Archive

Record-Breaking Turnout for UniQ’s Inaugural MS Paint Competition

Posted 1:34pm Saturday 14th May 2022 by Lotto Ramsay

For Art Week, UniQ teamed up with Art Club to host a painting competition. Well, a Microsoft Paint competition anyway. In a beautiful and rather wholesome twist, all four people who entered came out winners. UniQ, Otago’s resident club for members of the LGBTQ+ community, decided that 2022 Read more...

Agnew Street Party Re-Cancelled

Posted 1:18pm Saturday 14th May 2022 by Keegan Wells and Fox Meyer

Students’ attempts to run the Agnew Street party themselves this year have been abandoned. Even though sponsors had been found, security had been considered and morale was high, security concerns raised during a meeting on 9 May resulted in the plan being cancelled. The meeting was attended Read more...

Uni Spent $3 Million on Travel in 2020

Posted 2:44am Sunday 8th May 2022 by Denzel Chung

Otago Uni spent almost $3 million on travel expenses in 2020, including airfares, accommodation, taxis and car rentals. While these numbers were significantly impacted by Covid-19, the Uni is hoping to keep air travel to a minimum even as borders reopen.  University data received by Critic Read more...

Clash of Clubs

Posted 2:43am Sunday 8th May 2022 by Keegan Wells

The first annual Clash of Clubs happened on April 29, with several Otago Uni clubs duking it out in a variety of sports. At stake: honour, glory, and the ability to rub sweet victory into the faces of inferior clubs for a whole year.  Six clubs participated in football, volleyball and Read more...

Protest Demands Immediate End To Live Animal Export

Posted 2:42am Sunday 8th May 2022 by Zak Rudin

On Saturday April 30, around 30 people gathered in the Octagon as part of a nationwide protest to call for an immediate ban on all live animal exports. People held signs with images of animal abuse amidst a number of speeches and chanting. Despite high-profile announcements that the practice would Read more...

Vigil Held For Ukraine

Posted 2:40am Sunday 8th May 2022 by Zak Rudin

CW: War crimes, assault A candle-lit vigil was held in the lower Octagon to commemorate the innocent victims killed in Ukraine by the Russian military. Around 60 people were present at the event, with attendees expressing a mixture of sadness, anger and fatigue over the ongoing, violent Read more...

Mysterious Castle Street Shitter(s) Strike Again

Posted 2:34am Sunday 8th May 2022 by Anon

Castle Street residents have been confronted with the emergence of human shits on their cars and driveways. Little is known about the identity of the culprit(s), or their motive.  The first incident occurred on Saturday 10 April, on what had been a seemingly normal night of debauchery on Read more...

Mysterious Naked Tree Not So Mysterious Now

Posted 2:33am Sunday 8th May 2022 by Keegan Wells

A little over a month ago we reported on a mysterious tree that showed up in a student’s bed on a Saturday night. Our crack detective team turned up no leads until the case was blown wide open by an anonymous online confession. Seth reported finding a large tree branch in his bed after a Read more...

University’s Art Club Overcomes Challenges, Brings Artistic Minds Together

Posted 2:31am Sunday 8th May 2022 by Anna Robertshawe

The Covid-19 pandemic, the fast pace of uni life and a lack of a Fine Arts programme at Otago Uni are all challenges for Arts students here. Despite these barriers, the Otago University Art Club continues to make space for creative expression and facilitate connection through art.  The club Read more...

Outcry Forces Vape Shop to Remove TikToks

Posted 2:02pm Sunday 1st May 2022 by Sean Gourley

A new vape shop has taken down all of its TikToks after a Stuff investigation found kids under 18 were interacting with their posts, potentially breaching the law as a result. The owners have said they’ll be changing their ways from now on, with a removal of most of their posts in a social Read more...

Muslim and Atheists Students’ Associations Assigned to Share a Table

Posted 2:01pm Sunday 1st May 2022 by Denzel Chung

The Muslim Students’ Association (MUSA) and the Society of Atheists, Rationalists and Skeptics (SARS) were assigned to sit together during OUSA’s clubs week. Despite the potential for awkwardness, both sides seemed to brush it off easily.  In issue 7, Critic Te Arohi reported on Read more...

Student Visa Backlog due to “Capacity Issues”

Posted 1:59pm Sunday 1st May 2022 by Zak Rudin

Despite borders reopening and Aotearoa once again officially ‘open’ to international students, eager student travellers have hit one critical snag: Immigration New Zealand (INZ). Processing struggles have left many overseas students in limbo as a result.  Since April 12, Aotearoa Read more...

Ditch the Indomie and Cook Like A Granny

Posted 1:55pm Sunday 1st May 2022 by Denzel Chung

A South Dunedin charity is aiming to teach life skills using the most potent source of wisdom known to humankind: grannies.They’re hoping their cooking workshops, focusing on cheap, sustainable recipes, will be a hit with eco-conscious, cash-strapped students.  The adorably-named Read more...

Toilet Prices Behind Hyde Ticket Price Increase

Posted 1:53pm Sunday 1st May 2022 by Keegan Wells

Last week Critic Te Arohi reported that Hyde Street ticket prices have jumped this year by 10% ($5) for students and a whopping 35% ($7) for street residents. To get to the bottom of this, we spoke to Jason Schroeder, Events and Venues Operations Manager for OUSA. Just like any good conspiracy, Read more...

Local Councillor Apparently Editing his Own Wikipedia Page

Posted 1:43pm Sunday 1st May 2022 by Fox Meyer

A Wikipedia user by the name of “Leevandervis” has been making edits to the Wikipedia page of Lee Vandervis, a Dunedin city councillor with a history of making controversial headlines.  Critic received a tip about edits made to Vandervis’ Wikipedia page on April 26, listed Read more...

Study Hopes to Pave Way for Blood Donation Equity

Posted 1:41pm Sunday 1st May 2022 by Denzel Chung

A new study involving the University of Otago is hoping to collect data on HIV prevention among men who have sex with men (MSM). A key aim of this study is to change policies which have, until now, prevented many MSM from donating blood.  The Sex and Prevention of Treatment Study (SPOTS) is Read more...

Vape Juice has More Nicotine than You Think

Posted 1:38pm Sunday 1st May 2022 by Fox Meyer

If you’ve always wondered why vapes are such a tough habit to kick, here’s a possible reason why: it contains a fuckton of nicotine. To be precise, you’d get as much nicotine from a bottle of 30mg vape juice as you would smoking almost ten pouches of rolling tobacco, or over 700 Read more...

Ukraine War Casts Spectre Over OUSA ANZAC Service

Posted 1:34pm Sunday 1st May 2022 by Denzel Chung

Around 200 people of all ages, from students, to staff, to elderly servicepeople, attended OUSA’s 2022 annual ANZAC Day service. Held by the Memorial Walk outside the Staff Club building, this service was the first to be held outdoors since 2019. The weather was mostly sunny, although the Read more...

Drink Spiking Incident Correction

Posted 1:31pm Sunday 1st May 2022 by Fox Meyer

Last issue, Critic published a story about an OUSA club-organised BYO in which two people suspected their drinks had been spiked. The girl who suffered the worst of the two experiences got in touch with Critic to correct some major details of the story. Jamie* did not make it home ok, as Read more...

Ayo New Hyde St Just Dropped

Posted 2:21pm Sunday 24th April 2022 by Keegan Wells

OUSA has confirmed that the Hyde St party is back for another year. After some uncertainty over dates, it’s finally been locked in to happen just a week before semester one exams.  OUSA confirmed on April 12 that the Hyde St Party will go ahead this year. After previously postponing Read more...