Archive

Critic tackles election year | Issue 5

Posted 5:30pm Sunday 23rd March 2014 by Carys Goodwin

Last week, Critic’s most beloved Tertiary Education Minister opened up the university council chat once more. National has been no stranger to the evolving relationship between student participation and our university overlords, and the Education Amendment Bill (number two) is no exception. We first Read more...

I Wish I Could Play for Both Teams

Posted 5:30pm Sunday 23rd March 2014 by Daniel Lormans

First, let’s go to the rich mahogany rugby desk where we find lots of excuses for the Highlanders suffering an unexpected home loss to the Force last weekend. A narrow two-point loss will have knocked their confidence a bit but it was close and every cloud has a silver lining (and all those other Read more...

Execrable - Resignation & Donation | Issue 5

Posted 5:30pm Sunday 23rd March 2014 by Claudia Herron

This week’s OUSA Executive meeting had a climatic end, with Education Officer Jordan Taylor announcing his resignation from the Executive. Critic’s last Execrable highlighted Jordan’s “sheer incompetence shown in his organising of Sex Week,” and that he was “already following a very similar pattern Read more...

BCom Student Convicted of Class B Drug Supply

Posted 5:30pm Sunday 23rd March 2014 by Emily Draper

A University of Otago student previously convicted of selling Ritalin to other students has had his conviction quashed in the Court of Appeal, after his co-offender was discharged without conviction after admitting to the same offence. The Court of Appeal last week revealed its decision to discharge Read more...

Go Card Makes Bus Go Far

Posted 5:30pm Sunday 23rd March 2014 by Josie Cochrane

The recent trial of a 25 per cent discount on Dunedin bus services is “proving pretty successful” says Otago Regional Council (ORC) Chairman, Stephen Woodhead. A noticeable increase in patronage means the discount trial will continue until 30 April 2014, after which the Council will decide whether Read more...

No Chain Smoking for Queen

Posted 5:30pm Sunday 23rd March 2014 by Claudia Herron

NORML have further questioned the boundary of the University’s Smoke-free policy by looking to an archaic property right known as the Queen’s Chain that considers riverbanks to be public property. In his repeated attempts to “break down the policy,” Otago NORML spokesman Abe Grey contacted Read more...

Red Bull Gives Red Bull,

Posted 5:30pm Sunday 23rd March 2014 by Claudia Herron

Three Otago students have beat out thousands of teams from all over the world after being selected to compete in a seven-day mission across Europe using only Red Bull as currency. Red Bull Can You Make It positions 100 teams from all over the world in London, Paris, Milan and Vienna with a case of Read more...

ORC Foot $100K Footbridge

Posted 5:30pm Sunday 23rd March 2014 by Laura Munro

An unforeseen $100,000 is to be spent by the Otago Regional Council (ORC) on installing a temporary footbridge across the Leith as part of the flood protection works, causing further disruption to staff and students. The ORC is currently in the middle of a $5.4 million flood protection scheme in the Read more...

Periodic Relationship Tabled at AUT, Too Much for Otago

Posted 5:30pm Sunday 23rd March 2014 by Josie Cochrane

Associate Professor Allan Blackman, a lecturer for Otago’s Department of Chemistry since 1991, resigned from the University in December last year to take up a position at Auckland University of Technology’s School of Applied Sciences. Earlier that year, Blackman became engaged to an Otago student Read more...

Synthetic cannabinoids

Posted 2:59pm Sunday 16th March 2014 by Claudia Herron

Psychoactive substances are the active ingredients in party pills, energy pills and herbal highs. They are like any other drug, with many people experiencing problems of addiction. The Psychoactive Substances Act commenced on 18 July 2013 and regulates the importation, manufacture and supply of Read more...

The FIFA World Cup countdown begins

Posted 2:59pm Sunday 16th March 2014 by Daniel Lormans

The FIFA World Cup (don’t make me say “soccer”) returns to South America this year with hosts Brazil opening the tournament against Croatia in Sao Paulo on 12 June. The final will be played on 13 July in Rio de Janeiro if the centrepiece Estadio do Maracana is ready. Preparations for the Read more...

Politweets | Issue 04

Posted 2:59pm Sunday 16th March 2014 by Carys Goodwin

3 News reporter asks the real questions – where’s John Key’s cat? Cunliffe appears to be doing National’s job for them. Burn. Critic wonders what 1996 RWC Henare is referring to. That would be insider trading. Kevin Read more...

Greatest Hits / Greatest Shits | Issue 04

Posted 2:59pm Sunday 16th March 2014 by Carys Goodwin

Greatest HitsIt was very tempting to award Greatest Hit to John Key for choosing 20 September as the election date, as a few Critic staff were recipients of healthy iPredict payouts (myself included); but in the interest of providing students with something a little better than “should’ve got on the Read more...

Young Politician | Issue 04

Posted 2:59pm Sunday 16th March 2014 by Staff Reporter

I’m new to Dunedin, so naturally, I’ve gone to start my first of many years at Otago in a hall. When you arrive to your particular hall, they will most probably have a number of initiations for you; designed to break barriers, reduce homesickness, and make new friends. But there was one thing I did Read more...

Critic tackles election year | Issue 04

Posted 2:59pm Sunday 16th March 2014 by Carys Goodwin

Finally, the election date has been announced: 20 September. Bring on the policy releases, campaign ads, catchy slogans, and the inevitable rhetorical fuck-ups. It’s time to cut through the empty statements about student support and “the best education ever” and see what’s actually in writing. This Read more...

NCO spells end for party

Posted 2:59pm Sunday 16th March 2014 by Josie Cochrane

Over half of the 382 noise complaints made to the Dunedin City Council last month were from Dunedin North, with 94 per cent of the complaints relating to noise from stereos. This is the highest number of complaints in a single month since February 2010 and coincides with the influx of students back Read more...

Ben Sherman pushes Paul Smith to Fringe

Posted 2:59pm Sunday 16th March 2014 by Josie Cochrane

The 2014 Dunedin Fringe Festival has arrived, with over 300 guests attending the opening Festival Gala and the Polsen Higgs Comedy Club. The Dunedin Fringe Festival, funded by the Dunedin City Council, Otago Community Trust and Creative NZ, is “an awesomely creative grassroots event that wouldn’t be Read more...

Proctology | Issue 04

Posted 2:59pm Sunday 16th March 2014 by Claudia Herron

This week in Proctology saw someone set-up Campus Watch to Police – by divulging examples of the former’s “nefarious” behaviour to the latter. A woman, who locked her keys in her car on Albany Street, was attended to by Campus Watch with “some breaking-in gear” to assist her cause. The Police were Read more...

Humanities enrolments falling mean fewer in retail

Posted 2:59pm Sunday 16th March 2014 by Josie Cochrane

The University has seen a 1.9 per cent decline in enrolments from 2012 to 2013, with the decline “overwhelmingly concentrated in the Division of Humanities” according to the 2013 End of Year Financial Review. The drop in humanities students accounted for 83 per cent of the overall drop in student Read more...

“No upper limit” on DCC hotel expenditure (or height)

Posted 2:59pm Sunday 16th March 2014 by Josie Cochrane

A memorandum of understanding (MoU) has been signed by the Dunedin City Council and Betterways Advisory Ltd, the developers of the proposed $100 million waterfront hotel. The agreement means both parties will now work together on a new design, in order to get the contentious project underway. Read more...

Inferno of injustice in archway four

Posted 2:59pm Sunday 16th March 2014 by Emily Draper

The overheating of the Archway 4 Lecture Theatre is cause for concern, a sentiment echoed by many disgruntled students and teachers who are suffering in Archway 4’s record temperatures. According to Law Lecturer Andrew Geddes, “current heat problems in Archway 4 make it an environment in which Read more...

Young Politician | Issue 03

Posted 4:35pm Sunday 9th March 2014 by Staff Reporter

Liam Kernaghan was supposed to write this, but being distracted by pipe band and dancing Shetland ponies, he was too busy to meet the deadline. As his “trigger-happy puppy dog,” I get to deliver the first political sharn of 2014 – which is, ironically, the Year of the Horse. Our flat jumped Read more...

Greatest Hits / Greatest Shits | Issue 03

Posted 4:35pm Sunday 9th March 2014 by Carys Goodwin

Greatest HitSometimes it’s easy to get so caught up in the humdrum of menial political drama that we forget we don’t actually live in a hilarious equilibrium of MP DJs (looking at you, Jacinda) and in-the-house banter. We do have a global context, and we have a proud history of attempting to stand Read more...

Critic tackles election year | Issue 03

Posted 4:35pm Sunday 9th March 2014 by Carys Goodwin

As I'm sure you all know, or at least have realised from the sharp increase in red, green, and blue-clad Tent City occupiers, it's election year – and a particularly important one at that. Our current Government has often been accused of overlooking student issues, and whether you agree with this or Read more...

If it ain't broke, another South African team should fix it

Posted 4:35pm Sunday 9th March 2014 by Daniel Lormans

Have you finally gotten your head around how the Super Rugby conference system works? Well, even if you have, it is all set to change. Again. Why? Because fuck you ... that’s why. Interesting announcements and off-the-record comments have been surfacing about the possible evolution of Super Read more...

Safeassign no safe sign for cheaters

Posted 4:35pm Sunday 9th March 2014 by Emily Draper

The number of students cheating at the University of Otago has risen on last year’s figures, but the rise is “not unusual” according to the University. The rise is documented in their annual report of dishonest offences, which shows there were 72 dishonest practice incidents in 2013. Despite there Read more...

Charlotte's web of deceit found out

Posted 4:35pm Sunday 9th March 2014 by Claudia Herron

A former president of the Maori Law Students’ Association has been indefinitely excluded from the University after stealing money from the Association during her presidency in 2013. Critic began investigating the incident last year but was unsuccessful in exposing the student despite fruitless Read more...

Unis to produce more skilled employees for economy

Posted 4:35pm Sunday 9th March 2014 by Claudia Herron

A five-year tertiary education strategy that focuses on enabling students to leave university with skills employers want has received bipolar reviews from the TEU and the Greens. Tertiary Education, Skills and Employment Minister Steven Joyce last week announced the Government would focus Read more...

Otago ranks with big minds, big words and know-it-alls

Posted 4:35pm Sunday 9th March 2014 by Josie Cochrane

The University of Otago remains in the 226-250th bracket of the Times University Rankings. The rankings judge world-class universities across all of their core missions – teaching, research, knowledge transfer and international outlook – and this year they reveal that Otago ranks highest among New Read more...

Execrable | Issue 03

Posted 4:35pm Sunday 9th March 2014 by Josie Cochrane

On Monday 3 March the second OUSA Executive Meeting of the year was held. Reflection over the past two weeks revealed that the O’Week Six60 gig went “very well,” and it was expected that Tinie Tempah would draw a crowd of approximately 5500 to 6000 students, with “potentially lots of late sales.” Read more...

The Royal Hyde Street Party

Posted 4:35pm Sunday 9th March 2014 by Claudia Herron

Hyde Street Keg Party looks set to be a royal fanfare this year with the event falling on the eve of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge’s visit to Dunedin. Stepping up to run the event this year is Admin Vice President Ryan Edgar who said the event day planning is “absolutely” underway. Being Read more...

The great Otago drilling debate

Posted 4:44pm Sunday 2nd March 2014 by Josie Cochrane

Last year Texan company Anadarko Petroleum announced it was sending its test drill ship, the Noble Bob Douglas, into the Canterbury basin. The first step in drilling this exploratory well, situated just off the Otago coast, has been completed, but debate over whether the risk is worth it continues. Read more...

Uni spends $600,000,000 on infrastructure

Posted 4:44pm Sunday 2nd March 2014 by Thomas Raethel

Dunedin’s construction industry stands to benefit from more than six hundred million dollars in expenditure by the University on infrastructure, as well as the creation of hundreds of jobs. Chief Operating Officer John Patrick revealed the gargantuan figure at the University Council’s meeting Read more...

Council demands consent for movie vouchers and pizza

Posted 4:44pm Sunday 2nd March 2014 by Claudia Herron

The trend of sponsored flats in North Dunedin has come under DCC scrutiny after the branding of a radio station on a Castle St flat did not have the required resource consent. The flat, situated on the corner of Castle St and Dundas St, has the ZM logo and radio frequency plastered on one of its Read more...

Orientation After Party set to draw huge crowd

Posted 4:44pm Sunday 2nd March 2014 by Staff Reporter

A huge turnout is expected at the Forsyth Barr Stadium for OUSA’s Orientation After Party this Thursday 6 March, with all British acts Chase & Status, Tinie Tempah and Sub Focus drawing in the crowds. Kicking off the night is dance music guru Sub Focus, AKA Nick Douwma, who cemented himself Read more...

Highlanders miss conversion

Posted 4:44pm Sunday 2nd March 2014 by Claudia Herron

The University’s recent sponsorship of the Highlanders has highlighted the enduring issue that nowhere on campus sells tickets to the team’s games. While the sale of tickets by OUSA ceased about two years ago, the issue again resurfaced when tickets to O-week’s Blues v Highlanders match were the Read more...

Proctology

Posted 4:44pm Sunday 2nd March 2014 by Claudia Herron

This week in Proctology we highlight the cyclical nature of Scarfie antics as Dunedin’s returning students egg-xacted revenge on the newest influx of freshers. OUSA President Ruby Sycamore-Smith said she was “in a flap” after hearing that “freshers are being beaten by their own flock.” Read more...

Student allowance numbers plummet

Posted 4:44pm Sunday 2nd March 2014 by Thomas Raethel

The number of students receiving the student allowance in Dunedin has dropped by 23.8 per cent between 2012 and 2013. According to opponents of allowance entitlement cuts, the numbers indicate that Government policies are having a serious impact on the student populace of Dunedin in particular. Read more...

OUSA Recreation Centre refurbished

Posted 4:44pm Sunday 2nd March 2014 by Josie Cochrane

The new OUSA Recreation Centre is set to open in some capacity on Monday this week following upgrades that “will bring the centre into the 21st century.” Previously known as OUSA Clubs and Societies, the Centre was “well overdue for a bit of TLC,” says OUSA General Manager Darel Hall. The two Read more...

Uni might not flood?

Posted 4:44pm Sunday 2nd March 2014 by Josie Cochrane

On-going works to the Leith River banks and surrounds will contunue to have an impact upon pedestrian and traffic flow for most of the semester. Once the scheme is complete the benefits to the campus will be “significant,” according to the University, and a large part of the campus will receive Read more...

Smoke-free campus saga continues

Posted 4:44pm Sunday 2nd March 2014 by Claudia Herron

Opponents have further questioned the implementation of the University’s Smoke-free Campus policy after it was raised that certain areas included in the ban, as thought by some, belong to the DCC. Otago Norml spokesperson Abe Grey said the University “sound like they are bluffing,” and that they are Read more...

Interview: Ruby Sycamore-Smith, OUSA President 2014

Posted 6:57pm Sunday 23rd February 2014 by Zane Pocock

After winning by a significant margin in last year’s election, 2014 sees Ruby Sycamore-Smith going into her second year on the OUSA Executive as President. She caught up with Zane Pocock during a brief lull in a jam-packed Orientation schedule to discuss students, politics, and just a little bit of Read more...

ECP struggles

Posted 6:57pm Sunday 23rd February 2014 by Josie Cochrane

Walking into a pharmacy in need of the emergency contraceptive pill (ECP) has left some young Dunedin women feeling inappropriately questioned and judged by a local pharmacy. One woman has made a complaint to the Health and Disability Commissioner (HDC) abut Wilkinson and Son Chemists after her Read more...

Uni governance and wānanga changes

Posted 6:57pm Sunday 23rd February 2014 by Claudia Herron

University Councils throughout the country will undergo major reforms following the Government’s announcement that it plans to reduce their size and remove mandatory staff, student and community membership. Tertiary Education Minister Steven Joyce made the announcement last week, which has since Read more...

Uni bank-rolls thugby

Posted 6:57pm Sunday 23rd February 2014 by Thomas Raethel

OUSA has expressed its support for the University’s sponsorship of the Highlanders rugby union team, despite the University facing backlash from the Tertiary Education Union (TEU) who branded the sponsorship as a “gimmick.” TEU deputy secretary Nanette Cormack elaborated on the Union’s Read more...

Vaporisers and edibles only on campus

Posted 6:57pm Sunday 23rd February 2014 by Thomas Raethel

The introduction of a campus-wide smoking ban on 1 January 2014 has harmonised the University with others throughout the country, but many appear to be side-stepping the ban and gutters outside campus have been clogged with cigarette butts. The policy does not outline any smoking-friendly Read more...

Metro’s fucked, if you haven’t noticed

Posted 6:57pm Sunday 23rd February 2014 by Josie Cochrane

The owner of a number of Dunedin bars, including student favourites Monkey, Metro and Rumours, has fled the country, leaving a number of outstanding debts. Critic could not get in contact with the owner, Ben Hanssen, but it is understood that he has left behind creditors and employees with no sign Read more...

Ori t-shits disappoint

Posted 6:57pm Sunday 23rd February 2014 by Claudia Herron

Two thousand uninspiring “limited edition” t-shirts included with O-Week’s Super Pass have been received unenthusiastically by students, despite being designed by talented local design company Moodie Tuesday. The t-shirts, which come in either blue or grey, comprise a collection of basic and Read more...

Orientation happened

Posted 6:57pm Sunday 23rd February 2014 by Claudia Herron

With a couch fire on the Saturday evening preceding O-Week, the stage was set for a roaring Orientation; a “return to true Scarfiedom,” even, as some observers speculated. The incident saw four people arrested for setting the fire outside 15 Hyde Street at approximately 10:45pm on Saturday 15 Read more...

OUSA Constitution breached in NZUSA scandal

Posted 3:00pm Thursday 21st November 2013 by Zane Pocock

The OUSA Executive yesterday confronted a breach of the OUSA Constitution by three of the four delegates sent to Wellington to cast OUSA’s votes in the 2014 NZUSA (New Zealand Union of Students’ Associations) election. The offending delegates voted contrary to a motion carried during Read more...