Archive

No Fines for Lawn Litter

Posted 3:23pm Sunday 25th July 2021 by Fox Meyer

A proposed change to the Code of Conduct would have made it possible for the Uni to fine you for having a littered front lawn. The University didn’t go through with that change after receiving negative feedback from students, releasing their response on 10 July. Ultimately, the University Read more...

No Backpay for Offshore PhD Students

Posted 3:19pm Sunday 25th July 2021 by Fox Meyer

Remote PhD students will not be receiving a stipend from the University, even with a scholarship. 89 students have commenced their PhD at Otago remotely since the pandemic began. 13 have managed to enter New Zealand, and only seven of those students will be receiving a monthly stipend, according Read more...

@OtagoUniStudAss: The OUSA Twitter Account that May or May Not Be Official

Posted 4:00pm Sunday 18th July 2021 by Erin Gourley

OUSA have an old Twitter account. Or do they? The handle is OtagoUniStudAss, a joke so bad that it seems like Critic came up with it. There are fifteen tweets in total. The profile picture is someone jumping on a roof at the Hyde Street Party. They posted a photo of a burning couch in Read more...

Catering Waste Thrown in Tips

Posted 3:07pm Sunday 18th July 2021 by Alex Leckie-Zaharic

Thanks to a tip-off from a student, Critic now knows what happens to extra food from University-catered events. A concerned student asked us to look into the apparent waste of food at University events. They reached out after they witnessed staff loading crates with uneaten food, apparently to be Read more...

OUSA Elections Coming Up Soon

Posted 3:05pm Sunday 18th July 2021 by Alex Leckie-Zaharic

Nominations will open on August 4 for the ten positions available on the OUSA Executive. The Exec brought the dates forward from their usual September date for elections in their Exec meeting last Monday, in order to have a larger overlap between the new Exec and the old Exec. The students Read more...

Queer Space Will Open On Friday

Posted 2:58pm Sunday 18th July 2021 by Elliot Weir

After almost three years of planning, delays, and bureaucratic hurdles, an official opening of the Campus Queer Space has been announced by OUSA for 23 of July at 10.30am.  The space, which is located near the terrace lounge (upstairs from the link), includes furniture, decorations, and Read more...

Chlöe Swarbrick Proves A Hit At Re-O Clubs Day

Posted 2:56pm Sunday 18th July 2021 by Alex Leckie-Zaharic

The Young Greens had the most success, of all the youth political parties, of recruiting people to join them at Clubs Day. It’s that time of year when clubs desperately attempt to get students to bolster their sometimes meagre ranks. The “young” branches of the political Read more...

Otago Students Apparently Doing Great

Posted 2:53pm Sunday 18th July 2021 by Fox Meyer

Otago Uni topped the charts in three of four “key indicators” of success at New Zealand universities, according to the annual ranking published by the Tertiary Education Commission. We had the best rates of qualification completion, first year retention, and progression.  People Read more...

Is Living in A Twin Room Hell?

Posted 2:47pm Sunday 18th July 2021 by Erin Gourley

Living in a twin room might seem like your worst nightmare, but you do save a lot of money compared with the usual price of living in one of Otago’s residential colleges.  “I can’t image paying full price,” said Carolina*, who lives in a twin room in Aquinas. She only Read more...

Otago Not Surprised At Auckland Abandoning NZUSA

Posted 2:44pm Sunday 18th July 2021 by Runze Liu

Otago Uni Students’ Association (OUSA) is unsurprised that Auckland Uni Students’ Association (AUSA) is giving 12 months’ notice to leave the New Zealand Union of Students’ Association (NZUSA). OUSA President Michaela Waite-Harvey stated this is “not a shocking turn Read more...

What’s (Still) Wrong with Freshers?

Posted 2:37pm Sunday 18th July 2021 by Fox Meyer

Six months ago, we asked O-Week freshers what the biggest problem in their life was. Most of them said that their biggest problems were making friends, missing family, or other social issues. Critic hit up the line outside Union Hall on 14 July to check back in, and see if anything had changed. One Read more...

Student Volunteers Prop Up Science Festival

Posted 2:29pm Sunday 18th July 2021 by Asia Martusia King

The vast majority of volunteers at the New Zealand International Science Festival were students. The festival, which took place from 8 to 18 of July, saw a total number of 92 volunteers. Volunteer Coordinator Hannah says that around 80% of these were studying at Otago University.  This is Read more...

No Arrests After Rugby

Posted 2:26pm Sunday 18th July 2021 by Fox Meyer

Nobody was arrested at the stadium following the All Blacks vs Fiji game on Saturday, 10 July. Great job, everyone. There were still some dickheads, though. A statement from the Police said that “several people” had to be removed from the stadium by staff or officers for “poor Read more...

Landlord Fails to Make Tenants Pay for Lockdown Freezer Leak

Posted 2:25pm Sunday 18th July 2021 by Denzel Chung

A North Dunedin landlord discovered damage to a flat during last year’s lockdown and unsuccessfully took the tenants to the Tenancy Tribunal for $1800.  The tenants, who were granted name suppression by the Tribunal, were not even at the flat at the time of the damage. The landlord Read more...

$26,000 For Silverline Mental Health Festival

Posted 2:16pm Sunday 18th July 2021 by Denzel Chung

Silverline, a student-led mental health advocacy group, spent $26,000 on a two-day festival centred around mental health. They are optimistic about the level of student engagement that the festival received. The 2021 Silverline Festival was held at the St David Complex on 21-22 May this year. Read more...

Counterprotestor Injured at Groundswell Protest is “Disappointed” in Behaviour

Posted 5:43pm Friday 16th July 2021 by Oscar Francis

The Dunedin woman whose sign reading “NO FARMING ON A DEAD PLANET” was ripped from her hands by a Groundswell protester says she is “disappointed in their behaviour”. Groundswell Convenor Bryce McKenzie claims Groundswell is "not responsible". The Read more...

OUSA Finds Flaws in Government Drug Testing Policy

Posted 11:15am Tuesday 13th July 2021 by Alex Leckie-Zaharic

OUSA wasted no time in giving feedback on the Government’s new Drug and Substance Checking Legislation Bill, hoping to make the bill less likely to screw students over.  The submission, prepared by OUSA Political Rep Mhairi Mackenzie Everitt, outlines OUSA’s history with drug Read more...

Traffic Goes Up 50% When Students Return

Posted 11:12am Tuesday 13th July 2021 by Quintin Jane

Traffic was almost 50% up on State Highway One as students poured in for the start of the term.  Radio One reported that 8,068 vehicles sputtered along SH1 by Kilmog Hill on Friday the 19th of February, the day before O Week began at the start of the year. This is 43% higher than the 2020 Read more...

Lime Scooters Hoon Out of Dunedin

Posted 11:09am Tuesday 13th July 2021 by Alex Leckie-Zaharic

Citing “careful consideration” and the “weighing up [of] many factors”, Lime has decided to retreat from Dunedin. But anyone with half a brain knows that the real reason because we threw so many of their scooters in the Leith.  Lime is a self-proclaimed “global Read more...

Police Target Otago Students With More Breathalysers

Posted 11:04am Tuesday 13th July 2021 by Erin Gourley

Otago students will be targeted for drink driving in a new police campaign, the Campus Cop has warned. This is a big PSA that there will be more breathalyser stops on the streets around campus, starting from Re-O Week. The new campaign will see cop stops with breathalysers stationed around North Read more...