Archive

Editorial: Dunedin’s Landlords Are Shit and Something Needs to Change

Posted 10:08pm Thursday 29th August 2019 by Charlie O’Mannin

Over the past few years Critic has covered a lot of tenancy stories about landlords and property managers being cunts: Mike “Dunedin’s Dodgiest Landlord” Harbott rented properties that were “unliveable” and then just refused to pay when the Tenancy Tribunal ruled Read more...

Boarding Houses and Illegal Contracts: How a Dunedin Landlord Got Her Tenants to Pay Extra Rent

Posted 10:06pm Thursday 29th August 2019 by Erin Gourley

Don’t you just hate it when your landlord emails to say that “your father is DISGUSTING PUTRID AND RUDE”? And accuses you of “RUDENESS, DISGUSTING BEHAVIOR, DISGUSTING MOCKING AND BULLY LAUGHING, RUNNING YOUR MOUTH 10000 MILES AN HOUR WITH BS”? That’s the kind of Read more...

RIP Forever, Captain Cook

Posted 12:23pm Monday 19th August 2019 by Sinead Gill

The Captain Cook has been sold (again), cementing the pub’s status as Otago students’ ex-boyfriend with serious commitment issues.  Michael McLeod, who had operated the Cook since early 2018, told the ODT that he planned on keeping the upstairs venue open for hire under the Cook Read more...

Squash Club Evicted From Damaged Courts

Posted 11:04pm Saturday 17th August 2019 by James Joblin

The Otago University Squash Club has been walloped from their courts at 51 Union Street after being served a closure notice by the University. “We would have loved to stay at the venue,” Squash Club President Jayden Millard told Critic. “It’s on campus, it has history, and Read more...

Sustainable Student Business Gets National Interest

Posted 11:02pm Saturday 17th August 2019 by Esme Hall

The University said that new sustainable Otago student-led business ‘Spout Alternatives’ should tender for the University’s milk contract when the current supplier’s three-year contract ends. Spout Alternatives founder Jo Mohan told Critic that cafes all over the country Read more...

Storming the Dundas Wall Kind of a Success

Posted 11:01pm Saturday 17th August 2019 by Charlie O’Mannin

Despite multiple people storming the Dundas Street Construction last weekend, the Otago Regional Council (ORC) is “really pleased that nothing came from the storming of the Bridge” according to ORC Communications Channels Manager Eleanor Ross. Ross said that the storming was a Read more...

“Incident” with Richardson Building Lift

Posted 11:00pm Saturday 17th August 2019 by Esme Hall

An “incident” with one of the Richardson Building lifts that made a loud crash was not the lift falling, according to the Property Services spokesperson. “Whilst Property Services is awaiting its full report from the Lift Contractor (Otis), we can advise the lift car did not Read more...

Korean Bible “Cult” Returns to Campus

Posted 10:59pm Saturday 17th August 2019 by Esme Hall

International students allege they were targeted by a controversial Korean religious group, described by many as a cult, that has been trespassed from campus. Sela and Mele, residents of a St David’s Street UniFlat, allege two young Korean people knocked on their door with an iPad and a Read more...

OUSA Deciding About Mandatory Club Attendance at Student General Meetings, at a Student General Meeting

Posted 10:57pm Saturday 17th August 2019 by Charlie O’Mannin

The OUSA Student Executive have decided to take the question of whether it should be mandatory for a representative from every club and society to attend their Student General Meetings (SGMs), which historically have an abysmal turnout, to the next SGM for the students to vote on. Or at least the 90 Read more...

Everyone Agrees Agnew Street Went Pretty Okay

Posted 10:56pm Saturday 17th August 2019 by Erin Gourley

Students traversed freezing weather and hiked up a small hill to make it to the annual, un-ticketed Agnew Street Party. The party went ahead despite a steady temperature of 4°C and persistent rain. “You can’t deter Otago students,” said one of the organisers. An organiser Read more...

Locals Leaders Claim Programme is Underfunded and Underappreciated

Posted 10:56pm Saturday 17th August 2019 by Sinead Gill

The Locals programme is underfunded and underappreciated by the University, according to three Locals leaders. The Locals programme was established in 2011 to make sure the 25% of first-year students who aren’t in colleges have a way to participate in all of the thrilling fresher events. Read more...

HEARTBREAKING: Local Artist’s Masterpiece Goes Unsold

Posted 10:54pm Saturday 17th August 2019 by Sinead Gill

Despite having a fanatic fanbase, James Heath’s fledgling art career didn’t take flight during OUSA Art Week. Art Week is an annual campaign to support student artists. As far as we can tell, James is the first President in recent history to be brave enough to submit his masterpiece Read more...

Guest Editorial: An Open Love Letter to Supré

Posted 8:08pm Saturday 17th August 2019 by Henessey Griffiths

The day that Supré closed down in the Meridian Mall was a sad day for Dunedin. Although I was more of a Jay-Jays kid growing up, I remember going there in my early teenage years and it completely changed me. When you walked in, you were greeted with overwhelming fluorescent lights, Taio Read more...

THE MOST INTERESTING THING YOU WILL EVER READ

Posted 6:18pm Sunday 11th August 2019 by Charlie O’Mannin

Get ready you motherfuckers for some motherfucking news. Oh yeah, this is going to be good. Hold onto your hats, because you’re about to be taken on a ride down the sensual slippery slide of journalism. Let me introduce the key players in this high-octane psychosexual drama: the old kids on Read more...

OPINION: Students Are Not Free Labour

Posted 6:17pm Sunday 11th August 2019 by Nina Minogue

It’s that time of year, baby. Halfway through semester two, internships and summer employment are all the rage. And I’m raging. Like two thousand other Otago students, I am graduating at the end of this year. I’ll have a Bachelor of Arts and a bunch of paid and voluntary work Read more...

Physiotherapy Defeats Medicine in Inter-Faculty Rugby Game

Posted 6:12pm Sunday 11th August 2019 by James Joblin

Physiotherapy students have proved that they are about more than just feet after last Sunday's cracking-good rugby game against the Otago University Medical Students’ Association’s team, the ‘Teratomas’ (gross medical word for a gross tumor made up of different types of Read more...

OUSA Exec Restructure Going to Student Vote

Posted 6:10pm Sunday 11th August 2019 by Sinead Gill

It’s Thursday, and OUSA is in an early morning emergency meeting. Education Officer Will Dreyer’s vape cloud dissipates to reveal the Executive flicking through two versions of the OUSA constitution. This document dictates the purpose, powers, and rules of our entire student union, and Read more...

Who Owns Castle Street? A Critic Investigation

Posted 6:07pm Sunday 11th August 2019 by Esme Hall

Most student flats in the stretch of Castle Street from Dundas to Duke and Brook Street are owned by Dunedin locals, a Critic investigation found after trawling through a lot boring information. Of the sixty-three flats whose owners’ information was publicly available, forty-three had local Read more...

Editorial: Critic Officially Endorses Everglades Premium Liquors Peach Schnapps

Posted 4:22pm Sunday 11th August 2019 by Charlie O’Mannin

If you’ve ever bothered looking at the cool old Orientation posters up in the Link you might have noticed who they’re all sponsored by: Speight’s. And then, suddenly, no more Speight’s. Surprise, surprise, students didn’t suddenly stop being interested in beer, and Read more...

Cutlers Property Management Threatens Students For Talking to Critic

Posted 9:19pm Sunday 4th August 2019 by Esme Hall

Cutlers Property Management threatened to share current Cutlers tenants’ names and address in a Facebook post if they didn’t retract negative comments made to Critic about their flat. Last Tuesday Critic requested comment from Cutlers about claims made by current tenants in a Queen Read more...

World Record Scrum Hopes Crushed By ‘Boomers’

Posted 9:16pm Sunday 4th August 2019 by Sinead Gill

Last week, an effort to break the world record for the biggest scrum during the Agnew Street party was tragically thwarted before it even began. (For those who don’t know sports, a scrum is a “move” in rugby where players on both teams line up, lock arms with each other, and have Read more...

SPORT! STUDENTS WIN!

Posted 9:00pm Sunday 4th August 2019 by James Joblin

Otago University Rugby Club has triumphed at the men’s and women’s rugby premier finals held at Forsyth Barr Stadium on 27 July. The moustachioed University Men A team tallied up a 38-31 win against Taieri, and the less moustachioed University Women defeated the hitherto undefeated Read more...

Students Volunteer For Fox River Rubbish Clean Up

Posted 8:58pm Sunday 4th August 2019 by Erin Gourley

On the weekend of August 9-11, OUSA will send 74 staff and students to help with the Fox River clean up. They will contribute to the removal of “roughly 500 rugby fields worth of rubbish,” said OUSA President, James Heath. In March this year, flooding broke open a landfill near Fox Read more...

Bike Thefts: a Trial, a Tribulation

Posted 8:34pm Sunday 4th August 2019 by Nina Minogue

Earlier this year Critic received a news tip alleging there was a spate of bike thefts happening on campus. To see if it was a story worth pursuing, I contacted the Police Communications team with an OIA request to get some evidence on reported thefts. Simple stuff. For those that don’t Read more...

Editorial: I don’t know, vote or something

Posted 7:49pm Sunday 4th August 2019 by Charlie O’Mannin

This week’s centrefold is really boring. It’s an enrolment form to vote in the local body elections. In case you didn’t know, there are a bunch of incredibly boring committees and councils, exclusively staffed with people over the age of 95, who make decisions about your lives; Read more...

Editorial: Dunedin Needs its Own Mantracker

Posted 5:10pm Wednesday 31st July 2019 by Charlie O’Mannin

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Former OUSA Presidents Hit Up Harlene for CV References

Posted 4:35am Friday 26th July 2019 by Esme Hall

Vice-Chancellor Harlene Hayne has provided written references for one OUSA President and one OUSA Executive member since August 2011, according to records obtained via the Official Information Act.  To the best of her recollection, she has also provided verbal references for two further OUSA Read more...

OUSA Will Introduce Candidate Pledges in Upcoming Local Body Election

Posted 4:22am Friday 26th July 2019 by Erin Gourley

For this year’s local body election, OUSA will ask candidates to sign a pledge stating that they will commit to student-focused policies if elected. The policy pledges will cover rental standards, landlord regulation, BYO policy, climate change, public transport, and mental health services. Read more...

Opinion: The University Lied About Stationery and I Feel Weirdly Vindicated

Posted 3:57am Friday 26th July 2019 by Sinead Gill

Last week Critic reported that the Archway Shop stationery would move to Campus Shop South (the weird merch store next to the library). This was allegedly due to a high demand for stationary and a need for more space to stock things. We asked the University point-blank if Campus Shop South, which Read more...

Students Felt “Unfriendly Vibe” at Queer Night

Posted 3:55am Friday 26th July 2019 by Sinead Gill

Accusations of homophobic behaviour from members of the crowd have tainted the Queen of Hearts gig, “a queer-friendly event”, which kicked off OUSA’s 2019 Diversity Week. One male student was removed from the gig after tearing down a pride flag, though OUSA and Starters Bar said Read more...

OPINION: Why We Must All Protect Ihumātao.

Posted 3:43am Friday 26th July 2019 by Tiana Mihaere

“Not One More Acre of Māori Land” was the rallying cry of the late Dame Whina Cooper in 1975. 44 years on we use her words to rally behind the Protectors of Ihumātao who call us to stand up against the destruction of Papatūānuku. Ihumātao has seen over 800 Read more...

A Win for OUSA Insiders in the Exec By-Election Results

Posted 3:33am Friday 26th July 2019 by Esme Hall

Georgia Mischefski-Gray is the new Admin VP, Benjamin McCook-Weir is the new Campaigns Officer and Matthew Schep is new Postgraduate Officer in a by-election Critic is calling a win for OUSA insiders. Hoping it’ll catch on. Probably won’t. All the new Exec members are OUSA adjacent. Read more...

Agnew Street Party Organisers Want a More Controlled Party than Last Year

Posted 6:15pm Thursday 25th July 2019 by Esme Hall

The student organisers of the Agnew Street Party are trying to make this year’s party safer after last year’s got out of hand. One of the organisers said the Proctor, Dave Scott, has been “an absolute legend” in helping them figure out how to make the now seemingly annual Read more...

Critic Gets Street Sign Spelling Error Corrected

Posted 6:14pm Thursday 25th July 2019 by Esme Hall

Critic corrected a spelling mistake not in our magazine, but in real life. We’re cool, promise.  Since 26 April, the street sign on Ethel McMillan Pl has read “Ethel McMillian Pl”. Critic’s intrepid reporter stared at the sign for weeks wondering if they’d Read more...

OPINION: VSM is the Worst

Posted 4:30pm Friday 19th July 2019 by Bonnie Harrison

The Otago University Students’ Association exists purely because Harlene Hayne saw a poor little piglet, primed for slaughter, and decided they were too special to be turned into pork mince. The story of OUSA is essentially Charlotte’s Web. Our student union was conceived and born in Read more...

North Dunedin to Get Two More “Barnes Dance” Crossings

Posted 3:20am Friday 19th July 2019 by Wyatt Ryder

Two more ‘Barnes Dance Crossings’ are being installed in North Dunedin in the next three weeks. Barnes Dance is a really lame name for those crossings that let you cross in any direction and have a flashing countdown that lets you challenge yourself to see if you can run across with Read more...

Advocacy Groups Have “No Empathy” for Landlords Scrambling to Insulate Properties

Posted 3:17am Friday 19th July 2019 by Esme Hall

Local advocacy groups are disappointed in landlords who left it to the last minute to insulate the underfloor and ceilings of rental homes for the July 1st deadline, which they had three years to meet. Changes to the Residential Tenancies Act mean that from July 1st rental homes must have ceiling Read more...

Who to Vote For in the By-Election

Posted 3:13am Friday 19th July 2019 by Sinead Gill

As per usual for OUSA events the seats in the Main Common Room were vacant for the candidates forum, all bar the current Executive, the candidates’ friends, and depressed Critic reporters. But no worries, we’ve assessed the quality of the candidates for you. For the more discerning voter Read more...

My Editorials: A Review

Posted 1:57am Friday 19th July 2019 by Charlie O’Mannin

This is a review issue. We’ve got a bunch of reviews. Here’s a review of my editorials so far:    Editorial #1 Drugs are lame. 2/10   Editorial #2 We still haven’t had an answer from AskOtago. 7/10    Editorial #3 The University Read more...

Archway Shop is Dead and There is Nothing We Can Do About It

Posted 10:01pm Thursday 18th July 2019 by Sinead Gill

Despite having a name that confusingly refers to another building on campus, the Archway Stationery Shop has been a staple of the Link for decades. But as of last Thursday, the University pulled the plug. Campus and Collegiate Life Services Director, James Lindsay, said that this move was to Read more...

DCC VERSUS DCC: WHO WILL WIN?

Posted 9:59pm Thursday 18th July 2019 by Sinead Gill

One bold, annonymous Dunedin local has perfected community outreach by launching a ‘Dunedin City Council - DCC’ Facebook page that people actually engage with. Overnight they became a city-wide hit and quickly superseeded the 1k-follower mark. While unfortunately their posts are just Read more...

Writing About The Executive Reports So They Stop Asking Us To

Posted 12:46am Friday 12th July 2019 by Sinead Gill

If you noticed that we never covered the first quarterly reports of the OUSA Executive back in March, then you are either Will Dreyer or... (no, you’re just Will Dreyer). Now that the second quarterly reports are out, though, Critic can compare what goals and promises they kept first semester, Read more...

The University & The Sexual Misconduct Policy

Posted 12:43am Friday 12th July 2019 by Caroline Moratti

Under the new Sexual Misconduct Policy, which was made public at the end of May this year, the University is obligated to “ensure that students are informed of this policy, related resources, and education programmes,”. However, according to Thursdays in Black Otago, the University has Read more...

Editorial: I Don’t Want to Live in a World Without the Giant Mountain Lobelia

Posted 12:40am Friday 12th July 2019 by Charlie O’Mannin

Ok, buckos. It’s happened. I’ve snapped. This was the last fucking straw. I was on board, but now I’m jumping off. Don’t count on me no more. We all know that climate change is destroying the planet and that as humans we’ve pretty much proved ourselves to be unworthy Read more...

NZUSA are Preparing to Fight “Tweaks” to the Fees-Free Policy

Posted 11:28pm Thursday 11th July 2019 by Sinead Gill

Although the National Student Union, NZUSA, started the year at a $74,000 deficit, the entire staff of James Ranstead (President) and Caity Barlow-Groome (Vice-President), with the blessing of the NZUSA National Executive, have decided to invest in a 20-hour staff member for a Read more...

Student Enrolment Numbers Double

Posted 11:27pm Thursday 11th July 2019 by James Joblin

The number of students enrolled to vote in the upcoming local elections is on the rise, with the number of Otago students enrolled doubling so far this year. These numbers still remain a fraction of the total student body. In recent years, the percentage of Otago students enrolled has remained at Read more...

Savoury Scroll “No Longer Worthy” Of Hilarious $4.20 Price Tag

Posted 11:25pm Thursday 11th July 2019 by Sinead Gill

An anonymous student has accused St. David’s Cafe of shrinking the size of their savoury scrolls. In an interview with Critic, they allege that the portions are “no longer worthy” of the hilarious $4.20 price tag, but that “the real betrayal is that they never even Read more...

Otago University Trades Suicide Prevention Framework For ‘Wellbeing Matrix’

Posted 11:24pm Thursday 11th July 2019 by Sinead Gill

Despite working on a Suicide Prevention Framework for over a year, the Healthy University Advisory Group (HUAG) have decided to replace it with a ‘Wellbeing Matrix’. A framework is basically a set of ideas and principles about how something should work (so, how suicide could be Read more...

University Set to Start Charging for Cup Libraries

Posted 11:22pm Thursday 11th July 2019 by Caroline Moratti

In your daily update of ceramic news, the University is set to start charging for use of cup libraries, with borrowers paying $1 to get a cup and on returning it will get $1 off their next coffee purchase. You may have seen the colourful, quirky cup libraries around campus, looking like something Read more...

Otago Uni Says Nup to 126,000 Cups

Posted 11:21pm Thursday 11th July 2019 by Nina Minogue

Otago Uni has announced that as of July 15, they will be phasing out disposable cups across all campus cafes. The first three cafes to be affected by this change will be St. Davids, Te Mātiti and Staff Club. While some students already use reusable cups at the campus cafes, the University has Read more...