Archive

International Cultural Night

Posted 3:51am Tuesday 20th July 2010 by Staff Reporter

The OUSA International Cultural Council is holding its ‘Around the World in an Evening 2010’ night on Saturday 24 July. The event is taking place at the Dunedin Town Hall and tickets are on sale at the OUSA office. It promises to be “a wonderful celebration of cultural diversity” and Read more...

Food More Expensive

Posted 3:49am Tuesday 20th July 2010 by Anthony Riseley

The University of Otago’s Department of Human Nutrition has conducted a food cost survey (2010) that confirms people spent more on their cheapest shopping trip than the previous year. Dunedin was found to be the third-least expensive place to buy a week's worth of ‘basic’ groceries Read more...

Food Miles Fail

Posted 3:48am Tuesday 20th July 2010 by Teuila Fuatai

A University of Otago study has found that consumers pay little attention to 'food miles' when making purchases. The survey, which involved shoppers from four different UK supermarkets, found that only 5.6 percent of people nominated country-of-origin as one of the reasons for their purchase, Read more...

Otago Gains $3.2 Million in Grants

Posted 3:47am Tuesday 20th July 2010 by Gregor Whyte

As expected, the University Council has voted to go ahead with two departmental mergers. The two departments within the College of Education will merge as well as two departments in the Commerce division to form a new Department of Accountancy and Finance. The University has previously said the Read more...

Execrable - 16

Posted 3:45am Tuesday 20th July 2010 by Julia Hollingsworth

Execerable has been on hiatus for a while, and the sneaky Executive has lost no time discussing important things, namely, the upheaval of the constitutional structure. On the June 29, the Exec moved a motion to tell NZUSA “we are unhappy with you.” Nothing yet on how NZUSA replied, but Read more...

BREAKING: Exclusive details of armed standoff at student flat.

Posted 6:55am Monday 19th July 2010 by Staff Reporter

A standoff with armed police occurred today at a student flat in Dundas St. Critic has spoken exclusively with a student with knowledge of how the situation initially developed.   The student says that the incident involved a 'random' student, found to fill a room when another Read more...

BREAKING: Fires, 5 arrests at Castle St party

Posted 11:07am Tuesday 13th July 2010 by Staff Reporter

Couches were set on fire and five students were arrested last night on Castle St for disorderly behaviour, following a large keg party on the street.   Two female students, aged 19 and 20, were among those arrested. One climbed onto a fire engine.   The fire service Read more...

Scarfie Mothership Offers Surrender to Death Star.

Posted 12:07am Monday 12th July 2010 by Staff Reporter

The owners of the Captain Cook Tavern want to throw in the beer-soaked tea towel, and have secretly approached the University of Otago asking to be bought out. Critic understands that The Cook owners approached the University asking if it wanted to buy them out, after the University reportedly Read more...

Exec Reshuffle.

Posted 12:05am Monday 12th July 2010 by Julia Hollingsworth

An online referendum will be held next week to decide the future structure of the OUSA Executive and whether Student General Meetings should be moved online. The OUSA Executive has voted to change the Executive structure, reducing the 17-strong Executive to only ten. This now has to be approved Read more...

Uni Says No to Money-Burning Freedom Learning

Posted 12:04am Monday 12th July 2010 by Julia Hollingsworth

Fears that the University of Otago is becoming a degree factory have been given more weight as interest-only enrolments will no longer accepted from 2011. Last year, 26 equivalent full-time students (EFTS) were enrolled as interest-only students, taking only one or two papers for recreational Read more...

Polytech Fortunes Continue to Yo-Yo.

Posted 12:03am Monday 12th July 2010 by Julia Hollingsworth

While the University of Otago is forced to make numerous budget cuts, the Otago Polytechnic is embracing its best annual financial performance for around 15 years. Chief Operating Officer Philip Cullen says that the 2010 budget has been revised, meaning that there is now an expected budget Read more...

Gardies Gonsies.

Posted 12:01am Monday 12th July 2010 by

Legendary student pub The Garden Tavern, affectionately known as ‘Gardies', has pulled its last jug. The doors to the iconic watering hole closed for the last time on Friday, June 18, a day prior to the widely-expected closing date. The University bought the pub last semester for $1.75m Read more...

University leaders scrambling for the lifeboats. Sort of.

Posted 11:59pm Sunday 11th July 2010 by Julia Hollingsworth

Health Sciences Pro Vice Chancellor Don Roberton will retire in February next year when his five-year contract comes to an end. In his role, Roberton is responsible for students enrolled in dentistry, medicine, pharmacy, and physiotherapy. In total, students taught in the health sciences Read more...

It's raining men (and paint) at ReO Week.

Posted 11:57pm Sunday 11th July 2010 by

ReOrientation Week kicks off today. The week-long festival, which is organised by OUSA, begins with with ‘Manday’, a day celebrating manhood and manly deeds. The day starts early with a cooked breakfast served in Main Common Room, while the FIFA World Cup Final is played on the Big Screen. Read more...

Beg for new Skegg.

Posted 11:54pm Sunday 11th July 2010 by

The hunt is on for a new Vice Chancellor after Sir Professor David Skegg's announcement that he is stepping down. Sir Professor Skegg handed in his resignation last month. Although he is only required to stay in the role for three months after giving notice, he has given 14 so that there is ample Read more...

Bling bling, money ain't a thing.

Posted 11:51pm Sunday 11th July 2010 by

The University is throwing money at the Stadium like a rap artist throws dollars at a stripper. Despite the widespread cutbacks across the board, the University has found room in their budget for a $20 million boost to the University’s stadium building, University Plaza One. In the most recent Read more...

Elderly rural couple takes Undie 500 in under their wing.

Posted 11:49pm Sunday 11th July 2010 by

A kindly Marlborough couple have found themselves offside with their neighbours after agreeing to let the Undie 500 use their backyard as a destination. While not quite Castle Street, the paddock will host the Canterbury engineering students after they turn up in their <$500-dollar Read more...

Afrotago President resigns

Posted 11:48pm Sunday 11th July 2010 by

Afrotago has found itself without a leader. Kelechi Chinaemerem Osunwa, the previous President of Afrotago, has tendered his resignation from the club, citing lack of member support and a failure to achieve objectives. He also felt that poor support from the general committee has played a role Read more...

President Egghead

Posted 11:46pm Sunday 11th July 2010 by

Software giant Microsoft has labeled OUSA President Harriet Geoghegan an ‘Egghead’. The company’s flagship word processing programme, Microsoft Word suggests ‘Egghead’ as the correct spelling for ‘Geoghegan’, a Critic investigation has revealed. The President’s last name, correctly Read more...

Profile: Andrew Boyens

Posted 10:27pm Sunday 11th July 2010 by Georgie Fenwicke

A Geography and Economics graduate from the University of Otago, Andy Boyens is currently in Austria preparing for the upcoming Football World Cup in South Africa. The tallest defender in the squad, he has a wealth of experience having played professionally in the States for the last few years. Read more...

The Circus Comes to Town.

Posted 10:24pm Sunday 11th July 2010 by Gregor Whyte

The Education and Science Select Committee lands in Dunedin tomorrow to hear oral submissions regarding the Education (Freedom of Association) Amendment Bill. The committee is expected to hear from a sizeable list of submitters, overwhelmingly consisting of those in opposition to the bill. Read more...

Execcies set to vote themselves out of a job?

Posted 10:23pm Sunday 11th July 2010 by Julia Hollingsworth

The report of the OUSA Governance Structure Review working party was released this week, and has been met with decidedly mixed reactions. The review was begun in July last year to investigate the effectiveness of governance and representation in OUSA as an organisation.   The report Read more...

Council decision all but ensures carnage, makes Gardies closure a way bigger deal.

Posted 10:22pm Sunday 11th July 2010 by Gregor Whyte

The Dunedin City Council has done its best to ensure trouble on the night of June 19 by passing a temporary liquor ban to cover much of North Dunedin, timed to coincide with the last night of the Gardies Tavern and the All Blacks vs. Wales test match at Carisbrook. In specifically Read more...

Execrable - 14

Posted 10:21pm Sunday 11th July 2010 by Julia Hollingsworth

Last week’s Exec meeting spanned two boardroom visits, much to everyone’s dismay. The extra event proposal, a.k.a the Exec’s attempt to mitigate Undie 500 riots, was discussed. he plan is to have a rugby face off between the universities of Canterbury and Otago, with a gig afterwards. Read more...

That time of the semester.

Posted 10:20pm Sunday 11th July 2010 by Teuila Fuatai

After a semester of hard work, early morning classes, and inebriation, exams are finally here, with the first taking place tomorrow morning. Exams are administered by Academic Services, who were helpful enough to give us a few details about this examination window. In total, including Read more...

Batton down the hatches

Posted 10:19pm Sunday 11th July 2010 by Calida Smylie

The University of Otago Council will today vote on recommendations from the University Senate to restrict enrolments for the 2011 academic year. The vote is a result of an influx of domestic enrolments which has pushed the University well beyond its Government funding for Equivalent Full Time Read more...

OUSA not immune to tough economic times.

Posted 10:17pm Sunday 11th July 2010 by

OUSA’s annual operating surplus fell by just under $300 000 last year, a figure that may have an impact on the organisation’s ability to provide services to students. At the end of 2008, OUSA had an operating surplus of $1 002 902. At the end of 2009, however, this figure was down to $705 Read more...

Profile: Dr. Paul Oestreicher

Posted 8:32pm Sunday 11th July 2010 by Georgie Fenwicke

Dr. Paul Oestreicher is the visiting fellow for Peace and Conflict studies and is in Dunedin working on a project concerning the abolition of armed violence in the world. A former editor of Critic, Oestreicher grew up in Dunedin after escaping Nazi Germany with his parents in 1939. After studying in Read more...

Training Facilities Opened.

Posted 8:25pm Sunday 11th July 2010 by Teuila Fuatai

The Otago Clinical Skills Laboratory has received a $600 000 upgrade. Unveiled last week, the refurbished facilities include 12 consulting rooms, a waiting room, and a new simulated hospital room. Designed to improve training for students in the health professions, the laboratory provides an Read more...

By golly!OUSA By-election Results!

Posted 8:23pm Sunday 11th July 2010 by

The vacant posts on the OUSA Executive have been filled in a by-election last week. The two posts up for grabs were the Health Sciences Divisional Representative, and the Postgraduate Representative. In the former race, David McKelvey cruised to an easy victory over No Confidence, winning 134 Read more...

University Stonewall.

Posted 8:21pm Sunday 11th July 2010 by Gregor Whyte

The University is refusing to give any details about how much it has spent on the Campus Master Plan so far. Architects and planners have been bought in from overseas, weeks of consultation have taken place, and a glossy 196-page report has been produced for the media and interested parties. Read more...

University being anti-social.

Posted 8:20pm Sunday 11th July 2010 by Calida Smylie

Proposed restructuring of the University of Otago’s Social Work and Community Development department has prompted a group of concerned students to urge caution. Plans are in the works that would see the Social Work and Community Development department merged with the departments of Sociology and Read more...

SGMs to go viral?

Posted 8:19pm Sunday 11th July 2010 by

The OUSA Executive was expected to vote on a raft of changes to how students set association policy as Critic went to print late last week. Prime among these was a motion to hold Student General Meetings (SGM) online, in an effort to increase student participation in the constitutional process. Read more...

Authorities Back $40K Booze Study

Posted 8:18pm Sunday 11th July 2010 by Julia Hollingsworth

The University, the City Council, and OUSA have come under tough scrutiny after Critic revealed they collectively spent $40 000 on a four-and-a-half-page report on student drinking. It appears that no concrete guidelines, expectations, or clear terms of reference were given at the start of the Read more...

Proctology - 13

Posted 8:16pm Sunday 11th July 2010 by Tailgunner Joe

While sitting in the Proctor’s waiting room this week I couldn’t help overhearing him tell someone that “If you come up here again you’ll be getting a thousand-dollar fine.” That someone then left his office with a cheerful and satisfied expression on her face, indicating once again the Read more...

Restaurant Bookings Possible Again.

Posted 8:13pm Sunday 11th July 2010 by Gregor Whyte

Graduation season has rolled to an end for another May and bookings are once again possible in restaurants classier than Blue Sky. This year’s three graduation weekends saw almost thirteen hundred graduates make the trek to the Town Hall to cross stage in person. Each graduation ceremony Read more...

When it rains, it pours.

Posted 8:12pm Sunday 11th July 2010 by

The grim reaper is at it again, this time stalking the corridors of the University of Otago College of Education. Tertiary Education Union southern organiser Kris Smith told the Otago Daily Times that staff members from the College of Education were called to a meeting last Wednesday, and were Read more...

Charity Offended by Offensive Show.

Posted 8:11pm Sunday 11th July 2010 by Julia Hollingsworth

After the “traumatising” content of the Capping Show this year, Rape Crisis Dunedin has declined OUSA’s offer to be the official charity this year. Heidi Cripps of Rape Crisis Dunedin said the move was made due to the lyrics and content of the sextet sets. Rape Crisis felt that receiving Read more...

Andrew Spraggon

Posted 4:26pm Sunday 11th July 2010 by Georgie Fenwicke

Calling all experienced music managers. Andrew Spraggon and his band Sola Rosa have recently gone independent, splitting from their record label, Warners and are in need of your help. A talented troupe of musicians, they have a good work ethic and play well with others. Their last album, Get Read more...

Sorry.

Posted 4:18pm Sunday 11th July 2010 by Anthony Riseley

An Auckland academic has apologised and paid the legal fees of a University of Otago professor, and of the University, after inaccurate information was published in a ‘leading’ academic book.   In her book, A History of the ‘Unfortunate Experiment’ at National Women's Read more...

More More More. Cuts.

Posted 4:17pm Sunday 11th July 2010 by Guy Wilson

The University of Otago has begun a review of two of its departments that employ general staff. The University has some 40 non-academic departments, and the two under review are human resources and UniPrint, the in-house printing service. The University is seeking ways to make its operations Read more...

OUSA Elections

Posted 4:16pm Sunday 11th July 2010 by Gregor Whyte

Elections for the vacant positions on the OUSA Executive will be held from midnight Wednesday May 26 to 4pm Thursday May 27.  The vacant positions are Health Sciences Divisional Representative, and Postgraduate Representative. If you want to know more about the candidates you can head Read more...

Well that all sounds very nice.

Posted 4:16pm Sunday 11th July 2010 by Julia Hollingsworth

The University of Otago Campus Master Plan was launched last week at an event in the Link, where the wine flowed and excitement was palpable. This followed an informative lecture to University staff and community leaders in Castle 1 that unveiled the bold and possibly unrealistic plan. Read more...

The Stanford of the South, maybe.

Posted 4:15pm Sunday 11th July 2010 by Julia Hollingsworth

he University of Otago has launched its Campus Master Plan, intended to guide the development of the University campuses over the next 20 to 25 years. The full plan is nearly 200 pages in length, and covers a huge array of issues. International firm DEWG was commissioned to lead the Read more...

Grad Party #3 Up in Flames

Posted 4:14pm Sunday 11th July 2010 by Critic

Grad Party 3 was cancelled late last week due to poor ticket sales. Wilder Promotions Director Callum Fry pulled the plug on the gig, scheduled to be held on over the weekend at Sammy’s, blaming a fickle Dunedin market and a busy month for University work for the poor sales. When Critic spoke Read more...

Another treasure snapped up for offshore interests:

Posted 4:13pm Sunday 11th July 2010 by

University leases 14 Castle Street flats for international students.     It appears that the University has taken further steps in it’s ongoing war against the ‘Scarfie’ drinking culture. The University has leased a number of Castle Street flats from tenancy Read more...

BUDGET 2010 : Few surprises for the tertiary sector.

Posted 4:12pm Sunday 11th July 2010 by Gregor Whyte

Students were not lead to expect much from last week’s Budget announcement and it turned out to be as boring and lacklustre as expected with all the main points signalled ahead of time.   The big news for students was a raft of changes to the student loans and allowances programmes, Read more...

Budget News Analysis: From The Right

Posted 4:10pm Sunday 11th July 2010 by Edward Greig

Tax is the main Budget feature this year, and it has been delivered on. Of course, those on lower incomes will be getting fewer extra dollars a week, but it is important not to forget that those on higher rates already pay a lot more tax in absolute terms. Taking the GST rise into account, Read more...

Budget News Analysis: From The Left

Posted 4:09pm Sunday 11th July 2010 by Dominic Szeker

Last week, Finance Minister Bill English presented the “Don’t Be Jealous” Budget to New Zealand. Tax reform was the biggest feature. The spin-doctor at Crosby/Textor who came up with the tagline ‘Tax Shift’ probably got a nice bonus. Good frames don’t save bad paintings, though, and numerous voices Read more...

Bouncing off the Halls - 12

Posted 3:49pm Sunday 11th July 2010 by

We learned that at UniCol, after constant nagging from his girlfriend, one particular young man went out and bought some pills that allowed him to keep nocturnal activities interesting for more than sixty seconds.   For whatever reason, he then decided to sell them off to his mates, and Read more...

Simon Moore SC

Posted 3:32pm Sunday 11th July 2010 by Georgie Fenwicke

Simon Moore SC is a real-world Denny Crane -- without the mad-cow. A Crown Prosecutor for Auckland since 1994, Moore has appeared in a number of New Zealand's most prolific criminal trials. Animated and knowledgable, he spoke to graduating Law and Commerce students over the weekend. Critic Read more...

Otago Powerbroker.

Posted 3:26pm Sunday 11th July 2010 by Teuila Fuatai

The University of Otago is part of a new, select, international group of outstanding universities, dubbed the ‘Matariki Network of Universities’ (MNU). Members of the MNU are research-intensive and campus-based, with a focus on providing a high-quality student experience. The Read more...

Professor Gains Top Publication.

Posted 3:25pm Sunday 11th July 2010 by Teuila Fuatai

Inconsistent diagnoses of illnesses and the varied treatment paths prescribed are a major problem in the practice of medicine. After being awarded a Harkness Fellowship at Boston University, University of Otago Health Policy Associate Professor Robin Gauld spent a year investigating this Read more...

The College that Cried Wolf.

Posted 3:24pm Sunday 11th July 2010 by Gregor Whyte

Knox College got a little hot under the collar on Wednesday night last week, with not one, but two, fire evacuations on the same night. Both callouts involved multiple fire appliances, and residents were forced out into the night air for a little bit of bonding. Critic attempted to contact Read more...

Another one bites the dust.

Posted 3:23pm Sunday 11th July 2010 by Gregor Whyte

The second OUSA Executive resignation of the year occurred last week as Health Sci Rep Presant Singh quit his post, citing a busy schedule that meant he could not fulfil his duties. By-elections for the now open post in Health Sciences, and for the already vacated Postgraduate Rep Read more...

Lazy Politicians.

Posted 3:23pm Sunday 11th July 2010 by

The Select Committee deciding the fate of student services has resolved to report back at the end of September, not the end of this month as it had originally planned. The committee received a huge number of submissions regarding the bill, and preliminary counts appear to show a large Read more...

All Fun and Games.

Posted 3:22pm Sunday 11th July 2010 by Julia Hollingsworth

The first SGM of the year took place last Thursday, with about 200 students showing up. he first motions – accepting the audited accounts, and appointing auditors, solicitors, and reinstating Donna Jones as secretary – passed unanimously. Proposed Constitutional changes and Read more...

Finally, justice for the puppies.

Posted 3:21pm Sunday 11th July 2010 by Calida Smylie

A new group on campus is aiming to protect the lives and advance the interests of animals through the legal system. Student Animal Legal Defence Fund (SALDF) is the student branch of the international organisation the Animal Legal Defence Fund, a non-profit group devoted to enhancing the welfare and Read more...

Proctology - 11

Posted 3:20pm Sunday 11th July 2010 by Tailgunner Joe

The Proctor was getting ready to attend his granddaughter’s birthday party when I arrived to interview him this week, although he also allowed of his charges that “they’ve gone mad this week”. This might bring to mind visions of hordes of unhinged lunatics rampaging across campus. You have to Read more...

OUSA staff member gets buzzy on US excursion.

Posted 3:17pm Sunday 11th July 2010 by Guy Wilson

A new ‘40-point drinking plan’ has been floated to deal with Scarfie alcohol abuse. The plan is the product of a year-long trip to the US by OUSA Events Manager Vanessa Reddy.   Reddy toured dozens of major US universities, investigating how different campuses have tackled the problem Read more...

Execrable - 11

Posted 3:16pm Sunday 11th July 2010 by Julia Hollingsworth

If there’s one thing Critic learnt last week, it’s that Budget Revision (BR) is a bore. Officially, BR is when the Executive makes adjustments to the budget. Unofficially, BR is when Meager’s head threatens to explode with his sense of self-importance. Motions were carried that the Read more...

Capping Week: Uni gets wrong end of the stick

Posted 3:14pm Sunday 11th July 2010 by Julia Hollingsworth

Enrolments in tertiary institutions are increasing beyond sustainable levels, causing both Otago and Victoria to take measures to limit them. At Otago, enrolments for semester two are to be capped, with further caps for next year in the works. The caps were part of a recommendation from the Read more...

It’s Officially Official: Design Now Fully Dead.

Posted 3:13pm Sunday 11th July 2010 by Julia Hollingsworth

The fate of the Design Department was sealed last week by the University Council, which voted to pass the proposed recommendations from the Senate.   The recommendations state that the Design Department should be disestablished, and deleted as a major subject. Transitional arrangements Read more...

Helicopter parents and douches asked to stay away this year.

Posted 3:12pm Sunday 11th July 2010 by Anthony Riseley

The Society of Otago Law Students (SOULS) is having its annual quiz night, complete with subsidised drinks and sponsored by law firm Minter Ellison Rudd Watts, this Wednesday at the Captain Cook Tavern. This arrangement is strikingly similar to last year’s event, also held at the Cook on a Read more...

Adam Thomson

Posted 2:40pm Sunday 11th July 2010 by Critic

Straight back from a win over the Brumbies last weekend, Adam Thomson's season is really just beginning. With two more games to play in Australia (at the time this interview went to press), AND the provincial season and the All Black tours still to come, it is sure to be a long year. This is Read more...

Dunedin the New Milan?

Posted 2:35pm Sunday 11th July 2010 by Anthony Riseley

  Two Dunedin fashion graduates will compete on the international fashion design stage, after being selected to contend at the prestigious Mittelmoda Fashion Awards. Sophie Brooke Hardy and Roxanna Zamani will travel to Gorizia in northeast Italy at the end of June, and the Read more...

Rabbit Virus Vaccine for Cancer.

Posted 2:34pm Sunday 11th July 2010 by Gregor Whyte

A University of Otago team has developed a potential cure for colo-rectal cancer based on a virus that affects rabbits. The therapy is now moving closer to human trials, the ODT reported last week. Dr Sarah Young, an immunologist at the University of Otago, says the treatment is “like gold Read more...

FairTrade Fortnight.

Posted 2:33pm Sunday 11th July 2010 by Gregor Whyte

FairTrade Fortnight, designed to raise awareness about the fair trade message, starts today. The first event is a coffee giveaway, taking place at the OUSA main office between 11.30 and 1pm today. The Exec and the Fair Trade Steering Committee will be grinding coffee to give away to anyone who Read more...

Cook Loses Licence.

Posted 2:32pm Sunday 11th July 2010 by Gregor Whyte

The popular student watering hole The Captain Cook Tavern has had its licence suspended for 24 hours after the Liquor Licensing Board upheld a complaint that it had encouraged excess drinking by selling jugs for $3.50 at a Society of Otago Law Students (SOULS) Quiz night. Clearly having studied Read more...

Geoghegan Gagging To Get Out The Broom.

Posted 2:31pm Sunday 11th July 2010 by Calida Smylie

The OUSA President wants to scrap almost all OUSA policy and start over.   At the OUSA Student General Meeting (SGM), which will be held on Thursday at midday on the Union Lawn, President Harriet Geoghegan is intending to move a motion relevant to OUSA external policy. “I am Read more...

Mic Check

Posted 2:30pm Sunday 11th July 2010 by

Last week saw the launch of NZMiC, or the New Zealand Music Industry Centre, at Albany Street Studios, coinciding with the start of New Zealand Music Month. NZMiC is a collaborative effort between members of the University of Otago Music Department and Dunedinmusic.com Ltd, a local music Read more...

Arts Students Too Poor To Attend Graduation

Posted 2:29pm Sunday 11th July 2010 by Julia Hollingsworth

Graduation fever has hit town, with Science graduation taking place on Saturday. 500 students graduated in person, and 110 students in absentia. The Commerce and Law graduations will take place this weekend with 429 students graduated in person, and 70 in absentia. The Arts graduation has 339 Read more...

Token Weekly Steven Joyce Story.

Posted 2:28pm Sunday 11th July 2010 by Julia Hollingsworth

A very small cloud looms over students’ futures as the Government considers charging an annual fee to more than 500 000 people with student debt. The fee is expected to be around $50 a year for every person with outstanding student debt, and will net the Government approximately $15 million. Read more...

After The Dust Has Settled.

Posted 2:27pm Sunday 11th July 2010 by Julia Hollingsworth

Some University of Otago Design Studies students are distressed about how they were treated in the lead-up to the decision to close the Department.   Although a silent protest did not change the outcome of the Senate meeting last week which voted to disestablish the Department, Read more...

One down, three to go.

Posted 2:24pm Sunday 11th July 2010 by Gregor Whyte

In the wake of the closure of the Design Studies Department, Critic can reveal that three other departments are also under review.   The three departments are: the Department of Social Work and Community Development; the Departments of Accountancy and Business Law and Finance and Read more...

Bouncing off the Halls - 10

Posted 2:23pm Sunday 11th July 2010 by

Aquinas, usually so studious and reserved, is in the midst of a Hall-wide alcohol ban brought on by some hefty property destruction. The recently-installed hallway lights took a massive beating a few weeks back, after the usual Saturday night banter turned from school disco nervousness into a Read more...

Computer Says No.

Posted 2:21pm Sunday 11th July 2010 by Gregor Whyte

Students found themselves locked out of Blackboard after the University of Otago took action against students with unpaid debts, and a few other unfortunate souls who hadn’t done anything wrong.   The Blackboard blackout was the University’s response to rising numbers of Read more...

Get Them Young.

Posted 2:20pm Sunday 11th July 2010 by Teuila Fuatai

Public health researchers from the University of Otago campus in Wellington have published a study critical of the New Zealand Advertising Standards Authority’s (ASA) regulation of food advertising to children.   The research contends that the ASA self-regulatory system for controlling Read more...

Dr. Claire Bretherton

Posted 1:34pm Sunday 11th July 2010 by Georgie Fenwicke

Dr. Claire Bretherton was at the Royal Observatory Greenwich in the UK before recently migrating to work at the newly-redeveloped Carter Observatory in Wellington. Seeing as she holds a doctorate in astronomy, specialising in galaxies, Critic thought Dr. Bretherton would be the perfect person to Read more...

NZ Music Month on Radio One.

Posted 1:26pm Sunday 11th July 2010 by Gregor Whyte

  As you may or may not know (see what we did there?), May is New Zealand Music Month. Radio One will be bringing more events than you can shake a stick at. Kicking off the month is Die! Die! Die! with special guests SEWAGE playing at Kings High School Auditorium, 270 Bay View Road, Read more...

2010 Alternative Budget Competition

Posted 1:26pm Sunday 11th July 2010 by Gregor Whyte

The Productive Economy Council and NZMEA are sponsoring a competition to design an ‘Alternative Budget’, which is open to all university students. The winning team in the nation-wide competition will receive $7000, while the three other finalists will receive $1000 per team. Read more...

OUSA Postgraduate Rep Resigns.

Posted 1:25pm Sunday 11th July 2010 by Gregor Whyte

OUSA Postgraduate Rep Amith Koleth has resigned from the Executive, citing personal reasons necessitating his return to India. OUSA President Harriet Geoghegan says, “Amith did lots of good works and I would like to extend my thanks to him.” She added that Amith had put in Read more...

Submissions on VSM bill begin.

Posted 1:23pm Sunday 11th July 2010 by Jacob McSweeny, Salient

Approximately 65 million years ago, an asteroid hit the Earth and became the catalyst that contributed to the extinction of dinosaurs. Some believe VSM (voluntary student membership) could be that asteroid for students’ associations nation-wide if Sir Roger Douglas’ Education (Freedom of Read more...

Proctology - 09

Posted 1:21pm Sunday 11th July 2010 by Tailgunner Joe

I had to spend some time in the Proctor’s waiting room this week, in the company of a trio of young gentlemen who were being hauled in for a discussion about something or other (large-scale white-collar insider trading fraud, by the looks of them). As we whiled away the minutes, one of these Read more...

University to compete with diabetics, cancer kids, puppies.

Posted 1:19pm Sunday 11th July 2010 by Anthony Riseley

The Tertiary Education Minister Steven Joyce has indicated that universities will have to rely more on charitable donations, commercialisation, and foreign student fees for funding when the 2010 Budget is announced. Joyce says there is a limit to how much taxpayers could support the tertiary Read more...

Critic Rates The Exec (part 02)

Posted 1:18pm Sunday 11th July 2010 by Critic

Katie Bryan – Rizzo the Rat Commerce Representative Critic had never seen this “Katie” character previous to the presentation of her first report, and apparently neither had the Executive, as Katie has been spending a large proportion of her time with OCOM. Her first Read more...

Execrable - 09

Posted 1:16pm Sunday 11th July 2010 by Julia Hollingsworth

RIP the three hours and thirty-three minutes Critic spent in the boardroom. You will be sorely missed. Suffice it to say, the meeting dragged on, to the point where someone could have watched The Fellowship of the Ring: Extended Edition AND made two-minute noodles during the time. Or, in Read more...

Ding-Dong Design is Dead

Posted 1:13pm Sunday 11th July 2010 by

The University of Otago Design Studies School will be disbanded, after a closed-door meeting of the University Senate on Wednesday last week.   Senate meetings are always off-limits to the media and public, but Critic understands that Vice Chancellor Sir Professor David Skegg made a Read more...

Dunedin on High Alert After Two Days of Terror

Posted 1:11pm Sunday 11th July 2010 by

Dunedin residents are beginning to nervously venture into the streets again after the city was rocked by two bomb scares in two days. The nightmare began on Thurday, April 22 when the ‘International’ Airport was shut down due to a “suspicious package” found in the Read more...

Bernard Hickey

Posted 4:02am Monday 28th June 2010 by Georgie Fenwicke

Bernard Hickey is a financial journalist who has worked as the former Managing Editor of Business at Fairfax and held positions at Reuters and the Financial Times Group. Today, he is the Managing Editor of interest.co.nz and a regular contributor to the New Zealand Herald business section. A rather Read more...

Otago Study: Limit Teens’ TV Time

Posted 4:00am Monday 28th June 2010 by Anthony Riseley

Researchers from the University of Otago have published a study that found young people who viewed more television tended to have poorer relationships with friends and family. This is perhaps the 1, 045, 874th study of this kind.   The study involved 3 043 New Zealand adolescents aged 14 Read more...

Joyce's choices not universally well received

Posted 3:59am Monday 28th June 2010 by

Newly crowned Tertiary Education Minister Steven Joyce has begun his reign by attempting to tackle the problem of completion and retention rates among tertiary students. Specifically, he is unhappy about the current loan system, and is also focusing his guns on over-20s entry and second-chance Read more...

Save Our Services

Posted 3:54am Monday 28th June 2010 by Paul Comrie-Thomson and Angela Mabey

The battle to ‘save New Zealand's student associations’ was kicked off with the Save our Services campaign launch in Wellington last week. The NZUSA-driven Save our Services (SOS) campaign brings together a number of organisations that oppose Roger Douglas’ Education (Freedom of Association) Read more...

Would you like Coke, Pepsi, or an injection of youth?

Posted 3:52am Monday 28th June 2010 by

At 28, Greens MP Gareth Hughes is the youngest sitting Member of Parliament, but he doesn’t think that is a disadvantage. “I think my youth is a benefit … it makes me more accessible … everyone should be represented.”   Growing up in Gisbourne in the ‘80s and ‘90s, Read more...

Fortune Favours Those Who Randomly Tick Boxes

Posted 3:50am Monday 28th June 2010 by Guy Wilson

This year’s Fresher Comp winner is one Jacqui Gale, an 18-year-old Health Sci student currently residing at UniCol. Gale saw off her competitors in a week that involved karaoke, fire-eating, and abseiling down the side of the Chemistry Building.   The final event involved an offal Read more...

Execrable

Posted 3:49am Monday 28th June 2010 by Julia Hollingsworth

The first OUSA meeting of the year (well, the first Critic deemed worthy of attendance) saw the room brimming with as much excitement as a primary school dance. The girls and boys were even seated on opposite sides of the room.   Chirpy stories were swapped, but best of all was Read more...

Leave your guns at home, Gerry, Don't take your guns to town

Posted 3:47am Monday 28th June 2010 by Jackson James Wood and Gregor Whyte

Minister for Energy Gerry Brownlee rode into town last week with his Stetson and six shooter only to find out that he should've left his guns at home to avoid shooting his mouth off.   Comments about Voluntary Student Membership made by Brownlee following a meeting with the Otago Young Read more...

Win an OE

Posted 3:46am Monday 28th June 2010 by

Jenny Stein has returned from the trip of a lifetime. After submittting an entry at myOE.com, Jenny was invited to make a video about herself, which she duly did. The next thing she knew she was in the UK on an all-expenses-paid OE. The two-week trip took her all across the UK, visiting places Read more...

International Women’s Day

Posted 3:46am Monday 28th June 2010 by Julia Hollingsworth

Monday March 8 is the 99th International Women’s Day. Fifteen countries, including Azerbaijan, Tajikistan, and Moldova, celebrate International Women’s Day as an official holiday.   Unfortunately, no such luck in New Zealand, so everyone will still be expected to turn up to lectures Read more...

OUSA Great Bucket Delivery

Posted 3:45am Monday 28th June 2010 by Calida Smylie

Flat still filthy after O-Week? If so, the OUSA Great Bucket Delivery should be right up your alley. Flats in need of some cleaning gear can email their address to welfare@ousa.org.nz with ‘Buckets’ in the subject line. The first 180 entries will get a bucket delivered to their flat Read more...