Archive

Psychoactive Substances Bill Committee named

Posted 3:03pm Sunday 26th May 2013 by Bella Macdonald

Associate Minister of Health Peter Dunne announced the Psychoactive Substances Bill Committee on Friday 17 May. The committee is to be chaired by Otago University Associate Professor of Medicine Richard Robson, and has been put in place to determine a safety testing regime for “legal high” Read more...

Georgie Pie

Posted 3:03pm Sunday 26th May 2013 by Claudia Herron

Dunedin may be getting its own piece of the Georgie Pie, depending on the success of the New Zealand fast food favourite’s re-release in Auckland and Hamilton early next month. Critic spoke with a North Dunedin McDonald’s manager, who said it was “uncertain” whether Dunedin would be serving Read more...

Budget provokes outrage and apathy among students

Posted 3:03pm Sunday 26th May 2013 by Jack Montgomerie

An OUSA-run forum on the Government’s budget resulted in yawns for many on Monday. Speakers from the youth wings of most parliamentary parties were generally ambivalent, although Finance Minister Bill English’s latest effort attracted criticism from even the Government’s most ardent supporters. Read more...

Fredric leaves Critic happy

Posted 3:03pm Sunday 26th May 2013 by Staff Reporter

Callum Fredric has stepped down as editor of Critic after reaching a settlement with OUSA last Friday. Fredric was suspended after a meeting with Darel Hall, the General Manager of OUSA and its subsidiary company Planet Media Dunedin Ltd (PMDL), on Friday 3 May. This suspension was confirmed in a Read more...

Excessive entitlement exacerbates exams

Posted 3:03pm Sunday 26th May 2013 by Claudia Herron

Exam failure may be attributed to a student’s exaggerated belief that they deserve to succeed, according to research conducted by the University of Otago. The study confirms, as educators often claim, that some students believe they have a right to succeed, known as “excessive entitlement,” Read more...

Referen-dumb?

Posted 3:03pm Sunday 26th May 2013 by Sam McChesney

An OUSA referendum will be held this week from Monday 27 to Friday 31 May. The referendum comprises six questions, one of which would radically alter OUSA’s governance structure. Question Six was included in the referendum after former Executive member Dan Stride started a petition and Read more...

The Cook is cooked

Posted 3:03pm Sunday 26th May 2013 by Jack Montgomerie

The Captain Cook Tavern’s long history looks set to come to a close, with the pub’s lease expiring un-renewed on 29 June. James Arnott is one of the owners of Cook Brothers Bars, which has operated the pub for nine years, along with other establishments in the Octagon, Queenstown, Christchurch and Read more...

Fredric steps down as Critic editor

Posted 2:26pm Tuesday 21st May 2013 by Staff Reporter

Callum Fredric has stepped down as editor of Critic after reaching a settlement with OUSA last Friday. Fredric was suspended after a meeting with OUSA General Manager Darel Hall on Tuesday 7 May. The terms of the settlement remain confidential. Hall refused to confirm any details to Critic, Read more...

Israelient

Posted 1:24pm Sunday 19th May 2013 by Thomas Raethel

Last Tuesday afternoon, Otago University hosted Shalom Cohen, the former Israeli Ambassador to Egypt, for a discussion with students and staff. Cohen is currently the acting Israeli Ambassador to New Zealand. Mr Cohen spent much of the heated discussion addressing the recent “Arab Spring”; or Read more...

University council holds a meeting

Posted 1:24pm Sunday 19th May 2013 by Bella Macdonald

Otago University has been deemed by the Otago Daily Times as “trumpeting” its contribution to Dunedin after the annual Economic Impact Report was presented at the University Council meeting on Tuesday 14 March. A media release by the University stated, “The overall direct economic impact of Read more...

Shitty health decisions

Posted 1:24pm Sunday 19th May 2013 by Bella Macdonald

The Ministry of Health is in the firing line of Otago professors due to its reluctance to introduce a bowel cancer-screening pilot programme nationwide, despite the programme’s proven success. University of Otago health services researcher Dr Sarah Derrett, also on the Board of the patient- Read more...

Radio 45,000

Posted 1:24pm Sunday 19th May 2013 by Zane Pocock

OUSA announced $45,000 capital expenditure plans for Radio One’s technical equipment last Wednesday. OUSA President Francisco Hernandez told Dunedin Television, “it is a big vote of confidence in the future of Radio One as it approaches its 30th birthday. “Research shows the Read more...

Budget 2013: Nothing new for impoverished students

Posted 1:24pm Sunday 19th May 2013 by Josie Cochrane

It appears the National Party is waiting until election year 2014 to give New Zealand’s domestic tertiary students any excitement in the Government’s annual Budget. Student allowances will continue to exist only for younger students and people studying for their first degrees. Students aged Read more...

Daft punks ignore Daft Punk suggestion

Posted 1:24pm Sunday 19th May 2013 by Jack Montgomerie

OUSA has met a suggestion that it underwrite a Daft Punk gig with a mix of excitement, caution and derision. Radio One station manager Sean Norling’s spontaneous idea was emailed to Daft Punk’s agent Richard de la Font on Sunday evening. Norling, who has so far received an auto-reply from de Read more...

Debating Society refrain from debating their privilege

Posted 1:24pm Sunday 19th May 2013 by Zane Pocock

University of Otago Vice Chancellor Prof. Harlene Hayne has provided a $25,000 grant to the Otago University Debating Society (OUDS). In a letter to OUDS president Paul Hunt, Hayne recognised the society’s recent “international exposure … putting Otago on the world stage as a top ranking Read more...

Ghosts write essays for cash

Posted 1:24pm Sunday 19th May 2013 by Thomas Raethel

A nationwide made-to-order web-based essay service marketed primarily towards Chinese students has been uncovered. Assignment4U is registered with a New Zealand domain name, and markets itself as an “academic advisory” service. A 1,500-word essay ordered by Fairfax Media last week cost $270, Read more...

South Dunedin pimps pimp

Posted 1:24pm Sunday 19th May 2013 by Claudia Herron

An elderly gentleman from South Dunedin has been outed as a “pimp” by the Otago Daily Times after a popular YouTube video inspired them to publish an article about the man’s “pimped out” mobility scooter. While the aged hustler is far from making coin from the South Dunedin hunnies, the ODT Read more...

Whare Krishna

Posted 1:24pm Sunday 19th May 2013 by Claudia Herron

The Hare Krishna community in Dunedin has been gifted a house to call their spiritual home thanks to a gracious donation from one of the group’s members. At the end of this year, 133 London Street will become the new Dunedin Hare Krishna Cultural Centre. Hare Krishna member Jane Beecroft Read more...

OUSA to break world record by inventing it

Posted 1:24pm Sunday 19th May 2013 by Zane Pocock

OUSA’s events department last week announced part of the line-up for their Re-Orientation Week events. The night of Wednesday 10 July will see Forsyth Barr Stadium hosting the world’s largest ever paint fight, and Shapeshifter will perform in the Town Hall on Saturday 13 July. On track for Read more...

Recreation Centre facelift lacks actual lift

Posted 1:24pm Sunday 19th May 2013 by Jack Montgomerie

OUSA’s $1.7 million renovation of its Recreation Centre building (formerly Clubs and Socs) is set to give students a more modern, functional space for activities. However, one of its services will remain off-limits to some disabled students. After a consultation process including user surveys Read more...

Ferguson finally fucks off

Posted 2:26pm Sunday 12th May 2013 by Sam McChesney

The big news in sport over the last week has been the retirement of Sir Alex Ferguson, the manager of Manchester United. We’ve been here before – Ferguson announced his retirement at the start of 2002 only to perform a U-turn at the end of the season – but this time it’s for realsies. Ferguson’s Read more...

Police render point-proving tactics irrelephant

Posted 2:26pm Sunday 12th May 2013 by Staff Reporter

An elephant was discovered in the Critic office last Thursday. The elephant appeared in the room while the Critic staff were writing that week’s news. It is unclear what the elephant’s motives were. The elephant was eventually removed by the police, and has declined to comment on the incident. Read more...

ODT exposes exposer

Posted 2:26pm Sunday 12th May 2013 by Zane Pocock

Last Tuesday 7 May, the ODT published their best article of the year. Entitled “Dunedin teen shakes bare bottom at police,” the 64-word piece exposes a 17-year-old Dunedin man who “allegedly [shook] his bare bottom at police officers while standing in the middle of Eglinton Rd.” Here, Critic aims to Read more...

Justice Davani

Posted 2:26pm Sunday 12th May 2013 by Claudia Herron

The 17th New Zealand Law Foundation Ethel Benjamin Commemorative Address was given by Justice Catherine Davani, of the Papua New Guinea Supreme Court, on 8 May. Her thought-provoking talk in the Dunedin Public Art Gallery touched on the pressure to repeal sorcery laws in PNG. A recent, Read more...

Government throws more money at research

Posted 2:26pm Sunday 12th May 2013 by Bella Macdonald

Otago University is hoping to get their hands on a chunk of the Government’s $73.5 million budget for research purposes following the announcement of 10 National Science Challenges. The budget was announced on 1 May by John Key and will be added to last year’s $60 million budget to fund these Read more...

A degree from Otago might just get you a job

Posted 2:26pm Sunday 12th May 2013 by Josie Cochrane

The 2013 QS World University Rankings by Subject have been released, with Otago ranked among the top 100 institutions in the world in 12 subject areas. Psychology, History and Archaeology, English Language and Literature, and Law also placed in the top 50. Professor Harlene Hayne, Vice Read more...

Cardboard swords slay selwyn’s hordes

Posted 2:26pm Sunday 12th May 2013 by Jack Montgomerie

Selwyn College’s residents flogged one of their favourite dead horses last Wednesday afternoon when they took over the Clocktower lawn for the annual Lindski Battle. A dozen ex-residents were pitted against more than 100 Selwyn “knights” and “nurses” in the annual pacifist skirmish. The Read more...

Dunedin – New Zealand’s Detroit

Posted 2:26pm Sunday 12th May 2013 by Jamie Breen

Students are to Dunedin what Instagram is to a tween: #important. Or, as the ODT wittily put it, Dunedin is New Zealand’s Detroit, if postgraduate and international student numbers are compared to car manufacturers: lose them and the economy loses, too. University of Otago lecturer Paul Read more...

Lama drama harms Cull’s karma

Posted 2:26pm Sunday 12th May 2013 by Jack Montgomerie

Dunedin Mayor Dave Cull has retracted what he calls a “dismissive and unnecessary slight” he made against the Dalai Lama, but still will not meet him when he visits Dunedin on 11 June. After describing the Lama as “the leader of a minority sect” last week, Cull now says that the community Read more...

World record attempts

Posted 2:26pm Sunday 12th May 2013 by Bella Macdonald

Otago University students are in the running to break 10 world records during Re-Orientation Week at an event organised by OUSA. Students who are interested in breaking records have submitted their record idea to OUSA, who have then gone on to co-ordinate with Guinness World Records. So far, Read more...

Too many cats hanging out at Murray’s

Posted 2:26pm Sunday 12th May 2013 by Josie Cochrane

At least six pet cats have been found dead, some hung from trees, at Navy Park in South Dunedin. The ongoing suspicious deaths have occurred since December 2012, with the latest cat being found on Saturday 27 April of this year. Senior Constable Ruth Parsons says, “We’ve had this sort of Read more...

The Wicked Witches of Union Street East

Posted 4:00pm Sunday 5th May 2013 by Bella Macdonald

Abby Howells (Left) and Caitlin McNaughton (Right) are directing 2013’s Wizard of Oz-themed Capping Show, which kicks off this Wednesday. Bella Macdonald interviewed them during one of their nightly rehearsals. What do you see as the purpose of the Capping Show? Caitlin: I guess it was Read more...

“Everyone a winner at Uni Games”

Posted 4:00pm Sunday 5th May 2013 by Gus Gawn

Team Otago reclaimed the University Shield at the Uni Games held in Dunedin two weeks ago. Otago boasted the largest team at the 2013 event with 142 competitors, and made their numerical advantage count by collecting the most points and taking out the shield. Prior to the games it had been Read more...

Ex-Critic editor puts up pointless, doomed bill

Posted 4:00pm Sunday 5th May 2013 by Jack Montgomerie

Green Party list MP Holly Walker has introduced a Private Member’s Bill for the next ballot at Parliament, which aims to reinstate student allowances for postgraduate students. However, with little hope of majority support, the bill appears to be purely symbolic. In 2012, the government Read more...

Shit students help students in the shit

Posted 4:00pm Sunday 5th May 2013 by Josie Cochrane

Figures recently released by the University of Otago show that misconduct cost students $14,860 in 2012. This is up 40% from 2011, when total fines issued by the Proctor were $10,670 for the year. The increase has occurred despite a decrease in the number of misbehaving students from 136 in 2011 to Read more...

He’s Dunne it again

Posted 4:00pm Sunday 5th May 2013 by Claudia Herron

Associate Health Minister Peter Dunne has come out of leftfield and banned a further two substances, both found in the popular synthetic cannabis brand K2. The totally unprecedented move by Dunne will see a Temporary Class Drug Notice issued on BB-22 and 5F-AKB48, bringing the total number of Read more...

Colmar Brunton says 80% of students keen to work for free

Posted 4:00pm Sunday 5th May 2013 by Thomas Raethel

Student Job Search is set to introduce a trial “unpaid” section from June this year, after widespread enthusiasm for volunteer work was expressed by students around the country. A Colmar Brunton poll commissioned by Studylink last year revealed that 80% of students interviewed expressed interest in Read more...

Apps to make sad kids ‘appy

Posted 4:00pm Sunday 5th May 2013 by Jack Montgomerie

A texting blob, a digital bin in which to put feelings, and a site full of videos to cheer kids up won the Dunedin round of the Lifehack competition last Sunday evening. Lifehack (not to be confused with the website explaining how to “Make Your Own Fresh Home Fragrances”) is an organisation that the Read more...

Critic culls Cull

Posted 4:00pm Sunday 5th May 2013 by Zane Pocock

Dunedin Mayor Dave Cull has refused to partake in a debate with legal high lobbyist Grant Hall after calling for consumers to boycott businesses that sell synthetic cannabis products. While defending his position, Cull alluded to a fear that his opponent-to-be had been “imbibing a bit much,” in a Read more...

Selwyn Ballet to thrill audiences for 86th year running

Posted 4:00pm Sunday 5th May 2013 by Callum Fredric

Capping Show audiences are once again set for five minutes of top-quality entertainment at the end of the first half of the show, as the Selwyn Ballet makes its 86th appearance. The ballet’s distinctive humour comes from the visual juxtaposition between short-haired, rugby-loving young men Read more...

We’re off to see the wizard

Posted 4:00pm Sunday 5th May 2013 by Jamie Breen

The legendary University of Otago Capping Show will kick off on Wednesday. This year sees the 119th iteration of the world’s second-longest-running (and longest continually running) Capping Revue. For all you freshers out there, allow Critic to educate you. The Capping Show, a yearly event, Read more...

A Lord-to-Lord chat with Christopher Monckton

Posted 3:14pm Sunday 28th April 2013 by Callum Fredric

Lord Christopher Monckton is arguably the world’s most prominent climate change skeptic. He talks to Critic about NZ universities, Generation Zero, and whether he’s actually a Lord. You’re speaking in Gore tomorrow. Are small towns worth your time to attend? It’s always an enormous Read more...

Lord Monckton

Posted 3:14pm Sunday 28th April 2013 by Callum Fredric

Prominent climate change skeptic Lord Christopher Monckton gave two presentations in Dunedin last week, in which he argued that the dangers of human-induced climate change had been greatly exaggerated and that scientists had deliberately tampered with climate data in order to show increasing global Read more...

Lord Monckton | The Eagle's Take

Posted 3:14pm Sunday 28th April 2013 by Eagle of Liberty

The Eagle wrote “The Eagle Denies Climate Change” in Critic back in 2011, and two years later socialists are still rabbiting on about global warming, polar bears, and how taxing dem evil multinational corporations will solve the world’s problems. Thankfully, the Eagle’s liberty-loving friend Lord Read more...

Lord Monckton | The Salamander's Take

Posted 3:14pm Sunday 28th April 2013 by Salamander of Science

So, I want to get something pretty clear. Lord Christopher Monckton is crazy. Not some kind of acceptable/eccentric crazy, but the kind of legitimately crazy that goes on record saying “we should lock up all people with HIV/AIDS,” and “the United Nations is secretly planning to kill 90 per cent of Read more...

Bohm Chicka Wow Wow

Posted 3:14pm Sunday 28th April 2013 by Thomas Raethel

The widow of a Dunedin antiques dealer has been ordered to pay AU$225,000 (NZ$275,000) to her dead husband’s paramour (the illicit partner of a married person). As the sole beneficiary in Anthony Francis Bohm’s childless will, Winifred Lorraine Bohm inherited the entirety of his $3 million Read more...

Solution: Legalise Reefer

Posted 3:14pm Sunday 28th April 2013 by Bella Macdonald

Dunedin dairy owners have recently been arming themselves with machetes, mallets and large wooden sticks as self-protection, after a series of aggravated robberies in which synthetic cannabis has been stolen. Police have been trying to encourage worried dairy owners to take the product off Read more...

Your TV is fucked

Posted 3:14pm Sunday 28th April 2013 by Zane Pocock

The long-awaited digital switchover occurred on Sunday 28 April, which is why your old TV probably stopped working this weekend as New Zealand’s old analogue TV network was switched off. The switchover suddenly renders thousands of TVs obsolete, raising several environmental concerns. Read more...

The 2013 Uni Games Preliminary Results

Posted 3:14pm Sunday 28th April 2013 by Irrelevant Irvine

The University of Otago has won the Best University Shield by a significant margin over Canterbury at the 2013 Uni Games. Otago teams also won the Badminton, Netball and Touch Rugby finals. The other winners were Massey Albany in Basketball, Auckland University in Men’s Hockey, AUT in Read more...

Uni buys the wrong Castle Street

Posted 3:14pm Sunday 28th April 2013 by Bella Macdonald

The University of Otago has purchased a 128-room hotel on Castle Street South, to be converted into high-quality student accommodation. Otago Polytechnic concurrently announced $20 million plans to build a hostel and atrium. The hotel the University has purchased, formerly called LivingSpace, Read more...

Local bands battle over $400 cash money

Posted 3:14pm Sunday 28th April 2013 by Zane Pocock

OUSA’s 25th annual Battle of the Bands kicks off at 8pm this Friday 3 May at Refuel. The door charge is $2 for the weekly Friday night heats and $5 for the finals night, which will be held Saturday 25 May. OUSA Events Coordinator Jason Schroeder said “tracing its roots back to its inception Read more...

Aerosmith

Posted 3:14pm Sunday 28th April 2013 by Claudia Herron

Old Rockers Aerosmith proved they’re still Living on the Edge last Thursday evening, after more than 20,000 loyal bogans descended on Forsyth Barr Stadium for their first ever New Zealand concert. Playing all their big hits including “I Don’t Want to Miss A Thing”, “Dream On”, “Jaded”, and “Love in Read more...

QR Codes

Posted 7:48pm Wednesday 24th April 2013 by Staff Reporter

QR Codes will never be a thing. Don’t scan them, and don’t enable the companies that try to make them into a thing. That is all. Read more...

Victoria Uni teaches students how to rort the system

Posted 5:13pm Sunday 21st April 2013 by Callum Fredric

Victoria University of Wellington appears to have rorted its way to the top of the university research rankings, which were published last week. Victoria came top in two of the four measures, including the coveted award for having the highest average quality of research per staff member Read more...

Alcohol Implementation Group Meeting

Posted 5:13pm Sunday 21st April 2013 by Bella Macdonald

Last year University of Otago Vice-Chancellor Harlene Hayne initiated an “Alcohol Implementation Working Group,” chaired by the staunchly anti-alcohol Professor Jennie Connor, to research and take action on ways that alcohol-related harm could be reduced among students. Critic has gained Read more...

Drug dealers lose a significant portion of their clientele

Posted 5:13pm Sunday 21st April 2013 by Baz Macdonald

In a crushing blow to the legalise cannabis movement, new legislation passed on 9 April will require beneficiaries to undergo drug testing when looking for employment from June this year. A 2008 Ministry of Health study showed that those on the benefit are three times more likely to be weed Read more...

Eva Lavi

Posted 5:13pm Sunday 21st April 2013 by Claudia Herron

“My name is Eva Lavi. I was born in Poland in Krakow, and I was two years old when the war started.” Last Wednesday evening, Eva Lavi shared her incredible story of Holocaust survival. Nearly 600 people crammed into the Colquhoun Lecture Theatre, well exceeding its usual 312-person Read more...

Don We Now Our Gay Apparel

Posted 5:13pm Sunday 21st April 2013 by Zane Pocock

Louisa Wall’s Marriage Amendment Bill passed its third and final reading in Parliament Wednesday night by a landslide 77-44 votes. OUSA President Francisco Hernandez told Critic, “You’re not going to get a different take from me. I’m just going to circle-jerk the liberal-left celebration.” Read more...

Otago: Too Big To Fail?

Posted 5:13pm Sunday 21st April 2013 by Zane Pocock

Figures revealed at the University’s 9 April council meeting show student enrolments “running some 2.3% down on the equivalent point last year,” despite first-year domestic enrolments at Otago increasing by 2.9%. Vice-Chancellor Harlene Hayne expressed particular concern at the large drop in Read more...

Insert Plagiarised Headline

Posted 5:13pm Sunday 21st April 2013 by Claudia Herron

Stashing exam notes in the toilet and posting computer science code on an online forum were among the 45 cases of dishonest practice that Otago students were reported for in 2012. The Annual Discipline Report shows that of these 45 cases, 17 stemmed from the Commerce Department, 15 from the Read more...

Dunedin: The China of counterfeit wristbands

Posted 5:13pm Sunday 21st April 2013 by Bella Macdonald

The limited amount of tickets, which came in the form of a green wristband, available to this year’s Hyde Street Keg Party led to a thriving “green market” in the days preceding the event. An entrepreneurial Hyde Street keg party attendee tried to outwit authorities by ordering a large quantity of Read more...

You can hide the event, but you can’t Hyde the Street

Posted 5:13pm Sunday 21st April 2013 by Bella Macdonald

After much concern and debate, the annual Hyde Street Keg Party took place on Saturday 13 April before the watchful eyes of media, the University, and other relevant parties, who finally declared that behaviour was “OK”. 3500 students turned up to the event, which officially started at 9am Read more...

Please can you teach me how to Dougie

Posted 5:49pm Sunday 14th April 2013 by Gus Gawn

The celebration is one of my favourite parts of sport. It serves so many purposes: an outpouring of raw emotion; a message to your opponent or the crowd; a “look at me” moment especially for the cameras; or pure relief. The days of manners and sportsmanship limiting celebration to a nod and a Read more...

Cowardly bag snatcher adds to vast collection

Posted 5:49pm Sunday 14th April 2013 by Thomas Stevenson

Andersons Bay Cemetery has become a hotspot for the lowest form of crime ever conceived: snatching someone’s handbag from their car while they visit a grave. The cemetery has experienced three occurrences of the ghoulish crime over just two weeks. Most recently, on 30 March local woman Sybil Read more...

The Jolly Exec Report

Posted 5:49pm Sunday 14th April 2013 by Nick Jolly

There are many ways to spend $50k. $3 dinners should not be one of them. Unfortunately, our great leader Francisco believes that they should be. Luckily, this mindless spending has been curbed by the restraint of a sensible few. I live in a flat that is close enough to the Clubs and Socs building to Read more...

"Quite steamed" scarfie pays the price for trying to keep warm

Posted 5:49pm Sunday 14th April 2013 by Josie Cochrane

A second-year Otago student has been sentenced to 150 hours of community service following his arrest for endangering public safety on Friday 29 March. The student spoke with Critic directly and has asked to remain anonymous. At about 1am, a “huge fire with about 100 people around it” was Read more...

"Pay off your fucking loans" - Govt

Posted 5:49pm Sunday 14th April 2013 by Gerard Barbalich

Economically-minded students will be disappointed to discover that the Government has scrapped the voluntary repayment bonus for student loans, effective from 1 April 2013. While the incentive was in place, borrowers who repaid more than the minimum amount required had a 10% bonus credited to that Read more...

Critic manufactures story based on ODT's manufactured story

Posted 5:49pm Sunday 14th April 2013 by Sara Lamb-Miller

The ODT’s Sunday article claiming that Dunedin is the true Garden City of New Zealand sinks to a new low, even for them. It seems mean-spirited to take Christchurch’s last claim to fame away while they’re not looking. They even have gardens made out of bits of rubble now, in the empty spots where Read more...

An-Nur Kiwi Academy

Posted 5:49pm Sunday 14th April 2013 by Thomas Raethel

After years of planning, an all-male Islamic boarding school is confirmed to be opening in South Dunedin. Built on the site of a former Catholic primary school, An-Nur Kiwi Academy will be the third Muslim school in New Zealand, and the first outside of Auckland. Formerly owned by the Dunedin Read more...

Driver admits liability in cycle death

Posted 5:49pm Sunday 14th April 2013 by Sarah Bayly

Beverley Peat, who caused the death of Dentistry lecturer Dr. Chris He last November by opening her car door as he was cycling past, has been charged with “causing death by careless operation of a vehicle,” and remanded on bail for sentencing in May. Dr. He, described by a student as a Read more...

Getting Down and Nerdy

Posted 5:49pm Sunday 14th April 2013 by Jamie Breen

In a recent article published in the ODT, University of Otago Physics lecturer Tim Molten pointed out that in New Zealand greater value is placed on sports than on the sciences. Critic is absolutely shocked. “Imagine if you were to become a Physicist and you became a hero and everyone bought Read more...

Racist Danish Runs Rampant

Posted 5:49pm Sunday 14th April 2013 by Claudia Herron

The Maori community has set its harpoons on foreign territory after a Danish MP denounced Maori culture as “uncivilised and grotesque.” An opinion piece published by MP Marie Krarup in the Danish newspaper Berlingske revealed that a powhiri made her feel uncomfortable, especially after being Read more...

Councillors counselled

Posted 5:49pm Sunday 14th April 2013 by Jack Montgomerie

Dunedin City Councillors are to be warned against conflicts of interest at every meeting, just weeks after the Office of the Auditor General (OAG) cleared two councillors of voting for funding that would help their businesses. Councillors Kate Wilson and Richard Thomson, both of whom are part Read more...

Victoria Victorious in Research Rankings

Posted 5:49pm Sunday 14th April 2013 by Callum Fredric

In its trademark bureaucratic and inaccessible style, the Tertiary Education Commission has published the results of its 2012 Quality Evaluation. The evaluation, which is the first since 2006, ranked the research performance of over 6,300 tertiary staff across the country. Despite the influx Read more...

Lord Monckton

Posted 5:49pm Sunday 14th April 2013 by Claudia Herron

Controversial climate change skeptic Lord Christopher Monckton will share his views with Dunedin next week as part of a nationwide speaking tour. His Dunedin visit is being organised by the New Zealand Climate Science Coalition. Lord Monckton is a British journalist, politician, former Read more...

Smelling Gastly helps Weezing and Koffing

Posted 5:49pm Sunday 14th April 2013 by Bella Macdonald

Professors around the globe have been blown away by a recent Otago Uni study which found that hydrogen sulphide (H2S), the gas that gives farts their characteristic odour, could reduce the symptoms of asthma. The results came from a sample of over 1600 Rotorua residents, a popular tourist Read more...

Anonymous Jerk Knocks Over Cones

Posted 5:49pm Sunday 14th April 2013 by Callum Fredric

An unknown vandal systematically knocked down two lines of road cones set up to protect the path on the Museum Lawn while it was being repaved. The crime was committed on Thursday night, which is regarded by many as one of the two main drinking nights of the week. Alcohol may have been a Read more...

Hyde Street Sold Out

Posted 5:49pm Sunday 14th April 2013 by Bella Macdonald

Tickets to the infamous Hyde Street keg party sold out by midday when they went on sale at OUSA on both Monday 8 and Tuesday 9 April. Although the 500 tickets available on Monday were sold from 9am instead of 11am as publicised, OUSA President Francisco Hernandez reported that “every man and Read more...

Hör∂ur Torfason

Posted 4:40pm Sunday 7th April 2013 by Zane Pocock

Hör∂ur Torfason, widely credited as “the man who brought participatory democracy to Iceland,” delivered several open speeches in Dunedin on 27 and 28 March. Held in the Burns 1 Lecture Theatre, the last of these speeches was entitled “Modern Democracy and the Iceland Experience,” and was Read more...

Still the best place to defecate on campus

Posted 4:40pm Sunday 7th April 2013 by Sam McChesney

Renovations to the University’s staff club facility are expected to run about $150,000 over budget, bringing the total cost of the project above $750,000. The building is more than a century old, having opened in 1907, and has been the staff club since 1980. Because of the club’s highly Read more...

Rabbits take revenge

Posted 4:40pm Sunday 7th April 2013 by Bella Macdonald

A 26-year-old man ended up in hospital on Saturday 30 March after an attempt to make his own hot cross bunnies turned sour and resulted in a gunshot wound to his own hand and the removal of two fingers. The man had been attending the Great Easter Bunny Hunt in Central Otago, trying to Read more...

University set to continue annual offering of a lecturer's life

Posted 4:40pm Sunday 7th April 2013 by Zane Pocock

Expectations that the University would put a bicycle lane through campus in order to get cyclists off Dunedin’s dangerous labyrinth of one-way streets have been shut down, due to “pedestrian safety concerns” and the University’s current cycle ban. Speculation started after the death of Read more...

ODT fails to clean up rubbish journalism

Posted 4:40pm Sunday 7th April 2013 by Sam McChesney

The Otago Daily Times has officially jumped the shark, reporting on the efforts of a heroic Dunedin trash vigilante. A full eight days before April Fools’, the ODT ran a story entitled “Rubbish dumper made to clean up.” The story was penned by the same reporter responsible for February’s Read more...

Debating thieves show audacity

Posted 4:40pm Sunday 7th April 2013 by Claudia Herron

Stilt walkers, prowling lions and some hilarious misuse of the word “advice” helped to kick off another successful year for business incubator Audacious. Taking place in the Business School Atrium, the evening saw entrepreneurs Alex Dong and Logan Elliot, both from vastly different business arenas, Read more...

Minimum wage plummets!

Posted 4:40pm Sunday 7th April 2013 by Sam McChesney

Student wage slaves are set to be worse off after a raft of changes to the minimum wage, student loans and Kiwisaver came into effect on Monday 1 April. The minimum wage went up to $13.75 per hour, an increase of 25c. However, the minimum student loan repayment rate increased from 10 per cent to 12 Read more...

Standbys stood down

Posted 4:40pm Sunday 7th April 2013 by Sam McChesney

Air New Zealand has decided to scrap its popular standby flights system from 6 May. The system, which was introduced last year, allowed passengers to catch last-minute flights around the country for $69-$89. The move will hit Dunedin flyers particularly hard, with the lack of competition in Read more...

Hernandez hard at work

Posted 4:40pm Sunday 7th April 2013 by Sam McChesney

OUSA President Francisco Hernandez has released his first quarterly report, containing a detailed breakdown of the progress he has made toward his plethora of campaign pledges. The report, which stretches to 15 pages, has been kindly summarised by Critic in this 265-word article. The first Read more...

Hail Brittennia

Posted 4:40pm Sunday 7th April 2013 by Basti Menkes

From 12-24 April the Department of Music is hosting a festival to celebrate the centennial birthday of the renowned English composer Benjamin Britten. Britten was a key figure in twentieth-century British classical music, composing music for opera, film scores and more. The festival, directed Read more...

Ironic lack of fringes among festival winners

Posted 4:40pm Sunday 7th April 2013 by Claudia Herron

Dunedin Comics proved to be surprisingly hilarious after taking out eight of the 12 awards to celebrate the end of Dunedin’s tenth Monster Fringe Festival. The Festival, which ran from 14-24 March, held its awards ceremony on Monday 25 March at Queens. The ceremony featured comedian Simon McKinney Read more...

ODT makes shit up for the last time

Posted 4:40pm Sunday 7th April 2013 by Bella Macdonald

The Otago Daily Times reported that seven fires were lit in the student area on Saturday 23 March. The 25 March article “Students blame authorities” also claimed that 300 people had gathered on the street by 11pm, and that revellers had to be dispersed by “more than a dozen police officers, Read more...

Logic prevails in OUSA by-election

Posted 4:40pm Sunday 7th April 2013 by Staff Reporter

No Confidence crashed to a stunning defeat in the OUSA Campaigns Officer by-election, collecting a meagre 2.7 per cent of the vote as Masters student Rachael Davidson swept to victory. Davidson collected 189 votes, or 39 per cent – a margin of 47 votes (9.7 per cent) over second-placed Dan Read more...

Large student party tipped to occur on local street

Posted 4:40pm Sunday 7th April 2013 by Sam McChesney

Students are gearing up for the 2013 Hyde Street Keg Party as OUSA, the University and the DCC nervously look on. The event has come under heavy criticism in recent years, and it is widely believed that any serious mishaps will spell the end for the party and potentially lead to a North Dunedin-wide Read more...

Bros at da Footy

Posted 4:40pm Sunday 7th April 2013 by Gus Gawn

This report on the All Whites’ match with New Caledonia the other day is in two parts. The first involves me complaining about why the match was so disappointing. The second is a collection of quotes that I jotted down from the students behind me who used me as a shield so they could drink their Read more...

Whyte Men Can Run

Posted 4:40pm Sunday 7th April 2013 by Gus Gawn

Not much about Andrew Whyte would lead you to think that he is one of the fastest men in New Zealand. For a start, he is white. Really white. The kind of white that comes from growing up on a farm in Clinton, Southland rather than the beaches of the Caribbean. He is also not particularly Read more...

Row, row, row your boat

Posted 6:30pm Sunday 24th March 2013 by John Burton

Remember last year? When the London Olympics were on? Or even three years ago, when the Rowing World Champs were hosted up in the North Island? Well you should. Let’s face it, when it comes to sports we as a nation rely heavily on pieces of equipment to compete. Usually a boat. I had the pleasure of Read more...

OUSA tasked with getting Uni Games back on track

Posted 6:30pm Sunday 24th March 2013 by Gus Gawn

The Uni Games are returning to the University of Otago in 2013. The annual inter-university sporting contest has been on the decline in recent years, but this year OUSA will manage a pared-back event in Dunedin from 22-24 April 2013. OUSA Exec member and Recreation Officer Blake Luff said: Read more...

OUSA fingered by the finger of student opinion

Posted 6:30pm Sunday 24th March 2013 by Staff Reporter

OUSA President Francisco Hernandez and Education Officer Jordan Taylor attended the Higher Education Summit and Expo 2013 last week in Auckland. The only students present, they assured Critic that they were not, in fact, gatecrashing, and were “sort of” invited. Hernandez described the event Read more...

Council attempts to pimp ghetto

Posted 6:30pm Sunday 24th March 2013 by Bella Macdonald

As ongoing refurbishment of the Queens Garden and Vogel Street area of Dunedin continues, an announcement by Dunedin councillors declared that the area will be revitalised for “creative” purposes. While Critic speculates that this is an attempt to create a similar alternative culture to Read more...

"Shit House Chateau" now simply "House"

Posted 6:30pm Sunday 24th March 2013 by Zane Pocock

The winner of OUSA’s 2012 “Worst Student Flat” award is being done up as part of an initiative to make student flats more acceptable to live in. Organisers hope the Shit House Chateau, at 47 London Street, will serve as a positive example of what can be done to improve the standard of living Read more...

Marmageddon

Posted 6:30pm Sunday 24th March 2013 by Sam McChesney

Shoppers flooded supermarket aisles on Wednesday to restock on their favourite yeasty spread. Sanitarium, which incidentally pays no tax on its profits due to being owned by a religious organisation, called a halt to Marmite production in late 2011 after God destroyed its Christchurch Read more...