Archive

EDITORIAL: Goodbye

Posted 5:59pm Sunday 6th October 2019 by Charlie O’Mannin

Critic has been around for 94 years. Over that time we’ve changed dramatically in every way possible. We’ve gone from a journal to a newspaper to a magazine. We’ve been wildly successful and we’ve been mediocre and we’ve been absolute shit. I’ve worked at Read more...

Te Roopū Māori Elect a New Executive

Posted 5:13pm Sunday 6th October 2019 by Caroline Moratti

Te Roopū Māori (TRM), the Māori Students Association, has results for their Te Rito executive for 2020. Karamea Pewhairangi was elected as Tumuaki, Miria Te Pou as Kaitiaki Pūtea, Maia Tipene as Kaituhi, Tutawake Dickel-Smith as Communications, Iritana Bennett-Fakahua as Read more...

James gives OUSA the old Heath Ho: An Exit Interview

Posted 10:03pm Thursday 3rd October 2019 by Nina Minogue

OUSA President James Heath is departing OUSA after three years of executive bullshit. Critic’s intrepid reporter Nina Minogue sat down with the local sex symbol to talk about the year that has been and the years to come.    What’s your best memory of being Read more...

OPINION: We Should All Care About West Papua Because We Are All Pacific Islanders

Posted 10:01pm Thursday 3rd October 2019 by Otessa Tuisila

“I’m a Pacific Islander, and so are you.” New Zealand is an island that sits in the biggest ocean in the world, making you a Pacific Islander. If not ethnically, then geographically. On Monday 23 September, our Dunedin community came together to learn more about what is Read more...

Student Arrested For Shitposting

Posted 9:59pm Thursday 3rd October 2019 by Sinead Gill

Picture this: a student wakes up to a pounding on his front door. He is sluggish from a late night of powerpointing for a presentation later that day, but drags himself to the door. On the other side are three police officers who greet him with tasers. Hours later, he is officially arrested and Read more...

Radio One Not Sure if They’re Played in More Campus Spaces Since Swearing Ban

Posted 9:56pm Thursday 3rd October 2019 by Esme Hall

Radio One has not surveyed radio play-out on campus to establish whether more people are tuning in because there is less abrasive content, said Station Manager Sean Norling. “As for the abrasive/explicit content itself, this continues to be a work in progress, with most of the heavy lifting Read more...

“Legitimacy and Integrity” of OUSA Elections Compromised, Report Reveals

Posted 9:55pm Thursday 3rd October 2019 by Sinead Gill

Last week the post-election report of the OUSA Returning Officer Ben Baker, the independent arbitrator of OUSA elections, revealed how close students were to having a false representative announced on election night. Allegedly, on the final day of voting, one of the candidates and/or their Read more...

Lecturer Claims His Book About Censorship Was Censored

Posted 9:54pm Thursday 3rd October 2019 by Erin Gourley

Emeritus Professor of Psychology and Politics Jim Flynn caused a stir last week when he asserted that his book had been banned. His manuscript, In Defense of Free Speech: The University as Censor, was rejected by UK publishing house Emerald Press because it might infringe hate speech laws or provide Read more...

OUSA Welfare Officer Resigned, Cited Ableism and “Bullying”

Posted 9:51pm Thursday 3rd October 2019 by Sinead Gill

The 2019 Welfare Officer Kerrin Robertson-Scanlon has resigned, blaming the Exec for pushing her out after having her pay cut completely for not doing her work.  There will be no by-election to replace her. OUSA rules dictate that elections can only take place during normal semester time, Read more...

Property Managers Slap Bogus Cleaning Fees On Tenants

Posted 9:43pm Thursday 3rd October 2019 by Esme Hall

Throughout Critic’s reporting on tenancy issues this year, we have heard numerous stories of property managers slapping bogus cleaning fees on tenants. Alex* fought down a cleaning fee from $230 to around $60 this year. He said he “witnessed a pattern of unprofessional and Read more...

Opinion: The OUSA Exec Will Never Be Truly Held Accountable

Posted 11:26pm Sunday 29th September 2019 by Sinead Gill

Before May 2018, the OUSA Exec only got paid for the hours they actually worked, as a measure to hold them to account. This is no longer the case, and it’s causing problems. Back then, every year was broken into quarters, and the Exec would only be paid at the end of each quarter in a lump Read more...

Department of Anatomy At Risk of Being Shut Down After Critical Safety Non-Compliance

Posted 11:17pm Sunday 29th September 2019 by Charlie O’Mannin

The Otago Department of Anatomy is at risk of being shut down by the Ministry of Primary Industries (MPI) after being issued with a “Critical Non-Compliance” with safety regulations during their latest audit. The Critical Non-Compliance was issued because the Department has had three Read more...

EDITORIAL: Don’t Vote For Lee Vandervis

Posted 11:14pm Sunday 29th September 2019 by Charlie O’Mannin

Look. I know this is the third time in a row that I’ve written a boring editorial about an election. I’m sorry. I know all you really want is content about hit Canadian reality TV show Mantracker. To make it up to you I will include a fact about Mantracker in between each boring Read more...

Canta Wins Bid for Editorial Independence

Posted 10:48pm Thursday 26th September 2019 by Esme Hall

Canta Editor Samantha Mythen said she is “super stoked” that her bid for editorial independence has been formally backed by the University of Canterbury Students’ Association (UCSA) Executive. In last Monday’s meeting the UCSA Exec instructed management to “prepare a Read more...

45 Administrators Have Moved Department Since Implementation of Support Services Review

Posted 10:46pm Thursday 26th September 2019 by Sinead Gill

According to an Official Information Act request made by Critic, 45 administrators have been internally moved from one department to another within the University of Otago in just one year. Last year, the University completed a Support Services Review (SSR) and completely shook up how they Read more...

Queer-Friendly Gig Round 2 Goes Off Without A Hitch

Posted 10:44pm Thursday 26th September 2019 by Sinead Gill

Attendees “had a great time” at OUSA’s most recent Queen of Hearts queer-friendly gig at Starters bar. The first Queen of Hearts gig at Starters was hosted in late July and received flak from attendees, who cited “malicious” and “homophobic” harassment Read more...

OUSA Secures A Voting Booth On Campus

Posted 10:41pm Thursday 26th September 2019 by Erin Gourley

OUSA have secured a voting booth on campus for the local elections. This will be the first time that a voting booth has been stationed on campus that is open for more than one day. “Voting on campus, through a traditional voting booth, is leagues more engaging than postal elections,” Read more...

OUSA Welfare Officer Refuses To Resign

Posted 10:40pm Thursday 26th September 2019 by Sinead Gill

OUSA Welfare Officer Kerrin Robertson-Scanlan has been stripped of her duties and 20-hour a week pay, but will keep her title unless she resigns, which she has so far refused to do. Last Tuesday, the OUSA Exec formally rejected Kerrin’s third quarterly report for being Read more...

GROSS MISMANAGEMENT OF THE HIGHEST ORDER

Posted 10:37pm Thursday 26th September 2019 by Charlie O’Mannin

In what might possibly have been described as “the biggest mistake the University has ever made” and “an unforgivable sin” by someone who felt that way about the issue, the bathrooms in the Richardson building have required further maintenance after new taps were installed Read more...

Editorial: Oh Shit, Jack Won

Posted 5:06pm Saturday 21st September 2019 by Charlie O’Mannin

Last week I said that the OUSA presidency was anyone’s game, that any of the three candidates could pull it off. In the week since then I forgot my own good advice. The OUSA bubble were convinced that it wasn’t going to be Jack; most people thought that Will was a safe bet, and if Read more...

Te Roopū Māori Student Election Postponed Due to Lack of Nominations

Posted 4:49pm Saturday 21st September 2019 by Charlie O’Mannin

Te Roopū Māori, the Māori Students’ Association, has decided to postpone their student elections after they had almost no one nominate themselves, meaning that they couldn’t piggy-back on the OUSA election website and will have to use a paper-ballot. Taylor Terekia, Read more...

OPINION: Why Don’t More Women Run For OUSA Leadership?

Posted 4:43pm Saturday 21st September 2019 by Sinead Gill

This year Otago’s student union had no female presidential candidates. Empowering women and people of colour to run for any OUSA position is an annual talking point for the Executive, typically brought up in the weeks leading up to nominations or, in the 2019 Exec’s case, not brought up Read more...

OPINION: Archway Shop Shut For No Reason And I Am Mad

Posted 4:37pm Saturday 21st September 2019 by Sinead Gill

It turns out the University do not actually have a plan for the Archway Shop space. A few weeks ago Critic covered the closing of the Archway Stationery Shop in the Link. The University’s closed a useful store with one particularly friendly employee and replaced it with some cash-grab. At Read more...

Jack “The Poor Man’s James Heath” Manning Wins OUSA President in a Boring, Boring Result

Posted 10:48pm Friday 20th September 2019 by Critic

It’s more of the same for OUSA as Jack Manning takes the Presidential Crown. Jack, who prides himself on being described as “the poor man’s James Heath,” proved to be the most vanilla presidential candidate and won on being everyone’s second choice in the single Read more...

University Reveals How the New CCTV Policy is Being Used

Posted 10:42pm Friday 20th September 2019 by Erin Gourley

Most of the CCTV footage of non-University streets released by the Proctor’s office is in response to requests by residents to property damage or theft, according to an Official Information Act request made by Critic. Between the rollout of increased CCTV coverage of the student area at the Read more...

Canta Editor Calling For Editorial Independence

Posted 10:39pm Friday 20th September 2019 by Esme Hall

Samantha Mythen, the Editor of Canta (the University of Canterbury’s student magazine), is fighting for editorial independence. She is alleging that, since her time as Editor, UCSA have stopped her publishing stories that are critical of the students’ association or even of the Read more...

Come Fly With Me: A Semester in the Life of Harlene Hayne

Posted 8:50pm Friday 20th September 2019 by Sinead Gill

Like binge watching shitcunts on reality TV over and over again, there is something cathartic about peeking behind the curtain and laying bare the lives of the rich and famous. Unfortunately, Critic doesn’t know many rich people, and the most famous people we know (Joel MacManus and James Read more...

OPINION: I Hate that the Uni Wasted 42k on Some Promo Screens

Posted 7:14pm Sunday 15th September 2019 by Nina Minogue

Over the last few weeks the Uni installed a massive nine panel screen in the Link that cost $42,000. It plays exclusively ads for the Uni – you know, that place you already go. I have a conspiracy. The University is slowly but surely turning the Link into a massive man-cave. Think about it, Read more...

EDITORIAL: The OUSA Presidency is Anyone's Game

Posted 6:50pm Sunday 15th September 2019 by Charlie O’Mannin

This week is the Otago University Students’ Association student elections. For those that don’t really give a fuck (fair), OUSA is the student union that represents you, entertains you, and fights for you. OUSA runs O-Week, Starters Bar, Student Support, and Clubs and Socs, as well as Read more...

Critic Breaks Down the OUSA Presidential Debate

Posted 12:58am Friday 13th September 2019 by Erin Gourley

Are Jack, Will and Sam the characters from a boring nursery rhyme? No, they’re the OUSA presidential candidates for 2020. It was repeatedly brought up that Jack Manning, Will Moffett, and Sam Purchas were “stale, pale, and male” during the daytime presidential forum - mostly by the Read more...

Critic Watches Student Politicians Fight Each Other

Posted 12:56am Friday 13th September 2019 by Critic

At last week’s forum debates, almost 20 students fought each other for the honour of fighting for you as your OUSA representatives. Critic was there through all of them, through the awkward roasts and the boring empty speeches. This year saw an unprecedented number of positions go Read more...

Otago Medical Students Association Denies that Electoral Fraud Influenced Election

Posted 11:32pm Thursday 12th September 2019 by Charlie O’Mannin

The Otago University Medical Students Association (OUMSA) has said that a “very small percentage” of students exploiting a loophole in the system to vote twice in the recent MOUSA elections “were not counted towards the final results of the position” and that even if they had Read more...

DCC Mayoral Forum Makes Critic Lose Faith In Democracy

Posted 6:08pm Sunday 8th September 2019 by Critic

Critic’s winners of the DCC Mayoral Forum, hosted by OUSA and the University, are Mandy Mayhem-Bullock and Aaron Hawkins, with an incredibly honourable mention to Bob Barlin. But, to be honest, hearing fourteen people talk for about five minutes each doesn’t give a great idea about who Read more...

‘Near-Misses’ Provoked Walk Your Wheels Campaign, Rather than Actual Injuries

Posted 1:01am Friday 6th September 2019 by Esme Hall

The University has said that “near-misses” provoked its ban on skateboards, bikes and scooters on campus, the “Walk Your Wheels” campaign, rather than actual injuries. An Official Information Act request to the University of Otago revealed that there have only been two Read more...

Great Peanut Purge at Residential Colleges

Posted 1:00am Friday 6th September 2019 by James Joblin

Peanuts have been taken off the menu at University-managed residential colleges to protect students with severe nut allergies. As of 2 September, residential college kitchens are no longer serving peanut products, except Toroa and Abbey colleges, which do not currently house students with peanut Read more...

OUSA To Lobby For Independent Investigator on Sexual Violence at Unis and Polytechs

Posted 12:55am Friday 6th September 2019 by Esme Hall

The OUSA Exec wants an independent body to investigate sexual violence against students and staff, rather than incidents being handled by universities and polytechnics internally. In their meeting over the break, the OUSA Exec agreed to start lobbying the University of Otago, the New Zealand Read more...

More CCTV rolling out on Castle

Posted 12:53am Friday 6th September 2019 by Sinead Gill

A blind spot in the CCTV network in studentville has been identified, and Campus Watch are rubbing their hungry hands together in glee – more cameras are coming to Castle Street. Specifically on the corner of Castle and Duke Street, and the corner of Castle and Dundas street. In a letter Read more...

Harlene Tells High Schoolers to Piss Off

Posted 12:50am Friday 6th September 2019 by Nina Minogue

Before this year’s O-Week, Vice-Chancellor Harlene Hayne sent a letter to all Dunedin secondary schools asking them to encourage their students to stay away from university parties. The letter was a response to Campus Watch reporting an alarming rise in uninvited high school students Read more...

How Much Are Breathas Paying For Flats? A Critic Investigation

Posted 12:47am Friday 6th September 2019 by Sinead Gill

Some truths are eternal when it comes to being a University of Otago student. You’re going to gain 20 kilos in your first year, only old people call us Scarfies, and living in a ‘notorious’ flat on Castle street is going to be expensive as fuck. But why is that? Not the 20 kilos Read more...

The Tea So Far: 2020 OUSA Executive Candidates

Posted 12:45am Friday 6th September 2019 by Esme Hall

Critic will reserve a full judgement until the forums this week, but here is what you need to know about the returners and insiders of OUSA who are running. All the Presidential candidates are men (gross): Will Moffett, Jack Manning, and Sam Purchas. All we could find out about Will online, from Read more...

More Tenants Come Forward With Landlords Trying to Rent Boarding Houses on Illegal Contracts

Posted 12:43am Friday 6th September 2019 by Erin Gourley

The problem of landlords trying to rent boarding houses on fixed-term leases is widespread, with three tenants telling Critic that they realised they were living in a boarding house after reading our boarding house article last week. One tenant told us that she lived in a boarding house in 2018 Read more...

Second Year Law Exam Timetable Mix-Up Creates 24 Hours of Panic

Posted 12:42am Friday 6th September 2019 by Erin Gourley

Second-year law students were shocked to find all of their exams scheduled within one week when the exam timetable was released on the Tuesday of the break. “A lot of people lost their shit,” said one second-year student. The mix-up was quickly resolved after a barrage of complaints Read more...

OUSA To Solve Climate Change

Posted 12:40am Friday 6th September 2019 by Sinead Gill

OUSA have stepped their pussies up and are not just encouraging students to ditch class, but TELLING them to not go to class and go to Union Lawn on the 27th of September, 11:30am, for climate change. They’re doing it as a part of the School Strike 4 Climate campaign, which sees high Read more...

Guest Editorial: Don't Just Learn Māori this Week, Learn It Every Week.

Posted 10:22pm Thursday 5th September 2019 by Taylor Terekia

Kia ora e te whānau! (Hey fam) It's your one and only Tumuakz or Tumuaki, not to be confused with Tumauki (iykyk) of Te Roopū Māori. It's that one week of the year people seem to remember te reo Māori is a national language. You'll find Māori language Read more...

Library Opening Hours Extended

Posted 12:06am Friday 30th August 2019 by Esme Hall

The University Central Library will trial being open from 6am to 12pm seven days a week in the lead up to exams. The change in hours, which were previously 7am to 11pm, comes after OUSA President James Heath and Education Officer Will Dreyer negotiated with the Library Executive. “The Read more...

Clubs Vote Against Having to Attend Boring OUSA Meetings at a Boring OUSA Meeting

Posted 12:05am Friday 30th August 2019 by Charlie O’Mannin

In what has been described as both a resounding victory and a crushing defeat for boring OUSA meetings, 88% of people at a boring OUSA meeting voted against forcing representatives from OUSA Clubs and Societies to attend boring OUSA meetings. The rejected proposal was to have OUSA grants funding Read more...

DCC Candidates Commit to Student Pledges

Posted 11:53pm Thursday 29th August 2019 by Erin Gourley

This article was originally published in Issue 21 (02/09/2019). More candidates have made pledges, therefore this article has been updated (Issue 24, 23/09/2019). OUSA have released the seven local body election pledges they will ask candidates to sign. “Take that, Lee Vandervis,” Read more...

Students Choose Politics Over Equity

Posted 11:45pm Thursday 29th August 2019 by Sinead Gill

The week before mid-semester break, OUSA had a Student General Meeting (SGM). Critic, along with the 100-and-a-bit other students, went for the free pizza, dumplings, and hot goss. Although the motion to tie SGM attendance to club grants was the real reason why so many people turned up, in the Read more...

Employee of the Month: Ella Roding

Posted 11:43pm Thursday 29th August 2019 by Sinead Gill

Everybody stop what you’re fucking doing. There is a doggo at OUSA student support (5 Ethel Benjamin Place) every Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday, and she has an employment contract. Ella Roding, a rescue dog from a Community Led Animal Welfare organisation in South Africa (CLAW), had an Read more...

Spiked Drinks At Student Event Raises Alarms

Posted 11:41pm Thursday 29th August 2019 by Sinead Gill

In May of this year there was a student event hosted at a Central Dunedin venue. During this event, the water dispenser was allegedly spiked, and multiple attendees ended up in the Emergency Department. Jenny* was one of the students whose drink was spiked. She said that she was lucky her friends Read more...