Archive
Online Mental Health Project set to Launch
Posted 3:28pm Sunday 1st August 2021 by Susana Jones
The Uni is set to roll out a ‘Caring Universities Aotearoa’ project sometime within the next couple of weeks. The project aims to improve the mental health of University students, and involves the provision of e-health apps. The e-health apps will provide access to online cognitive Read more...
Medical Extension Rules Debated
Posted 3:24pm Sunday 1st August 2021 by Mehara Salpadoru
A new policy is being discussed that would enable students to have up to a week-long extension without presenting a medical certificate, a source from a faculty meeting at Victoria University revealed to Critic. It's not unusual to see Student Health waitlists look like the Night Read more...
No Aotearoa in Mustang World
Posted 3:16pm Sunday 1st August 2021 by Fox Meyer
Wax Mustang’s Re-O performance featured a spinning globe backdrop, which appeared to be missing a certain eastern Australian state. A Critic reporter attended the gig and spotted the apparent error. The globe was see-thru and rotating, so that you could see the continents facing you as well Read more...
Trans Rights Picnic Dwarfs TERF Meeting
Posted 3:12pm Sunday 1st August 2021 by Erin Gourley
The trans rights festival in protest of the Speak Up For Women (SUFW) meeting at the Dunedin Town Hall ended up dwarfing the original event, with around 350 attendees outside the Town Hall on Saturday 24 July. The Ōtepoti Festival for Trans Rights and Liberation, organised by Environmental Read more...
Queer Space Finally Opens, Students Say It’s “Pretty Cool”
Posted 3:09pm Sunday 1st August 2021 by Erin Gourley
The queer space officially opened on Friday 23 June, after a blessing. This was followed by a speech from OUSA President Michaela Waite-Harvey. The space is located on the second floor of the Union building, opposite the Terrace Lounge. It has a microwave, a mini-fridge covered with The Office Read more...
Dunedin Hospital Doesn’t Want to Watch Haywardians Shag
Posted 1:32am Saturday 31st July 2021 by Fox Meyer
The Paediatric wing of Dunedin Hospital has clear views into Hayward College. Disaster was inevitable. A request from the Children’s Unit at Dunedin Hospital called for Hayward residents to “please close your curtains,” especially during “certain naked activities at Read more...
Free Scooters for Jabs
Posted 1:29am Saturday 31st July 2021 by Denzel Chung
E-scooter operator Neuron announced that they will offer 10,000 $10 vouchers to people wanting to scooter to their Covid-19 vaccination appointments. They’re encouraging everyone eligible to take them up on the offer, including over-60s. Beginning from July 30, people who have the Read more...
Six60 Goes Landlord
Posted 1:26am Saturday 31st July 2021 by Fox Meyer
Six60 have bought their old flat and will be renting it out to Performing Arts students. The four new tenants each year will receive a $10,000 scholarship and mentorship from the band. Official numbers on rent weren’t clear, but current tenants pay $205 each per week. The flat is Read more...
“No Real Ethical Issues” to Having Jaws Clamped Shut, Said Otago Researchers
Posted 1:24am Saturday 31st July 2021 by Denzel Chung
The Otago-led research team behind the ‘DentalSlim Diet Control Device’, a magnetised jaw clamp that prevents people from eating solid food, claimed in their ethics committee application that their product would have “no real ethical issues” and presents “no significant Read more...
Free Scooters for Jabs
Posted 8:52pm Thursday 29th July 2021 by Denzel Chung
E-scooter operator Neuron announced that they will offer 10,000 $10 vouchers to people wanting to scooter to their Covid-19 vaccination appointments. They’re encouraging everyone eligible to take them up on the offer, including over-60s. Beginning from July 30, people who have the Neuron Read more...
Government Finalises Tertiary Pastoral Care Code
Posted 4:24pm Sunday 25th July 2021 by Alex Leckie-Zaharic
After a lengthy submission period, the Government has finally wrapped up their tertiary pastoral care code, called the Education (Pastoral Care of Tertiary and International Leaners) Code of Practice 2021. They now expect compliance from tertiary institutions throughout New Zealand. While there Read more...
Students Join Kate Bush Cult
Posted 4:14pm Sunday 25th July 2021 by Asia Martusia King
A Kate Bush flash mob, held in the Octagon on Saturday 17 July, was described as “euphoric” by student attendees. The Most Wuthering Heights Day Ever is an event held at locations around the world, where participants recreate the music video for musician Kate Bush's 1978 song Read more...
3000 Holy Sausages Distributed
Posted 4:11pm Sunday 25th July 2021 by Denzel Chung
You know what they say: Give a man a sausage, he eats for a day. Teach a man to grill, and he’ll love Jesus for life. A group of young people from Dunedin churches — mostly students — handed out an estimated 3,000 sausages and 1,000 hash browns, free-of-charge, over Re-O Read more...
Silverline Draws Criticism
Posted 4:01pm Sunday 25th July 2021 by Denzel Chung
A student who attended the Silverline Festival is accusing organisers of not providing enough mental health support for attendees, but Silverline say feedback from their event was overwhelmingly positive. Last week, Critic Te Arohi reported that the event cost $26,000. The student reached out Read more...
Fire in the Link Last Sunday
Posted 3:53pm Sunday 25th July 2021 by Runze Liu
New Zealand Police and Fire and Emergency New Zealand (FENZ) are investigating a fire that occurred in a rubbish bin in the Information Services Building at around 8pm last Sunday 18 July. According to FENZ, the bin in the female bathrooms on the Cumberland St side of the Link caught fire, Read more...
Students Angriest on Sunday, According to AskOtago Data
Posted 3:46pm Sunday 25th July 2021 by Erin Gourley
Data released to Critic under the Official Information Act shows that the smiley faces at AskOtago mostly receive dark green, very happy responses, but on Sundays the number of dark red, very angry responses skyrockets. Critic requested the data from the AskOtago smiley kiosks for March Read more...
Farmers Really Wanted Students To Care About Their Protest
Posted 3:28pm Sunday 25th July 2021 by Denzel Chung
Nearly 700 tractors, utes and four-wheel drives passed through the heart of Studentville two weeks ago, participating in Aotearoa’s largest farmer-led protest — and those behind the wheels had many hot-takes to offer to a mostly oblivious student community. Students accosted on Read more...
No Fines for Lawn Litter
Posted 3:23pm Sunday 25th July 2021 by Fox Meyer
A proposed change to the Code of Conduct would have made it possible for the Uni to fine you for having a littered front lawn. The University didn’t go through with that change after receiving negative feedback from students, releasing their response on 10 July. Ultimately, the University Read more...
No Backpay for Offshore PhD Students
Posted 3:19pm Sunday 25th July 2021 by Fox Meyer
Remote PhD students will not be receiving a stipend from the University, even with a scholarship. 89 students have commenced their PhD at Otago remotely since the pandemic began. 13 have managed to enter New Zealand, and only seven of those students will be receiving a monthly stipend, according Read more...
@OtagoUniStudAss: The OUSA Twitter Account that May or May Not Be Official
Posted 4:00pm Sunday 18th July 2021 by Erin Gourley
OUSA have an old Twitter account. Or do they? The handle is OtagoUniStudAss, a joke so bad that it seems like Critic came up with it. There are fifteen tweets in total. The profile picture is someone jumping on a roof at the Hyde Street Party. They posted a photo of a burning couch in Read more...
Catering Waste Thrown in Tips
Posted 3:07pm Sunday 18th July 2021 by Alex Leckie-Zaharic
Thanks to a tip-off from a student, Critic now knows what happens to extra food from University-catered events. A concerned student asked us to look into the apparent waste of food at University events. They reached out after they witnessed staff loading crates with uneaten food, apparently to be Read more...
OUSA Elections Coming Up Soon
Posted 3:05pm Sunday 18th July 2021 by Alex Leckie-Zaharic
Nominations will open on August 4 for the ten positions available on the OUSA Executive. The Exec brought the dates forward from their usual September date for elections in their Exec meeting last Monday, in order to have a larger overlap between the new Exec and the old Exec. The students Read more...
Queer Space Will Open On Friday
Posted 2:58pm Sunday 18th July 2021 by Elliot Weir
After almost three years of planning, delays, and bureaucratic hurdles, an official opening of the Campus Queer Space has been announced by OUSA for 23 of July at 10.30am. The space, which is located near the terrace lounge (upstairs from the link), includes furniture, decorations, and Read more...
Chlöe Swarbrick Proves A Hit At Re-O Clubs Day
Posted 2:56pm Sunday 18th July 2021 by Alex Leckie-Zaharic
The Young Greens had the most success, of all the youth political parties, of recruiting people to join them at Clubs Day. It’s that time of year when clubs desperately attempt to get students to bolster their sometimes meagre ranks. The “young” branches of the political Read more...
Otago Students Apparently Doing Great
Posted 2:53pm Sunday 18th July 2021 by Fox Meyer
Otago Uni topped the charts in three of four “key indicators” of success at New Zealand universities, according to the annual ranking published by the Tertiary Education Commission. We had the best rates of qualification completion, first year retention, and progression. People Read more...
Is Living in A Twin Room Hell?
Posted 2:47pm Sunday 18th July 2021 by Erin Gourley
Living in a twin room might seem like your worst nightmare, but you do save a lot of money compared with the usual price of living in one of Otago’s residential colleges. “I can’t image paying full price,” said Carolina*, who lives in a twin room in Aquinas. She only Read more...
Otago Not Surprised At Auckland Abandoning NZUSA
Posted 2:44pm Sunday 18th July 2021 by Runze Liu
Otago Uni Students’ Association (OUSA) is unsurprised that Auckland Uni Students’ Association (AUSA) is giving 12 months’ notice to leave the New Zealand Union of Students’ Association (NZUSA). OUSA President Michaela Waite-Harvey stated this is “not a shocking turn Read more...
What’s (Still) Wrong with Freshers?
Posted 2:37pm Sunday 18th July 2021 by Fox Meyer
Six months ago, we asked O-Week freshers what the biggest problem in their life was. Most of them said that their biggest problems were making friends, missing family, or other social issues. Critic hit up the line outside Union Hall on 14 July to check back in, and see if anything had changed. One Read more...
Student Volunteers Prop Up Science Festival
Posted 2:29pm Sunday 18th July 2021 by Asia Martusia King
The vast majority of volunteers at the New Zealand International Science Festival were students. The festival, which took place from 8 to 18 of July, saw a total number of 92 volunteers. Volunteer Coordinator Hannah says that around 80% of these were studying at Otago University. This is Read more...
No Arrests After Rugby
Posted 2:26pm Sunday 18th July 2021 by Fox Meyer
Nobody was arrested at the stadium following the All Blacks vs Fiji game on Saturday, 10 July. Great job, everyone. There were still some dickheads, though. A statement from the Police said that “several people” had to be removed from the stadium by staff or officers for “poor Read more...
Landlord Fails to Make Tenants Pay for Lockdown Freezer Leak
Posted 2:25pm Sunday 18th July 2021 by Denzel Chung
A North Dunedin landlord discovered damage to a flat during last year’s lockdown and unsuccessfully took the tenants to the Tenancy Tribunal for $1800. The tenants, who were granted name suppression by the Tribunal, were not even at the flat at the time of the damage. The landlord Read more...
$26,000 For Silverline Mental Health Festival
Posted 2:16pm Sunday 18th July 2021 by Denzel Chung
Silverline, a student-led mental health advocacy group, spent $26,000 on a two-day festival centred around mental health. They are optimistic about the level of student engagement that the festival received. The 2021 Silverline Festival was held at the St David Complex on 21-22 May this year. Read more...
Counterprotestor Injured at Groundswell Protest is “Disappointed” in Behaviour
Posted 5:43pm Friday 16th July 2021 by Oscar Francis
The Dunedin woman whose sign reading “NO FARMING ON A DEAD PLANET” was ripped from her hands by a Groundswell protester says she is “disappointed in their behaviour”. Groundswell Convenor Bryce McKenzie claims Groundswell is "not responsible". The Read more...
OUSA Finds Flaws in Government Drug Testing Policy
Posted 11:15am Tuesday 13th July 2021 by Alex Leckie-Zaharic
OUSA wasted no time in giving feedback on the Government’s new Drug and Substance Checking Legislation Bill, hoping to make the bill less likely to screw students over. The submission, prepared by OUSA Political Rep Mhairi Mackenzie Everitt, outlines OUSA’s history with drug Read more...
Traffic Goes Up 50% When Students Return
Posted 11:12am Tuesday 13th July 2021 by Quintin Jane
Traffic was almost 50% up on State Highway One as students poured in for the start of the term. Radio One reported that 8,068 vehicles sputtered along SH1 by Kilmog Hill on Friday the 19th of February, the day before O Week began at the start of the year. This is 43% higher than the 2020 Read more...
Lime Scooters Hoon Out of Dunedin
Posted 11:09am Tuesday 13th July 2021 by Alex Leckie-Zaharic
Citing “careful consideration” and the “weighing up [of] many factors”, Lime has decided to retreat from Dunedin. But anyone with half a brain knows that the real reason because we threw so many of their scooters in the Leith. Lime is a self-proclaimed “global Read more...
Police Target Otago Students With More Breathalysers
Posted 11:04am Tuesday 13th July 2021 by Erin Gourley
Otago students will be targeted for drink driving in a new police campaign, the Campus Cop has warned. This is a big PSA that there will be more breathalyser stops on the streets around campus, starting from Re-O Week. The new campaign will see cop stops with breathalysers stationed around North Read more...
The Exec Did Stuff and Wrote About It, Now Read About Us Reading About It
Posted 11:00am Tuesday 13th July 2021 by Fox Meyer
Nobody set the minimum page count of the Exec’s second quarterly reports of 2021 at seven pages, but they chose to write that much, anyway. We read through all of them to let you know who’s doing what. Points were given exclusively for brevity, because that’s the only thing we can Read more...
Wife Guy, Luthier, Doctor, Dean: Meet Your New Vice-Chancellor, David Murdoch
Posted 10:53am Tuesday 13th July 2021 by Erin Gourley
Professor David Murdoch has many hats on his plate to juggle. He’s still working in clinical practice for the Canterbury DHB, and he’s still the Dean of Otago’s Christchurch Campus. He’s a pathologist, a career that has recently become very relevant and interesting Read more...
Police Target Otago Students With More Breathalysers
Posted 2:29pm Thursday 1st July 2021 by Erin Gourley
Otago students will be targeted for drink driving in a new police campaign, the Campus Cop has warned. This is a big PSA that there will be more breathalyser stops on the streets around campus, starting from Re-O Week. The new campaign will see cop stops with breathalysers around North Read more...
Centre City New World Allegedly Denied Leave Requests for Exams
Posted 1:09pm Friday 18th June 2021 by Denzel Chung
Dunedin's Centre City New World denied students’ requests for leave to sit exams, according to a student working at the supermarket. The supermarket owner denies this claim. An employee had applied for leave three weeks in advance for a University exam, said an anonymous student Read more...
The Spat Behind Music for the People’s Relocation from New New New
Posted 1:47pm Friday 11th June 2021 by Oscar Francis
A very public falling-out between a venue owner and a local artist on Facebook has seen Starters stepping up to the plate to save the Music for the People gig, which is taking place this weekend. Person Will, Music for the People’s organiser, put New New New founder Ian McKinlay on blast in Read more...
Shosha Selling Cream Canisters Again, Now With Paperwork
Posted 4:52pm Wednesday 9th June 2021 by Erin Gourley
Shosha has started selling cream canisters again, after removing the product from their shelves on 16 May due to concerns about recreational use. The vape store has put measures in place to make sure that their customers are using them for “hospitality/baking/catering purposes” Read more...
Fees Increase for International Students Despite Protest
Posted 5:33pm Tuesday 8th June 2021 by Erin Gourley
70 students showed up to the University Council meeting today in protest of raising international student fees, but the University Council voted to raise the fees anyway. The Council will raise the fees in a new way. For international students returning to Otago, their fees will be Read more...
University RAGE at Heavy Handed Government Policies, Polite Bureaucrat-Speak Mask Comes OFF to Reveal COMPLETE BREAKDOWN of Relationships at Education Coalface
Posted 5:02pm Sunday 30th May 2021 by Alex Leckie-Zaharic
Last week Critic wrote about OUSA’s submission on the Government’s new policy around tertiary students, and the gist was that while they liked the vibe, they didn’t like the details. The Uni seem to agree, saying that the Code is “eminently sensible” but also has a lot Read more...
Yikes! Blood Donations Still Restricted for Trans Women and Gay Men
Posted 5:00pm Sunday 30th May 2021 by Erin Gourley
The New Zealand Blood Service are "planning a review" of their approach to gay and transgender donors. A trans student at Otago, who was a frequent plasma donor before they transitioned, said that “it's just fucked at the moment.” Another student noted that the Read more...
A SORDID TALE OF SQUALOR: Landlord Binned Bottle Collection … Or Did He?
Posted 4:57pm Sunday 30th May 2021 by Denzel Chung
A student had their bottle collection wrecked by a landlord who “did not believe they were still on the property at the time,” according to a Tenancy Tribunal ruling. Their landlord has hit back, saying “the Tribunal has got it half-right”. Louis’ tenancy for Read more...
“I’ve changed,” Sobs Veggie Boy in Teary Tell All Interview
Posted 4:54pm Sunday 30th May 2021 by Fox Meyer
The cheapest coffee in town will now cost more than a coin, as Veggie Boys raises its price by a dollar. A regular is now $3, and a large comes in at $4. The price increase comes during a change of management. Supreet, the new manager at Veggie Boys, told Radio One that the previous owners Read more...
Peace-loving Professor Pans Parliamentarian for Lukewarm Take on KILLER ROBOTS
Posted 4:51pm Sunday 30th May 2021 by Adam Currie
Last Wednesday, Hon Phil Twyford gave a lecture on disarmament in Archway Two. It was mostly attended by politics nerds and mature students. Twyford is the Government's Minister of Disarmament and Arms Control. Twyford spent most of the time talking about his work to stop “killer Read more...
National Coordinator of Thursdays in Black: SHOCK RESIGNATION
Posted 4:49pm Sunday 30th May 2021 by Erin Gourley
The Coordinator of Thursdays in Black Aotearoa, Jahla Tran-Lawrence, has resigned. Thursdays in Black Aotearoa will have a by-election on 17 June to find a new leader. Thursdays in Black is a student-run campaign that aims to prevent and respond to sexual harm in universities and polytechs in Read more...
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