Archive

Please Stop Electing Unqualified White Guys

Posted 10:43am Sunday 10th September 2017 by Sam McChesney

In Iron Fist, Marvel’s tone-deaf TV show about mighty-whitey kung-fu billionaire Danny Rand, Rand gives a monologue about how he came to be the Iron Fist: “When I got to the monastery post-crash, I learned of a certain position. A powerful, important job and I wanted it … The Read more...

OUSA Presidential Forum Roundup: No Confidence Takes Decisive Lead in Opinion Polls

Posted 10:38am Sunday 10th September 2017 by Joe Higham

The OUSA Executive Election Forums that were held last week provided a slightly larger and more invested crowd than usual, and a surprising amount of insight and conflict. Predictably, given the lack of advocacy by this year’s executive, all of the candidates pledged to increase their level Read more...

Dunedin Craft Beer Festival Sells Out of Tickets

Posted 10:29am Sunday 10th September 2017 by Joel MacManus

In its fifth year, the Dunedin Craft Beer Festival is on track to be the biggest it’s ever been. From a small event entirely based on the concrete slab at the Otago Daily Times end of Forsyth Barr Stadium the event has expanded to encompass the entire field. The festival was originally Read more...

‘No Surprises’ Surprises and Multidimensional Scandal Strip Tease

Posted 11:06am Sunday 3rd September 2017 by George Elliott

There's been allegations made of leaking, dirty rumours on Twitter and blurring lines between the bureaucratic and political – the election is just threeish weeks away! The so-called ‘no surprises’ convention – not strictly the singular matter of Winston Peters' Read more...

Opinion: The Wave of Optimism is Huge; That Also Means There is Further to Fall

Posted 10:49am Sunday 3rd September 2017 by Joe Higham

When I asked Labour Leader Jacinda Ardern which current World leader she has the most admiration for during a brief interview while on her recent visit to Dunedin, she immediately said, “oh, if it wasn’t current, I would’ve said Obama, because what he did was extraordinary”. Read more...

Aotearotica Editor Talks Sex and Sexuality in Dunedin

Posted 10:38am Sunday 3rd September 2017 by Lucy Hunter

This week is the New Zealand Young Writers Festival, a fantastic range of talks and workshops that Dunedin is lucky to host. One of the events is Pleasure and Pain: Writing about Sex and Sexuality. The editor of NZ erotica journal Aotearotica Laura Borrowdale is speaking to Pantograph Punch’s Read more...

New Figures Show Suicide is at a Record High

Posted 10:32am Sunday 3rd September 2017 by Zahra Shahtahmasebi

According to figures released by Judge Deborah Marshall, New Zealand’s Chief Coroner, New Zealand’s suicide statistics have reached a record high. The numbers have continued to rise over the last three years, with 606 people taking their own lives during 2016-2017. New Zealand has one Read more...

When Are We Putting CCTV Cameras All Over Central Dunedin?

Posted 10:22am Sunday 3rd September 2017 by Joel MacManus

Police figures from 2016-17 have revealed the zone between Frederick Street and the Octagon to be the area of the city with the highest number of reported crimes in the Otago region. 50 percent of the 3270 crimes reported in Dunedin City occurred in the broad CBD area stretching from High Street Read more...

Keeping tabs on the Exec | Issue 21

Posted 10:18am Sunday 3rd September 2017 by Joe Higham

The 2017 executive have deteriorated into depths not seen since, well, last year, during the most recent two meetings, passing motions that to anyone who actually cares are outrageous, especially in light of the budget cuts the association is facing. University student Francis Bradley came along Read more...

The Jacinda Effect

Posted 2:09pm Tuesday 29th August 2017 by Sam Fraser-Baxter

The Hunter Centre hosted the Labour Party's health announcement on Friday last week. Labour has been making remarkable ground on National in the polls since Jacinda Ardern replaced Andrew Little as the party’s leader three weeks ago. The atmosphere in the centre was buoyant as two Read more...

Twitter Thinks The '#motherofallscandals' is About to Drop

Posted 4:37pm Monday 28th August 2017 by Joel MacManus

New Zealand’s political twittersphere has been buzzing with rumours of a big political scandal, known now as the #motherofallscandals, which is expected to come to light at some stage today. Newsroom.co.nz has apparently got their hands on something juicy, and a number of top journalists Read more...

Critic Interviews: Metiria Turei

Posted 11:55am Friday 25th August 2017 by Joe Higham

Critic co-editor Joe Higham met up with former Green Party co-leader Metiria Turei to discuss the revelations that led to her political downfall, her chances in the Te Tai Tonga Maori electorate, and how she is “absolutely certain” that the National Party will lose this year’s Read more...

Critic Previews the English Premier League

Posted 11:10am Sunday 20th August 2017 by Charlie Hantler

As John Terry embraced Antonio Conte and hoisted the trophy high in May this year, many thought this was the beginning of a legacy. Chelsea had all-but walked the league after the charismatic Italian, Conte, altered their formation to 3-5-2, a month into what was starting to be a worrying campaign. Read more...

Big shout out to student voters!

Posted 11:07am Sunday 20th August 2017 by Professor Janine Hayward

The election campaign just got a whole lot more exciting. The promotion of Jacinda Ardern to leader of the Labour Party has breathed life into an otherwise very lifeless campaign. More importantly, it’s got students on campus talking about politics. Ardern is being described as ‘the Read more...

The Opportunities Party Fills Dunedin Auditorium on National Roadshow

Posted 10:45am Sunday 20th August 2017 by Joe Higham

Care. Think. Vote. That was the message displayed on the projector of Dunedin’s Glenroy Auditorium where the Opportunities Party's (TOP) Leader Gareth Morgan spoke last week. A crowd of well over one hundred people gathered to hear what the millionaire businessman and economist had to Read more...

National Party to Spend $60 Million on Bootcamps for Young Offenders if Re-elected

Posted 10:40am Sunday 20th August 2017 by Emma Gordon

In a controversial move to assert themselves as the ‘law and order’ party, National has announced a $60 million package targeting recidivist young offenders, to be rolled out if re-elected into government. $30 million of the $60 million has been allocated to establishing a defence-led Read more...

Equal Pay Week: “It’s Time to Pay the Sisters the Same as the Misters”

Posted 10:36am Sunday 20th August 2017 by Zahra Shahtahmasebi

This last week, from Saturday 12 August until Saturday 19 August, has been Equal Pay Week. Its purpose is to draw attention to the need for fairness in the workplace, for everyone to have the same opportunities to advance their careers, and for pay equality regardless of one’s Read more...

Developer and DCC Go Back and Forth on Five-Star Hotel Plans

Posted 10:32am Sunday 20th August 2017 by Joel MacManus

The plans for a 17-storey five-star hotel planned for Dunedin’s Moray Place have been amended by its developer in the hope that it will be accepted by the Dunedin City Council. Phil Page, Partner at Gallaway Cook Allen Lawyers and lawyer acting for Tekapo businessman and the hotel developer Read more...

The ‘Jacinda Effect’ Causes Spike in Campaign Volunteers – and Not Just for Labour

Posted 10:30am Sunday 20th August 2017 by Joel MacManus

The Dunedin North Labour Party say they have signed up an extra 52 campaign volunteers since Jacinda Ardern was made leader, as both major parties report an increased interest in this election campaign. Labour Party Campaign Manager for Dunedin North Jarred Griffiths says that during the 2017 Read more...

Super Liquor Plan to Open Store at Former McDuffs Brewery Site

Posted 10:26am Sunday 20th August 2017 by Joel MacManus

A plan to open a new liquor store in the student quarter is facing criticism from the Police, the university, and the Dunedin City Council ahead of a District Licensing Committee hearing. The proposal is to have a new Super Liquor store built on Great King Street at the former McDuffs Brewery Read more...

OUSA Disaffiliate Religious “Cult” After “Bringing OUSA Into Disrepute”

Posted 10:21am Sunday 20th August 2017 by Joe Higham

OUSA have formally disaffiliated a controversial religious group, labelled by many as a cult, after “bringing OUSA into disrepute, ignoring OUSA directives and breaching the [association’s] constitution”. Elohim Bible Academy are a subgroup of the World Mission Society Church of Read more...

Keeping tabs on the Exec | Issue 20

Posted 10:18am Sunday 20th August 2017 by Joe Higham

One of the first things the OUSA Executive do at each meeting is to go around the group briefly detailing what they have been working on since the previous week’s meeting. President Hugh Baird, after mentioning time spent on the budget and Art Week, noted that he met with three members of Read more...

Much More Respect Needed For Women's Rugby

Posted 5:40pm Sunday 13th August 2017 by Zahra Shahtahmasebi

When someone says New Zealand, what do you think of? Kiwis, probably; perhaps pavlova – well depending on which side of the fierce which-country-did-pavlova-come-from battle between New Zealand and Australia you fall on; Jandals? Pineapple lumps? At the end of the day, New Zealand is known for Read more...

Metiria Turei Resigns: From the Media’s Hard Questions to Labour’s Nakedly Evil Disownment

Posted 11:13am Sunday 13th August 2017 by George Elliott

It’s an utter shame that Metiria Turei has gone. It reflects something dark (i.e. politics as usual) in both the left and the news media in this country. The media going hard on Turei is part of the package deal. These past couple of weeks, what struck me has not been RNZ’s Susie Read more...

Pirates Women 27 – 10 Varsity Women

Posted 10:55am Sunday 13th August 2017 by Zahra Shahtahmasebi

Last Saturday the two top women’s rugby teams, University and Pirates, battled it out for the championship trophy at St Clair’s Kettle Park. The conditions were very blustery and the wind added a considerable chill factor as well as an extra challenge for the players. Both teams lined up Read more...

Mitre 10 Cup Preview: Otago Rugby

Posted 10:51am Sunday 13th August 2017 by Charlie Hantler

Last Season: Lost in Championship final to North Harbour (14-17).   Players to Watch: Vilimoni Koroi: The fleet-footed outside back has already made a name for himself fresh out of Fielding High School for the New Zealand Sevens team and is a real scoop for Otago. Expect to see him Read more...

Oppose Cuts, Defend Our Staff

Posted 10:47am Sunday 13th August 2017 by Save Our Services, Save Our Staff

This article was written by the Tertiary Education Union and Public Service Association’s “Save Our Services, Save Our Staff” Action Committee and represents their opinion on the Student Services Review.   Vice-Chancellor Harlene Hayne recently announced plans Read more...

Re:Fuel Accused of Not Protecting Customer After Assault Complaint to Bouncer

Posted 10:40am Sunday 13th August 2017 by Joel MacManus

Re:Fuel has been accused of not doing enough to protect the safety of its patrons, after one student was assaulted even after requesting help from bouncers several times. Jack Brazil says he was out at pint night two weeks ago with some friends. “It basically started in the line to Re:Fuel. Read more...

Labour Finds New Life for Old Election Signs

Posted 10:36am Sunday 13th August 2017 by Joel MacManus

After the shock resignation of former Labour Leader Andrew Little and the promotion of the newly crowned saviour of left wing politics, Jacinda Ardern, Labour had one small problem. They had already put their billboards up. Across the country, fenceposts and walls had been plastered with the big Read more...

First naked person in Lumsden since 1934

Posted 10:34am Sunday 13th August 2017 by Charlie O’Mannin

Satire An already riveting debate over the extension of a council bylaw on freedom camping in the Stewart Island town of Lumsden suddenly became breaking news last Tuesday as His Worship the Mayor of Southland Gary Tong revealed that he had, in fact seen a naked person in the town, something that Read more...

University of Otago Win a Quarter of the 2017 Tertiary Teaching Awards

Posted 10:29am Sunday 13th August 2017 by Joe Higham

Last week Parliament hosted the award ceremony for the Tertiary Teaching Excellence Awards for 2017, with the University of Otago receiving three of the night’s top awards. The Sustained Excellence in Tertiary Teaching category included up to 10 awards in the General Category and two awards Read more...

University Pharmacy Students Using Elective Study Programme For Community Good

Posted 10:26am Sunday 13th August 2017 by Joe Higham

A campaign to raise awareness of New Zealand’s ‘prescription subsidy scheme’ in the Dunedin community is being run by five University of Otago students, who have received praise for their work from their supervisors. The name of the group, ‘20 Is Plenty’, reflects Read more...

Keeping tabs on the Exec | Issue 19

Posted 10:21am Sunday 13th August 2017 by Joe Higham

After the usual formalities the OUSA Executive welcomed Student Support Manager Sage Burke and OUSA Queer Support’s Hahna Briggs, who revealed a new initiative called ‘Peer Support’. A listening and sharing experience as opposed to actual clinical advice, it will consist of Read more...

Is Sky TV About to Be a Thing of the Past for Sports Broadcasting?

Posted 11:49am Sunday 6th August 2017 by Charlie Hantler

Yesterday, on 2 August, the sports broadcasting landscape changed permanently, as Amazon outbid Sky TV in the UK for the rights to tennis’s ATP World Tour. The biggest event in tennis outside of the four Grand Slams, it is believed that the e-commerce titan paid NZ$17.8 million for the rights. Read more...

Wifi Among Changes Aimed at Bringing Dunedin’s Buses into the 21st Century

Posted 11:46am Sunday 6th August 2017 by Joe Higham

The Otago Regional Council (ORC) has announced that it will be installing Wifi in their fleet of 80 buses around late September, among a raft of other changes. ORC Manager Support Services Gerard Collings told Critic that the council has had “many community requests for Wifi over a long Read more...

Labour’s Leadership Change a Magnificently Risky Move, But One That Could Pay Off

Posted 11:08am Sunday 6th August 2017 by George Elliott

I was preparing to write a piece about how Andrew Little should not resign as leader of the Labour Party until after the election, an election that they would surely lose. It was too late to change things up, I thought. Things were looking dire for Labour. The polls showed them in the low Read more...

Jacinda Ardern Becomes Labour’s Sixth Leader in Nine Years

Posted 11:00am Sunday 6th August 2017 by Joe Higham

The leadership of the Labour Party has changed just six weeks out from September 23rd’s General Election, following their worst poll result in 24 years. Former Deputy Leader and MP for Mt Albert Jacinda Ardern was nominated unopposed to replace Andrew Little, who said that “while Read more...

One Hundred Attend TEU Protest Against Staff Cuts

Posted 10:55am Sunday 6th August 2017 by Joe Higham

Approximately 100 people took to the University of Otago Clocktower on Tuesday last week to protest the proposed 182 full-time equivalent (FTE) general staff cuts. Set up by the Tertiary Education Union (TEU), the protesters drew chalk-outlined bodies on the road outside the building to symbolise Read more...

Fate of Octagon Five-Star Hotel Rests in Hands of Panel

Posted 10:53am Sunday 6th August 2017 by Joe Higham

The fate of the five-star hotel to be built in Dunedin’s Moray Place rests on the result of a consent panel, as the hearing was slated to end on Friday last week. Tekapo businessman Anthony Tosswill is behind the 17-storey residential development, which, according to his application, will Read more...

Students Paid More through Student Job Search than Anytime in the Last Decade

Posted 10:50am Sunday 6th August 2017 by Joel MacManus

Student Job Search (SJS) say that students are earning more money through their service than at any point in the last decade. SJS, which is a not-for-profit organisation owned by all of the university students associations, connects employers and students for part time, short term, and Read more...

Dunedin Mayor Cull Doesn’t Apologise, Pays Councilor $50 Large

Posted 10:46am Sunday 6th August 2017 by Joel MacManus

Dunedin Mayor Dave Cull has paid $50,000 to fellow councillor Lee Vandervis to settle a defamation claim filed against him in July of last year, although he did not offer a public apology. At a council meeting in December 2016, Cr Vandervis claimed that there were issues with underhanded bribes Read more...

Queer and Far New Support for International Queer Students

Posted 10:44am Sunday 6th August 2017 by Zahra Shahtahmasebi

OUSA Student Support have initiated a new support service targeted at international University of Otago and Otago Polytechnic queer students. Named Queer and Far, it will provide a support and talking group. The project was conceived by the current OUSA Queer Support Co-ordinator Hahna Briggs, in Read more...

Keeping tabs on the Exec | Issue 18

Posted 10:42am Sunday 6th August 2017 by Joe Higham

After the various procedural matters were out of the way, Education Officer Bryn Jenkins formally announced that he will be running for the position of OUSA Executive in the upcoming election. As far as Critic knows, he is the first to publically state his intention to do so. The nominations Read more...

The G.O.A.T Series – Men’s Athletics

Posted 11:32am Sunday 30th July 2017 by Charlie Hantler

As they enter the starting blocks, the three men glance at each other. One exudes swagger, confidence and sheer superiority as he extends his perfectly sculpted arms into an arrow. He nods to the crowd in acknowledgement. He is the entertainer. The second has faced trial and tribulation; he was told Read more...

Authentic Fakery: Who is the new US ambassador to New Zealand?

Posted 11:22am Sunday 30th July 2017 by George Elliott

It’s more obvious when an American is not being genuine. They can’t hide it from us. Chiefly, it’s the accent. We’re so conditioned to hearing it try and sell us things. If the transatlantic Beeb accent broadcasts the truth with authority, the piercing North American accent Read more...

Poland Pulls Back from the Authoritarian Brink after Protests and EU Condemnation

Posted 11:16am Sunday 30th July 2017 by George Elliott

Poland, once the poster child of the post-1989 democratic wave against communism in Europe, has been going through rough political times. Thousands of Poles have flooded city streets to protest the government’s continued effort to limit the independence of the country’s judiciary. Read more...

Opinion: The Deliberate Flouting of the Crimes Act at Auckland’s Drury Christian School

Posted 10:56am Sunday 30th July 2017 by Jean Balchin

Last year, I wrote an article on the horrors of Accelerated Christian Education (ACE), a fundamentalist American homeschooling programme being taught in homes and schools across New Zealand. I discussed how ACE upholds the belief that the Bible is literally true, that there should be no distinction Read more...

Household Income Report Reveals No Sign of Change for Poorest Families

Posted 10:51am Sunday 30th July 2017 by Joe Higham

A Ministry of Social Development report has revealed that the cost of housing in New Zealand remains a significant impediment to lifting people out of poverty. The Household Income Report (HIR) highlights that, although poverty has declined in the ten years since the Global Financial Crisis, Read more...

Nominate Your Favourite Teachers for OUSA’s Annual Teaching Awards

Posted 10:46am Sunday 30th July 2017 by Joe Higham

Nominations for OUSA’s 2017 Teaching Awards close on 18 August, meaning there is still plenty of time to put forward any lecturers, tutors, or lab demonstrators that you think deserve the much sought after recognition. As students provide the university with their largest revenue stream by Read more...

OUCC Kayakers Take on Raging Leith During Floods

Posted 10:44am Sunday 30th July 2017 by Joel MacManus

For some Dunedin residents, the recent flooding was a major disaster, putting homes at risk and straining emergency services beyond capacity. But for the Otago University Canoe Club (OUCC), it was a cause for celebration. When the Leith River floods, it becomes perfect for white water kayaking, Read more...

Keeping tabs on the Exec | Issue 17

Posted 10:37am Sunday 30th July 2017 by Joe Higham

The OUSA Executive welcomed University of Otago Chief Operating Officer Stephen Willis, Deputy Proctor Andrew Ferguson, Director of Student Services Karyn Thomson, and Student Engagement Manager Rachel Curry, to further discuss the plans to implement CCTV surveillance across North Dunedin, having Read more...

Building Code Causes OUSA To Scale Back Gender Neutral Toilets

Posted 10:32am Sunday 30th July 2017 by Zahra Shahtahmasebi

Earlier this year, OUSA chose to make the toilets in the Clubs and Societies building on both the ground and first floors gender neutral. In 2013 the Clubs and Socs Centre underwent extensive renovations, which included the ground floor toilets. However, in 2016, OUSA staff noticed that there Read more...

“No One Man Should Have All That Power” – Football Agents and Their Dangerous Message

Posted 11:28am Sunday 23rd July 2017 by Charlie Hantler

“And here comes Hurst! He's got... Some people are on the pitch! They think it's all over! It is now, it's four!” The scene is the mid-1960s, as Geoff Hurst famously scored in extra-time to put England 4-2 up against West Germany and seal their one and only World Cup. Read more...

Opinion: Don’t be a Sucker – Vote or Get Voted on

Posted 11:21am Sunday 23rd July 2017 by Isaac Yu

It’s that happy time that only comes around once every three years. ‘It was the best of times, the most shitposty of times,’ the famous proclamation tells us. A time of soap box Facebook statuses on WHY. YOU. SHOULD. VOTE. Yet, despite all the internet slacktivism about how Read more...

No Plastic Bag Ban for Countdown NZ Despite Aussie Progress

Posted 11:07am Sunday 23rd July 2017 by Zahra Shahtahmasebi

Two large supermarket chains in Australia, Woolworths and Coles, plan to phase out plastic bag usage over the next 12 months. Four states (South Australia, the Australian Capital Territory, the Northern Territory, and Tasmania) have already implemented state-wide bans. Coles supermarket is the Read more...

Controversial Warehouse Work-Experience Programme Expands

Posted 11:04am Sunday 23rd July 2017 by Joe Higham

The Ministry for Social Development (MOD) announced the expansion of the ‘Red Shirts in Community Programme’ that will now provide work experience opportunities to almost 1,000 16-24 year olds. The programme hit the headlines recently due to the absence of pay throughout the entirety Read more...

OPINION - Please OUSA, Can We Have Some More?

Posted 11:00am Sunday 23rd July 2017 by Joe Higham

The Otago University Students’ Association (OUSA) website states that “online referenda are one of the many ways you can have your say through OUSA … on university policy or a wider issue, you can change OUSA’s stance.” This explanation, on top of the fact that Read more...

University Hits Roadblock In Plans to Implement CCTV Across North D

Posted 10:57am Sunday 23rd July 2017 by Joe Higham

The University of Otago’s planned CCTV surveillance installation took a hit last week as the university discovered they will likely need resource consent for many of their proposed camera locations. A university spokesperson told Critic that advice from the DCC is that “consent will Read more...

VC Reveals At Least 182 Job Cuts For General Staff

Posted 10:54am Sunday 23rd July 2017 by Joe Higham

University of Otago Vice-Chancellor Harlene Hayne addressed a packed College of Education Auditorium on Friday 14 July to reveal the changes to be made in their Support Services Review. Hayne first provided background to the review, before revealing that 182 Full-Time Equivalent (FTE) staff will Read more...

Do your bloody recycling properly – DCC

Posted 10:51am Sunday 23rd July 2017 by Joel MacManus

The DCC is cracking down on residents not chucking the right stuff in the right bins, so they have launched a new crackdown initiative to make sure you’re not throwing your glass out with your plastics. The rate of incorrect rubbish being put in yellow bins has almost doubled in the last five Read more...

How Healthy Is Our Democracy? Otago Academics Make Their Arguments

Posted 10:48am Sunday 23rd July 2017 by Joel MacManus

We are entering an age of radical politics, where extremism on the left and right will become mainstream and authenticity of personality will trump good policies in the hearts of voters, according to a panel of political experts which spoke at the University of Otago public lecture “How Read more...

Is $200/week Enough To Buy The Under 23 Vote In The Election?

Posted 10:43am Sunday 23rd July 2017 by Joe Higham

The Opportunities Party (TOP) last week extended its Universal Basic Income (UBI) policy to all New Zealanders aged between 18-23. Set at $200 per week (after tax), the youth UBI is “designed to give all young New Zealanders a safety net of income to allow them to pursue their Read more...

University Murders Thousands; Critic Runs Inflammatory Headline

Posted 10:31am Sunday 23rd July 2017 by Sam McChesney

Over 70,000 animals have died in research at the  university over the past five years. Figures released to Critic under the Official Information Act show that between 2012 and 2016 the University used 89,680 live animals for research purposes. 71,496 of those (80 per cent) were Read more...

Teams I Hate And Why You Should Hate Them Too #2 – The Golden State Warriors

Posted 11:49am Sunday 16th July 2017 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...

Government Searches For Way Around Regulations On Coal Mining

Posted 11:45am Sunday 16th July 2017 by George Elliott

Forest and Bird, says newly released documents show the government is working on “secret” plans to get around environmental protections to enable contentious coal mining. The documents, released to the environmental NGO through the Official Information Act (OIA), reveal that current Read more...

A Game-Changing Revelation in Trump Administration’s Russia scandal? Or More Noise?

Posted 11:39am Sunday 16th July 2017 by George Elliott

The Trump-Russia drama escalated last week after the US President’s son released an email chain from June 2016 in which he eagerly discussed plans to receive damaging information on Hillary Clinton. In the emails, publicist Rob Goldstone tells Donald Trump Jr. that there is dirt on the Read more...

Animal Law Conference calls for hearts, minds, and action

Posted 11:19am Sunday 16th July 2017 by Kari Schmidt

On 1 July, the New Zealand Animal Law Association (NZALA) hosted New Zealand's first ever animal law conference at the AUT campus in Auckland. Dr Jane Goodall set the scene, providing perspective on why the legal community must do more to advocate for animals. She focused on compassion. Read more...

Jacinda Ardern Speaks to Crowd of 120 on Otago Campus Visit

Posted 11:09am Sunday 16th July 2017 by Joe Higham

According to a Colmar Brunton poll on the country’s preferred leader, Labour Party Leader Andrew Little is languishing back in fourth place, at just 5 percent, the lowest result for a leader of the opposition since 2009. Deputy Leader Jacinda Ardern placed third with 6 percent of those Read more...

Staff Brace For Redundancies as Support Services Review Proposal is Revealed

Posted 11:01am Sunday 16th July 2017 by Joe Higham

University of Otago Vice-Chancellor Professor Harlene Hayne has presented a business case proposal that will outline future organisation and management of support services at the Uuniversity to staff on Friday last week. The meeting, which took place at the College of Education Auditorium, is Read more...

University Approves $26 Million New Music Building and Renovations

Posted 10:55am Sunday 16th July 2017 by Joe Higham

The University of Otago has approved plans to construct brand new recording studios for the Department of Music as well as refurbishing the nearby Music suite, Teaching Wing and Tower Block on the University of Otago College of Education campus. The project, which is scheduled to be completed by Read more...

University Objects to Night’n’Day Liquor License: OUSA President Hits Back

Posted 10:50am Sunday 16th July 2017 by Joel MacManus

OUSA President Hugh Baird has hit back at attempts by the University of Otago to prevent the sale of alcohol at a local liquor store. The University of Otago is objecting to the continuation of the liquor license at Regent Night’n’Day in North Dunedin, but Baird says their efforts are Read more...

Landlords Provide Perfect Conditions for Mould At No Extra Cost to Tenants

Posted 10:45am Sunday 16th July 2017 by Joe Higham

Former Blackcaps cricketer and current host of TV3’s AM Show, Mark Richardson, provided some advice to anyone worried about the inaccessibility of the property ladder last week: “just rent,” he said. However, research clearly shows that renting can expose people to serious Read more...

Students Fight ‘Unliveable’ Flats at Tenancy Tribunal

Posted 10:38am Sunday 16th July 2017 by Joel MacManus

Two student flats have won cases at the tenancy tribunal over flats which were deemed to not be in clean or liveable condition. Prime Campus Ltd., the property management firm which leases 654 Castle Street was ordered to refund the tenants $5,250, the equivalent of six weeks’ rent. When Read more...

OUSA Lead the Way in Re:Orientation Glass Ban Initiative

Posted 10:32am Sunday 16th July 2017 by Zahra Shahtahmasebi

A new initiative is being launched during this year’s Re-Orientation week that will ban glass in the North Dunedin area, in the hope of cleaning up the glass that regularly plagues the streets of the city's student quarter. The initiative continues to be student led, initiated by OUSA Read more...

Keeping tabs on the Exec | Issue 15

Posted 10:28am Sunday 16th July 2017 by Joe Higham

The Department of Tourism have made a proposal to “repaint the two corridors in the Division of Commerce building ... in the rainbow colours that have been utilised both by the LGBT community and the post-apartheid South Africa as an emblem of inclusivity”. The department wanted to know Read more...

Twelve Years On From a Series Whitewash, the Lions Could Make History

Posted 12:44pm Sunday 9th July 2017 by Joe Higham

As the Saturday of the final match of the 2017 British and Irish Lions approaches at breakneck speed, (mainly) Lions and (surprisingly) All Blacks fans alike will be feeling the nerves associated with a test-series decider. The Lions last won a test series against the All Blacks in 1971 (2-1) Read more...

Winnie's man in Whangarei: Shane Jones joins NZ First

Posted 11:49am Sunday 9th July 2017 by George Elliott

Former Labour MP Shane Jones has joined NZ First and will run in the Whangarei electorate in the coming election. The former cabinet member under Helen Clark, who retired in May 2014 and is usually known solely for his scandals, will become a conspicuous lieutenant for Winston Peters. Since Read more...

Like a Young Nat’s Wet Dream

Posted 11:40am Sunday 9th July 2017 by Joel MacManus

At 24, Todd Barclay was New Zealand’s youngest MP, anointed as the replacement for Bill English in Clutha-Southland, the safest National electorate in the country. He won by a huge majority. By 27, he was a disgraced politician who had not only ended his own career but also irreparably damaged Read more...

University seeks student feedback on CCTV proposal

Posted 11:11am Sunday 9th July 2017 by Critic

The University of Otago made a complaint to Critic Magazine that the article published on the University's CCTV implementation plan was not fairly reported. As a result, Critic provided this space for the University to respond to these issues.   The University of Otago is seeking Read more...

University of Otago Researchers Criticise Government’s Tobacco Strategy

Posted 11:02am Sunday 9th July 2017 by Anna Linton

University of Otago scientists from the Burden of Disease Epidemiology, Equity and Cost-Effectiveness Programme (BODE³) have published research in the international journal Tobacco Control last month advocating various tobacco endgame strategies. This follows a 2011 announcement, Read more...

The Most Famous Pub In New Zealand Is Up For Sale... Again

Posted 10:56am Sunday 9th July 2017 by Joe Higham

The Captain Cook Hotel is once again up for sale. With a name arguably as well known as any other pub anywhere in the country, the recently renovated Cook (as it’s known to most students) should, it is hoped, be snapped up as quickly as possible. ABC Business Sales, who are tasked with Read more...

Tenants Receive Financial Payout After Council Flats Found to be Unsafe

Posted 10:51am Sunday 9th July 2017 by Joel MacManus

Eleven tenants, many of whom are students, at a council-owned flat complex have received financial payouts after investigations found faults in the fire alarm system which would have put residents in danger in an emergency. The boarding house on the upper two levels of the Moray Place carpark Read more...

Dunedin Hospital Rebuild may Cost Millions, Billions or Squillions

Posted 10:48am Sunday 9th July 2017 by Joe Higham

Dunedin’s Hospital rebuild has suffered yet another setback in its completion dates, with the Otago Daily Times reporting that the best case scenario is now 2027. They claim the worst-case scenario is a completion date of 2031, which would be a “part rebuild and part refurbishment on Read more...

Unipol Struggling to Keep In Shape

Posted 10:45am Sunday 9th July 2017 by Joel MacManus

The University Plaza Building, which houses the Unipol Recreation Centre, is suffering structural issues in the stonework. The cause of many of the issues has not yet been identified, although efforts are underway. Since the building was completed just over five years ago, a number of cracks have Read more...

Dr Timothy Molteno – University of Otago Physicist and Internationally Wanted Criminal

Posted 10:42am Sunday 9th July 2017 by Joe Higham

What names do you associate with Interpol’s wanted criminal list? El Chapo? Osama Bin Laden? Pablo Escobar? The list of infamy goes on and on. One name a little closer to home than downtown Medellín or the mountains of Afghanistan is Dr Timothy Molteno. Currently a Senior Lecturer Read more...

Keeping tabs on the Exec | Issue 14

Posted 10:37am Sunday 9th July 2017 by Joe Higham

Your OUSA Executive continued to meet up and work on your behalf throughout the semester break. With the results of the referendum coming just before the beginning of first semester’s exam period, they spent much of the meeting discussing the complaints arising out of the voting period and the Read more...

UKIP Tries to Stay Relevant by Turning to Islamophobia

Posted 11:51am Sunday 28th May 2017 by Cameron Meads

The Brexit vote rattled Britain and the world. The death of the European Union and the rise of a new world order seemed imminent with Donald Trump and Marine Le Pen’s mobilisation of alt-right voters. Almost a year on, many of these fears have faded while new implications have Read more...

Labour Confronting Important Issues

Posted 11:48am Sunday 28th May 2017 by Jack Pacey

The Labour Party has added to its promises for the upcoming election with another set of policy announcements centred around the growing housing debate and the issue of mental health in New Zealand. These plans represent the start of what Labour hopes to develop into a coordinated effort to present Read more...

The G.O.A.T. Series Part Two: Women’s Edition

Posted 11:37am Sunday 28th May 2017 by Charlie Hantler

Following on from the men’s edition, we now turn our focus in on the women’s sport and their greats. Names such as Venus and Serena Williams, Flo-Jo and Irene van Dyk spring to mind, due to their sheer dominance of their codes, but they have plenty of competition for their respective Read more...

Winston Peters Speaks at Otago Uni, Doesn’t Like Tomato Sauce

Posted 11:17am Sunday 28th May 2017 by Joe Higham

NZ First leader Winston Peters spoke at the University of Otago’s Main Common Room last Wednesday, and within just a few minutes of his speech beginning, began targeting Critic for an article we published in Issue Four. The article, entitled “Winnie Blues: Winston Peters on Yet Read more...

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...