation and ventilation, in accordance with a recent act passed by the government. But, a new survey has found that, a year out, almost 60% of landlords have done nothing to prepare for the changes. The HRV State of Read more...

Have You Got a Dodgy Landlord?

Posted 7:24pm Thursday 19th July 2018 by Joel MacManus

Editorial: We’re getting to that time of year where everyone is starting to think about next year’s flatting.   That is, unless you’re an idiot fresher who signed a flat in April, paid way too much, and have already had a falling out with the former “best Read more...

Gina Crampton

Posted 7:20pm Thursday 19th July 2018 by Charlie Hantler

Southern Steel Wing Attack/Centre Gina Crampton came to Dunedin to study P.E. in 2010 and made her way into the Southern Steel as a replacement player in 2012.  Crampton set herself apart with her speed, drive off the line, and feeding ability to solidify her position in the Steel’s Read more...

Selwyn College Ends ‘Sexist and Bullying’ Tradition

Posted 5:58pm Thursday 19th July 2018 by Charlie O’Mannin

Selwyn College has shut down its controversial tradition of second years secretly voting on and publicly awarding nicknames to freshers at their AGM after previous recipients accused the awards of being “sexist and bullying”. Among the awards were “best rack,” “awkward Read more...

OPINION: Is It Just Me Or Was Re-Ori Kinda Shit This Year

Posted 7:07pm Thursday 12th July 2018 by Bryn Massey

Am I just an ancient out-dated old-timer refusing to let go? No, no it is the kids who have gotten boring.  What happened to Re-O Week? Isn’t it supposed to be second semester’s version of O-Week or is the name just for fun? I'm not saying Mario Kart isn’t neat, or the Read more...

Stop playing Beer Pong with water.

Posted 7:02pm Thursday 12th July 2018 by Joel MacManus

EDITORIAL: It’s a new semester in the wonderful world of North D. The clouds are out, the frost is on the ground, and the rain glitters on the footpath. All is good in our peaceful corner of the world.  The new semester also brings with it a fresh batch of exchange students to Read more...

Student Associations Left Out in the Cold After NZUSA Stops Support

Posted 6:52pm Thursday 12th July 2018 by Sinead Gill

The University of Canterbury branch of the student sexual violence campaign Thursdays in Black (TiB) say they were left without support and several hundreds of dollars out of pocket after a sexual harassment scandal ended NZUSA’s TiB campaign.  Critic reported last week that a Read more...

Cumberland College Head to Leave

Posted 6:50pm Thursday 12th July 2018 by Sophia Carter Peters

Cumberland College staple and former head, Nick Bates is taking temporary leave to act as interim Head of Student Experience for the University of Otago. This came as quite a shock to both current and past residents. One resident said, “I’m devastated aye,” and that mentality was Read more...

Knox Church Hails Jacinda Ardern as Incarnation of God on Earth

Posted 6:33pm Thursday 12th July 2018 by Charlie O’Mannin

In a move that probably should have caused more controversy, Knox Presbyterian Church has confirmed New Zealand’s Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern as God, the supreme being.  The church recently wrote “May Neve and all God’s children flourish!” on their blackboard facing Read more...

OUSA Trials Free Food Fridays

Posted 6:29pm Thursday 12th July 2018 by Thea Bailie-Bellew

Forget dumpster diving: OUSA is now looking at giving away edible leftovers as free meals to minimise the amount of food waste produced by residential colleges. A trial run in early June saw students queuing for fifteen minutes for eighty frozen meals saved from UniCol kitchens over two weeks. Read more...

OUSA’s Charity Fight Night Punches Off

Posted 6:28pm Thursday 12th July 2018 by Esme Hall

26 brave (or maybe stupid) students, including OUSA President Caitlin Barlow-Groome, trained for two months and raised thousands of dollars for charity to fight each other in OUSA’s inaugural Charity Fight Night. The goal was to make a “flashy high production new event,” said Read more...

How the OUSA Exec Are Doing

Posted 6:25pm Thursday 12th July 2018 by Charlie O’Mannin

In a move that shocked the world to its core, the latest OUSA exec reports were even more boring than first semester. So instead of covering the reports, we’re just going to give you a general update on how the exec are doing based on our half-awake observations.    Caitlin Read more...

OUSA Rejects Re-Affiliation of “Cult”

Posted 6:23pm Thursday 12th July 2018 by Charlie O’Mannin

The OUSA Executive have rejected a proposal to affiliate a club on the grounds that the club is simply a rehash of a previous club that was disaffiliated in 2017 for “bringing OUSA into disrepute, ignoring OUSA directives and breaching [OUSA’s] constitution”. In 2017, the Elohim Read more...

Critic Reviews The World Cup

Posted 5:40pm Thursday 12th July 2018 by Charlie Hantler

By the time of publishing, all of the English fans will finally have shut the fuck up, as football is not coming home. Harry Kane will continue to be a mouth-breathing peasant, Jordan Henderson will be back to being robbed on a daily basis in Liverpool, and Neymar will almost have finished rolling Read more...

Campaign To Repeal Voluntary Student Membership Starts

Posted 10:18pm Thursday 5th July 2018 by Charlie O’Mannin

The New Zealand Union of Students’ Associations (NZUSA) has begun a behind-the-scenes campaign to repeal Voluntary Student Membership (VSM), offering the greatest hope for reversing the controversial policy, which has been responsible for gutting students’ associations across the country Read more...

OUSA International Officer Wins at NZ Youth Awards

Posted 10:17pm Thursday 5th July 2018 by Staff Reporter

Umi Asaka, OUSA International Officer, was one of three recipients of the Inclusion and Diversity Award at the NZ Youth Awards last week.  Described as a “social justice warrior,” Umi Asaka was credited for actively challenging societal perceptions of what young people with Read more...

University Rolling out Sanitary Bins to All Female Toilet Cubicles After Low-Effort Critic Investigation

Posted 10:15pm Thursday 5th July 2018 by Charlie O’Mannin

The University are putting sanitary bins in every female toilet cubicle after Critic pointed out that Property Services Division Director Barry MacKay’s statement that, “Every female toilet cubicle has a sanitary bin” was false; Critic had a little wander around and found 25 female Read more...

OPINION: Otago University’s Hunt for the Loch Ness Monster was Embarrassing and Expensive

Posted 10:14pm Thursday 5th July 2018 by Joel MacManus

While we were away, Otago University Professor Neil Gemmell spent most of June searching through the depths of Loch Ness looking for evidence of a monster. I’m going to take a wild punt here and say he didn’t find one.  While he was doing this, the University’s Read more...

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...