Archive

Researchers Find Big Fossilised Duck in Central Otago

Posted 12:34pm Sunday 13th March 2022 by Denzel Chung

A team of researchers, including Otago staff and students, have discovered an exciting new fossil at St Bathans in Central Otago: a species of shelduck. The original animal is believed to have been massive, standing at a whopping 70cm. For a duck, that’s pretty tall. The duck was believed Read more...

Outcry Over Positive RAT Sale

Posted 12:31pm Sunday 13th March 2022 by Sean Gourley

A local caused a minor uproar when he claimed to be selling positive COVID tests for just $49 on the Facebook group Otago Flatting Goods. It is unclear from the post whether the four tests on offer were being sold separately or as a pack, or if it was even a genuine offer. The post first asked Read more...

“Satdee Night Antics” Lead To Stolen Sign

Posted 12:29pm Sunday 13th March 2022 by Denzel Chung

A brand-new promotional sign outside on Cumberland Street was stolen, with the theft blamed on “satdee night antics”. As of press time, it had not been found despite a juicy financial reward on offer. The sign was purchased just before Christmas by the Northgate Shop, which runs the Read more...

Polytech Provides Frozen Meals to Isolating Students

Posted 12:27pm Sunday 13th March 2022 by Zak Rudin

Polytech students rejoice: thousands of frozen meals are winging their way to your flats, dreamt up and prepared by a team of staff and students. The project began with Polytech senior lecturer Tony Hepinstall, who started the initiative as “a social enterprise where students could give Read more...

New Pastoral Care Code

Posted 12:23pm Sunday 13th March 2022 by Zak Rudin

A new Pastoral Care Code of Practice has been introduced this year, formalising the guidelines for how unis will take care of their students. It remains to be seen whether the changes on paper will translate into changes in practice. The Code of Practice came into effect on January 1st this year. Read more...

Second Week of Protests as Situation in Ukraine Intensifies

Posted 5:12pm Saturday 12th March 2022 by Aiman Amerul Muner

For the second weekend in a row,  a small crowd consisting of Ukrainians, Russians and others gathered in the Octagon to oppose Russia’s attack on Ukraine. Among them are students whose families have been forced to flee what has now become a war zone.  Among those in attendance on Read more...

Small But Vocal Socialist Counter-Protest On Museum Lawn

Posted 5:02pm Saturday 12th March 2022 by Denzel Chung

A protest intended to oppose the Wellington anti-mandate protest had to quickly pivot after the shutdown of the Wellington protest just two days before. Despite being small in number, those attending insisted the cause was still urgent enough to motivate them.    Organised by Read more...

Official Endorsement for Mirror on Society

Posted 4:58pm Saturday 12th March 2022 by Fox Meyer

On Tuesday, 8 March, the University Council formally endorsed Te Kauae Parāoa, also known as the Mirror on Society Selection Policy. A recent review, involving staff as well as student voices  highlighted a need to provide more support for students with disabilities, which was incorporated Read more...

“Systemic Racism, Discrimination, Bullying” Found in PE School, Wider Uni

Posted 4:29pm Thursday 10th March 2022 by Denzel Chung

A scathing review of “conduct and culture” in the School of Physical Education, Sport and Exercise Sciences has found serious concerns about “systemic racism, discrimination and bullying at the School and… within the [wider] University”. In response, new Read more...

University Shops Struggle With Omicron

Posted 2:58pm Sunday 6th March 2022 by Denzel Chung

The Omicron outbreak has hit Otago Uni’s cafés and food outlets hard. A one-two punch of fewer students on campus and staff shortages have led to financial losses and rolling closures of outlets.  The University Union is like the Pablo Escobar of Dunedin’s campus – Read more...

Wanted: Chip Packets to turn into Survival Blankets

Posted 2:55pm Sunday 6th March 2022 by Denzel Chung

Some of Dunedin’s chip packets will be getting a second chance at life, with a new initiative turning them into survival blankets for rough sleepers.  Jessica Ladbrook is Dunedin’s volunteer coordinator for the Chip Packet Project NZ (CPPNZ). With origins in the British Read more...

Iso Rules Baffle Students

Posted 2:52pm Sunday 6th March 2022 by Denzel Chung

Jake, a Master’s student living in Brighton, is in the middle of a 20 day isolation.  “At the end of our first 10-day isolation we were all joking and saying “oh we’re gonna get it again, haha, we’re gonna have to restart”, and then that’s exactly Read more...

New IPCC Report: Impending Irreversible Climate Devastation (again)

Posted 2:35pm Sunday 6th March 2022 by Zak Rudin

As if a global pandemic and the threat of world war weren’t enough, the cheerful souls at the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change have threatened climate-related mayhem will be coming for us as well. Again.  The IPCC report, “Climate Change 2022: Impacts, Read more...

CCTV Project Phase 3 Foiled by Covid-19, Budget Constraints

Posted 2:33pm Sunday 6th March 2022 by Zak Rudin

The University’s plans to install more CCTV cameras around North D has hit a snag. The culprit: our old friend Covid-19.  The new CCTVs were planned to be placed on Union Street, between Campus and Unipol. They had claimed that this move would provide “safety for students and Read more...

Clubs Struggling without Clubs Day

Posted 1:58pm Sunday 6th March 2022 by Denzel Chung

The Omicron outbreak really screwed up many clubs’ recruitment plans. Most are relying on social media and word-of-mouth, but are finding they cannot replace a good ol’ Clubs Day tent. For the Otago University Tramping Club (OUTC), historically the largest club on campus by Read more...

“Good Karma” Nets OUSA’s $800 Camping Giveaway

Posted 1:56pm Sunday 6th March 2022 by Fox Meyer

OUSA recently held an online giveaway for $800 worth of new camping gear. The winner, Tayla, reckoned that “good karma” won her the grand prize, which she is hoping to show off at R&A.  “Never have I ever won something like this,” said Tayla. She’d entered a Read more...

Peace and Conflict Centre Begins Improvements

Posted 1:53pm Sunday 6th March 2022 by Denzel Chung

A review into the National Centre for Peace and Conflict Studies has found an “unsustainably toxic” workplace culture despite “excellent” teaching staff and “enthusiastic” students. The University of Otago has committed to a “fundamental reset” in Read more...

Anti-war Protest in the Octagon as Russia Invades Ukraine

Posted 1:49pm Sunday 6th March 2022 by Denzel Chung

A crowd of around 50, including Ukrainians, Russians and others, amassed in the lower Octagon on the 26th to peacefully protest Russian aggression against Ukraine. An anti-mandate convoy passed through at the same time, providing a backdrop of honking, yelling and loud music. The group gathered Read more...

Offshore Students Frustrated but Hopeful

Posted 3:04pm Sunday 27th February 2022 by Ransford Antwi

Hundreds of international Otago students are stuck overseas, paying full fees for an educational experience that many feel is not reflective of the cost.  If you thought a few weeks of online lectures and Zoom tutes was rough, imagine what it’s like to be an international student stuck Read more...

Flo and O Parties: Dying But Not Quite Dead

Posted 2:56pm Sunday 27th February 2022 by Denzel Chung, Keegan Wells & Ruby Werry

Flo and O-Weeks were notably quieter this year, with Covid cases on Castle sending a chill through North D’s collective spine. Apart from the usual suspects, though, most students seemed to make a reasonable effort at following the rules. Flo saw a sleepy Castle, with few students on the Read more...