Archive

Starters Shuts Down, Forever

Posted 11:45am Monday 13th September 2021 by Denzel Chung

The iconic Starters Bar, beloved by freshers and freshers at heart, has suddenly closed down after a decision by the OUSA Executive.  OUSA, who bought the North Dunedin bar in 2018, cited earthquake safety concerns as the reason for closing down. They are hopeful that a replacement bar in Read more...

Fonterra-funded Science Says “Our Byproducts Probably Won’t Give You Cancer”

Posted 1:33am Saturday 11th September 2021 by Fox Meyer

Two Otago scientists have criticised the optimistic results of a nitrates study co-funded by Fonterra and MBIE. The original study concluded that it is “highly unlikely” that the presence of nitrate contaminants could increase your risk of cancer. Nitrates have been linked to cancer Read more...

Tutors and Demonstrators Miss Out On Extra Payment

Posted 1:30am Saturday 11th September 2021 by Erin Gourley

The University announced a $400 payment to help low-paid staff with the expense of working from home, but tutors and demonstrators were left out of the payment. This is despite the fact that they are some of the lowest-paid staff at the University. The payment was $400 made available to Read more...

Afghan Students Face Uncertainty and Distress

Posted 1:28am Saturday 11th September 2021 by Oscar Francis

Following the defeat of the American-lead coalition by the Taliban in mid-August, a humanitarian crisis has ensued. Seeing the Taliban retake the capital, the ensuing refugee crisis, and the failure of our institutions to respond adequately has been tough on Otago’s Afghan Read more...

Students Stranded on Placements in Lockdown

Posted 1:23am Saturday 11th September 2021 by Runze Liu

Around 530 students studying health professional programmes were out on placement across the country when the snap Level 4 lockdown was announced, according to the Pro-Vice-Chancellor of Health Sciences Paul Brunton. For some, like Owen, a third-year pharmacy student who was placed in Whanganui Read more...

NZUSA Statement Changed After Student Backlash

Posted 1:20am Saturday 11th September 2021 by Denzel Chung

The New Zealand Union of Students Associations (NZUSA) put up a Facebook post praising the Government’s support for students. After just 24 minutes, and comments from students, the post was extensively revised to take a more critical stance. I believe this is what they call a Read more...

OUSA Supports Ban on Conversion Therapy

Posted 1:13am Saturday 11th September 2021 by Erin Gourley

OUSA made a lengthy submission in favour of the Conversion Practices Prohibition Legislation Bill, which proposes to ban conversion practices (including conversion therapy) in Aotearoa. They were one of over 100,000 submissions on the Bill.  The OUSA submission, written by Political Read more...

Some Gymmers Still Ignoring Unipol’s Level 2 Rules

Posted 1:08am Saturday 11th September 2021 by Denzel Chung

With the drop to Alert Level 2 came the long-awaited re-opening of Unipol. However, it seems that gym-deprived students have not been obeying the new Level 2 restrictions.  Unipol announced their re-opening in a Facebook post last Wednesday evening, saying that their doors would open for the Read more...

Office Plants Sentenced to Death By University

Posted 1:05am Saturday 11th September 2021 by Asia Martusia King

On Friday 2 September, postgraduate students and staff across Otago campuses were allocated 15-minute slots to re-enter campus and retrieve essential research material. Office plants were explicitly forbidden to be rescued. Some postgraduate students are reportedly “devastated” by Read more...

Flat Parties May Require Sign-Ins

Posted 1:03am Saturday 11th September 2021 by Fox Meyer

New Level 2 guidelines mean you’ll have to take attendance at flat parties. Hon Chris Hipkins said last week that any places where “people gather consistently and in large numbers” must abide by attendance-keeping rules. This means scanning in, signing in, or whatever other method Read more...

How Otago Will Function at Delta 2

Posted 12:55am Saturday 11th September 2021 by Erin Gourley

All updates in this article are accurate as of Thursday 9 September.  Since Level 2 (Delta Edition) was announced, students have been wondering how the University would function under the new guidelines. There were a few chains of communication that operated slowly, with the Ministry of Read more...

Extra Course-Related Costs Look Unlikely

Posted 3:01pm Sunday 5th September 2021 by Alex Leckie-Zaharic

During the lockdown last year, the Government gave us the ability to put ourselves into an extra $1,000 of debt by expanding the course related costs scheme. But not this year. Students remain frustrated at the lack of financial support.  Education Minister Chris Hipkins did not respond in Read more...

Passwords Changed to Boot Exec from Social Media

Posted 2:57pm Sunday 5th September 2021 by Erin Gourley

The OUSA Exec was given a taste of social media access and now they want more.  During the first few days of lockdown, they were given access to OUSA’s Instagram and Facebook in order to promote the Exec election. Just a little bit, as a treat. That meant that the elected students on Read more...

A Third of Hall Residents Headed Home

Posted 2:44pm Sunday 5th September 2021 by Fox Meyer

Following the quick shift into Level 4, many hall residents decided to gap it back home rather than stay in Dunedin. The University was quick to offer a 100% rebate to students and subwardens who left their residential colleges for lockdown. President Michaela Waite-Harvey said that OUSA was Read more...

“Cursed” Pint Night Gig Postponed for Fourth Time

Posted 2:39pm Sunday 5th September 2021 by Fox Meyer

One specific Pint Night line-up have had their gig postponed and rescheduled four times in a row due to Covid. Since the first lockdown cancelled their original Pint Night on 18 March 2020, Rezzy Crooks, Jam Henderson and Alex Dykes have been trying their best to get on the subterranean stage, to no Read more...

Students Voice Support for Ending Conversion Therapy

Posted 1:55pm Sunday 5th September 2021 by Elliot Weir

As the September 8 deadline for public submissions looms, numerous churches, many with Otago student groups, have publicly expressed concern over the Conversion Practices Prohibition Legislation Bill. After this deadline, the Bill will appear before the Justice Select Committee. Many activist, Read more...

Uni Loo Rolls Linked To Deforestation, Human Rights Abuses

Posted 1:50pm Sunday 5th September 2021 by Denzel Chung

Otago Uni is buying toilet paper from a company linked to deforestation and human rights abuses, particularly in Indonesia. This company has been blacklisted by tens of environmental groups worldwide, including Greenpeace and the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF). Your flat will probably have a few Read more...

International Students “Neglected” During Lockdown

Posted 1:41pm Sunday 5th September 2021 by Denzel Chung

Major avenues for international students to get financial support have been shut down by the Government, with no replacement in sight. The New Zealand International Students’ Association (NZISA) have claimed this shows international students are being “neglected” by both the Read more...

Close Election Sees 15% Of Students Elect New Exec

Posted 1:35pm Sunday 5th September 2021 by Denzel Chung

A new OUSA Exec for 2022 was appointed over lockdown. The races this year were very close, with most races won by just a percentage point or two.  Three of the races were a foregone conclusion: President (won by Melissa Lama), Finance & Strategy (won by Emily Fau-Goodwin) and Political Read more...

No Internet? You're Not Alone

Posted 2:05pm Friday 3rd September 2021 by Erin Gourley

UPDATE: The internet is back, as of 2.15pm. Hope everyone with an assignment due this arvo can recover from this 25-minute break. Turns out the outage was caused by DDOS attack. Wifi outages are affecting all of New Zealand at the moment.    The issues appear to affect Orcon, Read more...