Archive

Ultimate Frisbee Club Ultimately Unhappy with Unipol

Posted 1:14pm Sunday 31st July 2022 by Keegan Wells

A new Unipol system which replaces most court bookings with a free-for-all “drop-in-and-play” system has been questioned by Otago Uni’s Ultimate [Frisbee] Club (OUUC), who say that it has been disruptive to training and “makes it hard for small developing sports to grow, Read more...

OUSA Doesn’t Support Fair Pay Agreements

Posted 1:12pm Sunday 31st July 2022 by Denzel Chung

OUSA has criticised the Government’s proposed new Fair Pay Agreements, with their submission on the Bill currently before Parliament calling it a “fundamentally flawed… [and] restrictive model”. This stands in contrast to other student submissions on the Bill, which have Read more...

New Covid Wave Raises Mask Questions

Posted 1:10pm Sunday 31st July 2022 by Zak Rudin

With another semester comes another wave of Covid, and students and staff are once again in the firing line. Despite years of grim Zoom calls making many staff and students desperate for in-person learning, for some, the risk of getting Covid still outweighs the benefits of being on campus. This Read more...

Med Students (Even More) Stressed by Ballot Delays

Posted 1:08pm Sunday 31st July 2022 by Nina Brown

Concerns have been raised by some medical students over the “unnecessary uncertainty” caused by this year's drawn-out Medical School ballot process. Attempts to address an unusually large third-year cohort heading off in 2023 for placement resulted in a lengthy consultation over Read more...

North D Flats Receive an Unwanted Interior Makeover

Posted 1:05pm Sunday 31st July 2022 by Keegan Wells

Several Castle St flats have been broken into recently. Unlike most break-ins, nothing was taken: instead, they’ve received an unwanted interior design makeover, with a face being spray painted on the inside. The culprit is still at large. On the Saturday night of Re-O Week, the residents Read more...

All Buses Stay Half-Price as Services Slashed By 30%

Posted 6:02pm Monday 25th July 2022 by Elliot Weir

Bus fares in Ōtepoti Dunedin will remain at a dollar until January 31 next year, thanks to the Government extending their half-price public transport scheme. A more urgent problem is emerging, however: a driver shortage that is leading to sweeping service cancellations, causing grief for Read more...

StudyLink Wait Times up 37%

Posted 6:01pm Monday 25th July 2022 by Ruby Werry

If you feel like StudyLink wait times are longer than usual this year, you’re on the money. StudyLink claims that average wait times sit at around 20 minutes (up 5 minutes from last year) – but students have been reporting far longer ordeals. Phone calls are already a bit of a mission Read more...

Blame Putin for RTD Shortage

Posted 5:56pm Monday 25th July 2022 by Ruby Werry

If you’ve noticed getting your hands on Diesels or Billy Mavs has been harder recently, you’re not alone, and you’re not wrong. International shortages of bourbon have been causing prices to spike. While the spirit is adored by middle-aged men and those who are middle-aged men at Read more...

You May Not Be Eligible For That Free $350

Posted 5:53pm Monday 25th July 2022 by Elliot Weir

While many students have already been scheming how they’ll spend the Government’s upcoming $350 cost of living payment, a caveat means that some students on a student loan will be ineligible to receive the payment. In May, as part of this year’s Budget, the Government announced Read more...

(Yet Another) Report Highlights Student Suffering

Posted 5:50pm Monday 25th July 2022 by Denzel Chung

Data from a nationwide survey of students has shown, yet again, that students largely live in poverty – often living in unaffordable housing and going without food, healthcare, clothing and other necessities. Aotearoa’s student unions, alongside the Green Party, are hoping that this Read more...

Free Condoms Abound on Campus

Posted 5:49pm Monday 25th July 2022 by Nina Brown

Condoms, while super important, can really stretch tiny student budgets: the average box retails at $12-$24, and in the cold, long nights of winter, the costs can add up fast. Dunedin, however, turns out to be busting with free condoms – so Critic Te Arohi decided to check out where you can Read more...

Students Make a Stand for Reproductive Rights

Posted 2:50pm Monday 25th July 2022 by Zak Rudin

Last Saturday, almost 200 Otago Uni students organised a peaceful sit-in at the lower Octagon to protest the overturning of Roe v Wade. The hour-long protest included speeches, music and (of course) TikToks. On June 25, the United States Supreme Court announced the overturning of Roe v Wade, a Read more...

MĀOR110 Te Reo Aptitude Assessment gets the Axe

Posted 2:46pm Monday 25th July 2022 by Skyla & Fox Meyer

For the first time, Health Sci First Year (HSFY) students can take “Intro to Conversational Māori” (MĀOR110) as an optional eighth paper. Last week, the University repealed an entrance requirement to the paper barring students with virtually any te reo background, lest they Read more...

UniQ Top Pride Fundraiser In The Country

Posted 3:57pm Sunday 17th July 2022 by Denzel Chung

Otago Uni’s queer students’ club, UniQ, raised nearly $13,000 for Sweat With Pride – more than double what they originally aimed for. This made them the top fundraising team in Aotearoa.  Sweat With Pride is an annual fundraising event which encourages participants to do 21 Read more...

Swappa Cup App On The Rise

Posted 3:55pm Sunday 17th July 2022 by Zak Rudin

Chatime has finally given single-use takeaway cups a hard pass, instead stamping its seal of approval on the Swappa Cup “cup-borrowing” app. Outlets across campus are expected to roll it out soon.  Every day, an estimated 800,000 disposable cups are (you guessed it) disposed of. Read more...

Inhibition-Lowering Substance Lowers Inhibitions, Study Shows

Posted 3:54pm Sunday 17th July 2022 by Nina Brown

New research by global comparison site Finder has made the shocking revelation that people like to buy shit while drunk. Every breatha who has bought a new vape after their first Mav of the night could tell you as much.   According to their research, involving “a nationally Read more...

660 Scholarship Winners: What’re They Up2?

Posted 3:47pm Sunday 17th July 2022 by Annabelle Vaughan

Last year, Emily Bell and Samuel Leaper were two of the four students who received the University’s inaugural Six60 Scholarship. The scholarship lets them live, rent-free, at 660 Castle Street, for the whole year, as well as giving them the chance to be mentored by one of Aotearoa’s most Read more...

Volunteer Service Abroad Bounces Back After Covid

Posted 3:45pm Sunday 17th July 2022 by Fox Meyer

Te Tūao Tāwāhi (Volunteer Service Abroad, VSA) is gearing back up to send recent grads to work overseas. The whole “international travel” aspect was complicated by Covid, but a new “e-volunteering” strategy is now an option alongside the traditional Read more...

From “Fuck! I Can’t Cook” To “Fuck! I’m a Cook!”

Posted 3:40pm Sunday 17th July 2022 by Denzel Chung

Former Otago student Alice Taylor’s MasterChef run came to an end last week with a solid third-place finish. This isn’t the end of the culinary road for her, though, with judge Michael Dearth offering her a new job at his Italian restaurant Baduzzi. Alice sat down with Critic Te Arohi to Read more...

Leith Surges, Paddlers Rejoice

Posted 3:37pm Sunday 17th July 2022 by Denzel Chung and Keegan Wells

The nationwide storm last week saw the Leith rise to 70 times its normal flow. Local legends from the Otago University Canoe Club (OUCC) were all over it, tackling what they estimated was about a Grade 4 rapid. While the Leith normally cruises along at around 0.8-1 cubic metres of water per Read more...