Archive

Opinion Piece: On The Upcoming OUSA Referendum

Posted 11:13am Sunday 28th May 2017 by Sam McChesney

A few years back, when the government was pushing through Voluntary Student Membership (VSM), students’ associations across the country were being slammed as leftwing fringe groups. Students’ associations, it was claimed, had no business making political statements on behalf of students Read more...

Students Outnumbered By Pizzas at OUSA Student Forum

Posted 10:57am Sunday 28th May 2017 by Joe Higham

OUSA’s annual Student Forum took place on Monday 22nd May, providing a chance for students to ask questions in relation to the 11 questions included in the upcoming referendum, due to begin from 9am on 29 May. The event is notoriously poorly attended, and this year saw even the amount of Read more...

Announcement of Financial Help for Students Not All It Seems for Dunedin

Posted 10:54am Sunday 28th May 2017 by Joel MacManus

Students in financial trouble may breathe a slight sigh of relief after the changes announced in the 2017 Budget, although little help is on the way for those studying in Dunedin. Minister for Finance Steve Joyce announced a $20 per week increase in the accommodation supplement for those on Student Read more...

CompSci pips Biology for hardest subject at Uni

Posted 10:51am Sunday 28th May 2017 by Joel MacManus

If you’re looking for an easy pass on that last paper of your degree, we’ve got your back. A request made by Critic under the Official Information Act (OIA) has revealed the average pass rates by subject area at the University of Otago for the last several years. As a public Read more...

Otago Scientist leads New Zealand Study in Opioid Addiction Recovery

Posted 10:38am Sunday 28th May 2017 by Anna Linton

An Otago Medical Anthropologist, Dr Geoff Noller, has conducted a study in New Zealand into the controversial use of ibogaine in treating opioid dependency. Ibogaine is a plant-alkaloid derived psychoactive substance. It has been toted as an alternative medicine treatment for drug addiction, Read more...

University To Finally Provide Late Night Study Spaces To Students

Posted 10:32am Sunday 28th May 2017 by Joel MacManus

The University of Otago has responded to student demand for more late night study spaces on campus. From 22 May to 21 June the St David lecture theatre concourse and surrounds, as well as the upstairs, will be available 24 hours with student swipe card access. From 29 May to 18 June the Union Read more...

Keeping tabs on the Exec | Issue 13

Posted 10:27am Sunday 28th May 2017 by Joe Higham

This OUSA Executive meeting was the final one before the vital referendum kicks off at 9am on Monday 29 May. During the meeting, Education Officer Bryn Jenkins pointed out that “this is the most important [OUSA] referendum in a decade,” a statement that caused the other eight members of Read more...

Teams I Hate and Why You Should Hate Them Too: Liverpool FC

Posted 11:22am Sunday 21st May 2017 by Charlie Hantler

Everyone has sports teams they love, for me these are Otago, the mighty Highlanders, the Black Caps, Manchester United, and the Cleveland Cavaliers. I thoroughly enjoy cracking open a Speight’s, putting my feet up and watching them do their thing. It really is a great time. However, like Read more...

Ransomware attack: Mass infrastructure catastrophes no longer sci-fi

Posted 11:15am Sunday 21st May 2017 by George Elliott

The ransomware attack last week, coined WannaCry, has been heralded as a wake-up call for the world on the very material dangers that cyberwarfare can have on society’s infrastructure. First appearing in Spain on 12 May, WannaCry spread via email, exploiting vulnerabilities in Microsoft Read more...

Animal Research at Otago

Posted 11:09am Sunday 21st May 2017 by Oska Rego

Animal testing is always a hugely controversial and divisive topic, with each side rigid in their beliefs. The University of Otago are following through on plans to spend $50 million on a new animal research facility meaning the debate has reared its head once again throughout campus. If Read more...