Archive

Cost of Living and Unemployment Take a Hit on OUSA Student Hardship Fund

Posted 12:21pm Sunday 29th March 2026 by Gryffin Blockley

With 2026 well underway, many of Ōtepoti’s tauira are feeling the pressure from gold-plated petrol prices and the hellscape of Aotearoa’s supermarket duopoly. With seemingly the cost of everything on the rise, student hardship is taking a toll, and she’s not slowing for Read more...

Local Produce: AW / Andrew Wilson

Posted 12:17pm Sunday 29th March 2026 by Ethan Montañer

Andrew Wilson is an Ōtepoti-born musician with a hectic but impressive musical career. Many will know him as the frontman/guitarist of post-punk trio Die! Die! Die!, one of Aotearoa’s most important and consistent bands of the last 20 odd years. In that band he’s played innumerable Read more...

Local Produce: Deaf Raccoon

Posted 12:29pm Sunday 22nd March 2026 by Ethan Montañer

Deaf Raccoon are one of Dunedin’s most exciting new alternative punk bands, and are a testament to the importance of having all-ages gigs. Having only played their first gig in April of last year, the four-piece have already released a single, played the Rockquest National Finals, and made Read more...

Tamatha Paul Talks Housing

Posted 12:18pm Sunday 22nd March 2026 by Stella Weston

Tamatha Paul, Green MP for Wellington Central, and Party Spokesperson for housing (among other things), caught up with Critic Te Ārohi for a chat about the Green’s upcoming housing campaign. Housing is something that affects everyone, whether you’re “a student living in a Read more...

Dunedin Youth Orchestra Unlocks New Sound

Posted 12:15pm Sunday 22nd March 2026 by Stella Weston

In a grand collaboration with Dunedin Youth Orchestra, international performer and composer Daniel Verstappen (yes, a relative of the F1 driver) will be playing at Hanover Hall on the 1st of April. Belgium-born Daniel fell in love with New Zealand when he visited two years ago, and he hopes this Read more...

Second Year Law Camp Cancelled “For The Foreseeable Future”

Posted 12:14pm Sunday 22nd March 2026 by Hanna Varrs

Law Camp was a fixture of the second year law experience at the University of Otago. Hosted by the Society of Otago University Law Students (SOULS), they quietly cancelled for this year’s iteration of the camp. The event was traditionally a getaway to the country – featuring skits, Read more...

Semesters Dropped to 12 Weeks For 2027

Posted 12:11pm Sunday 22nd March 2026 by Hanna Varrs

This just in – the University of Otago is planning to change our semesters from 13 weeks to 12 starting from 2027. The saved week will be used as what they’re calling a “reading week” for students.  It’s well known that Otago’s hick cousins, Lincoln and Read more...

Case of Meningococcal Disease Found In Student Community

Posted 7:53pm Saturday 14th March 2026 by Hanna Varrs

As many are well aware, the University recently confirmed a case of meningococcal disease within the student community. Vice-Chancellor Grant Robertson’s reassurances regarding the situation were beamed directly to everyone with a student.otago.ac.nz address. Meningitis is not to be messed Read more...

Fringe Starts with Bang(s)

Posted 7:47pm Saturday 14th March 2026 by Stella Weston

With shows ranging from comedy to ballet and everything in between, the Dunedin Fringe Festival is in full swing. Running from the 11th of March to the 22nd, this program is stacked with 93 shows in venues across Ōtepoti. Time to text the flat gc and do a wholesome outing for a Read more...

Politicians vs Professors

Posted 7:44pm Saturday 14th March 2026 by Te Awhirēinga Heperi

With an eager crowd watching and the sun shining overhead, a football game kicked off on Logan Park last Sunday, March 8th. Usually, that’d be nothing out of the ordinary. But if passersby cared to look a little closer, they’d see that gangly adolescent limbs had been traded with the Read more...

Local Produce: Monkey Do

Posted 7:42pm Saturday 14th March 2026 by Ethan Montañer

Monkey Do are a new pack of primates/alternative rock band who love the Ōtepoti music scene, and have spent the past year refining their sound at Pint Nights and flat gigs. Critic Te Ārohi caught up with Rowan (guitar, he/him), Mack (bass, he/she), Pato (guitar, he/him) and Kam (drums, Read more...

Foo Fighters Seeking Help

Posted 12:26pm Sunday 8th March 2026 by Dylan O'Connor

Local Ōtepoti feminist punk band, SEEK HELP!, has been announced as one of the openers for the upcoming concert of American rock band Foo Fighters. SEEK HELP! made history last year by being one of two bands representing Otago at Smokefreerockquest 2025, and they finished in third place. Now, Read more...

E-Waste Department Saves Uni $40,000 in 2025

Posted 12:24pm Sunday 8th March 2026 by Harry Almey

Te Oraka, a gem in the centre of campus, is full of student-run businesses and second-hand goods. Lesser known is that it also houses a selection of rescued e-waste. Critic Te Ārohi dusted themselves off one dreary day, and went to explore. Tucked in behind the second-hand clothes (nothing Read more...

Plug Pulled on Electric Hyde

Posted 12:22pm Sunday 8th March 2026 by Imogen Perry

Electric Hyde, a proposed event advertised in popular Castle26 Facebook group as an alternative to Elective Avenue, was quickly cancelled following discussions with the University and the Otago University Students’ Association. Critic Te Ārohi understands that Hyde Street residents were Read more...

Students, Lecturers and Tutors React to New LMS Aoroa

Posted 12:18pm Sunday 8th March 2026 by Bella Bates

In a move that has been met with both confusion and celebration, the University of Otago has officially started the roll out of Aoroa, its shiny new learning management system (LMS), powered by Brightspace. Despite being touted as a modern upgrade, Aoroa has already been critically received by Read more...

Local Produce: Cue-Go

Posted 12:08pm Sunday 8th March 2026 by Harry Almey

One day, in a rush to class, you'll pass Startup Dunedin on Leithbank. If you take a moment to really look, you'll spy a poster in the window of a student business they have proudly nurtured. Ready, set, Cue-Go.  The audio-visual event tech company, Cue-Go, is a star in the sky, Read more...

New Cheap Lunch Spot Opens Next to Campus

Posted 5:30pm Sunday 1st March 2026 by Hanna Varrs

Students may have noticed a new food truck operating out of the Museum Llawn, staffed with broad smiles and piling $5 Love Feasts onto plates. Jane Beecroft caught up with Critic Te Ārohi to discuss the mahi behind Krisha Kai, as well as the menu. “Samosas, smoothies, hot chips, apple Read more...

Otago Alumni Creates Flatchat: A Site That Lets You Read and Write Flat Reviews

Posted 4:56pm Sunday 1st March 2026 by Hanna Varrs

Ryan Cole is a 2022 University of Otago software engineering graduate, and the creator of Flatchat. He “really enjoyed” his time at Otago, and had some “fun and interesting” flatting experiences – including some more gnarly ones. “That’s where the idea for Read more...

Local Produce: The Plan Gig Guide

Posted 1:57pm Sunday 1st March 2026 by Ethan Montañer

No matter how long you’ve been in Dunedin’s music scene, it can still feel impossible to keep track of every gig that’s happening throughout the week. Luckily for you, a small team of local musos and fans have put together The Plan Gig Guide, a printed guide featuring a Read more...

Spilling The Green Tea With Chlöe and Francisco

Posted 1:43pm Sunday 1st March 2026 by Bella Bates

Before making their case for the upcoming election, Green Party Co-Leader Chlöe Swarbrick and Dunedin electoral candidate Francisco Hernandez joined Critic Te Ārohi for a more intimate Q&A over at Pearl Diver. Chlöe didn’t eat the crusts of her potato pizza, but we’ll Read more...