Archive

Hernandez Loses His Shit

Posted 4:26pm Sunday 6th October 2013 by Zane Pocock

Outgoing OUSA President Francisco Hernandez has expressed outrage at the Government’s decision to reduce the maximum size of university and wananga governing councils from 20 members to 12. Tertiary Education Minister Steven Joyce announced the decision in his Review of the Legislative Settings for Read more...

Cool Research Bro. Here, Have 800k

Posted 4:26pm Sunday 6th October 2013 by Claudia Herron

Minister of Education Steven Joyce last week announced the 10 recipients of this year’s Rutherford Discovery Fellowship. Two Otago University researchers were among those acknowledged. The Fellowship rewards New Zealand’s top early- to mid-career researchers with a funding package worth Read more...

Fran and Ruby in Most Pre-Determined Election Ever

Posted 4:26pm Sunday 6th October 2013 by Claudia Herron

Hot on the heels of the usual fanfare created by the OUSA election comes the University Council elections, giving students one more chance to select who will represent them in the ever-exciting realm of student politics. The University Council is the governing body of the University and, among other Read more...

NZUSA Given Yet Another Reprieve

Posted 4:26pm Sunday 6th October 2013 by Thomas Raethel

The New Zealand Union of Students’ Associations’ (NZUSA) future is secure, after both OUSA and the Victoria University of Wellington Students’ Association (VUWSA) decided to remain members of the ailing national body. The two organisations, which each pay an annual NZUSA membership levy of Read more...

Critic “Borrows” Story From Salient. Thanks, Suckers.

Posted 4:26pm Sunday 6th October 2013 by Chris MacIntyre

Concerns from key groups were ignored as the Government introduced their border arrest scheme for student loan defaulters earlier this year, the details of which remain unknown. Documents obtained by Salient under the Official Information Act show that there was limited consultation with Read more...

Otago’s Already Shit Ranking Artificially Propped Up by Foreigners

Posted 4:26pm Sunday 6th October 2013 by Josie Cochrane

The Times Higher Education World University Rankings have placed the University of Otago 226-250th worldwide, the same ranking as 2012 but below the 2011 ranking of 201-250th. Auckland University placed 164th which, despite being down three places on 2012, still made it the mostly highly Read more...

Sycamore-Smith Coasts to Victory Despite Video Gaffe | Opinion

Posted 4:26pm Sunday 6th October 2013 by Sam McChesney

With the Zac Gawn ticket victorious in two out of three contested positions, the outcome of the OUSA Presidential election can largely be seen as a personal endorsement of Ruby Sycamore-Smith. The election also saw the rise of iPredict and the resurgence of feminism, and cemented the importance of Read more...

Fran Makes $300 on iPredict

Posted 4:26pm Sunday 6th October 2013 by Zane Pocock

Ruby Sycamore-Smith has won the election for OUSA President in 2014 with 49.86 per cent of the vote. Her closest rival, Zac Gawn, won 34.35 per cent, with Jordan Watts a distant third on 10.42 per cent. The election saw OUSA’s largest voter turnout “in a generation.” 5,193 votes were cast, Read more...

Interview: Francisco Hernandez

Posted 4:26pm Sunday 6th October 2013 by Sam McChesney

OUSA President Francisco Hernandez will soon leave the association after three years on the Executive. In that time he has revolutionised student politics, producing groundbreaking campaign videos (“Frangnam Style”), conducting “ironically terrible” interviews on national television (TV3’s Read more...

Too Much Pussy in North Dunedin

Posted 4:26pm Sunday 6th October 2013 by Bella Macdonald

Pussy swapping is the next big thing to hit North Dunedin. An initiative is underway to deal with the rising number of stray cats in the student quarters. SPCA Executive Officer Sophie McSkimming said the Society “hopes to have a Facebook page for Cat Swapping by the end of the week.” Read more...

Tall, White Male Selected as 2014 Critic Editor in Shocking Upset

Posted 4:26pm Sunday 6th October 2013 by Irrelevant Irvine

It’s third time lucky for Critic’s resident ladder-climber Zane Pocock, who has been named Critic editor for 2014. “Fuck that took a while,” Pocock sighed when told the news. He has since been spotted standing at the OUSA balcony for hours on end, staring longingly and with just a hint of Read more...

Masters by Coursework on the Rise

Posted 2:29pm Sunday 29th September 2013 by Brittany Mann

The University of Otago has seen an increase in the number of coursework Masters programmes on offer, and recent changes to admissions criteria have made some postgraduate qualifications more accessible than ever before. There are now five coursework Masters programmes on offer in the Read more...

The Third Quarterly Executive Reports

Posted 2:29pm Sunday 29th September 2013 by Staff Reporter

The end of the third quarter has rolled around, and the OUSA Executive all have to submit reports on what they’ve been up to or else they don’t get paid. With the OUSA elections now happening, and several of the current Exec standing again, this is a good opportunity to assess who’s been doing their Read more...

Dorian Joins Larry in Animal Heaven

Posted 2:29pm Sunday 29th September 2013 by Jamie Breen

Two weeks ago, Dunedin was once again the scene of brutal animal violence. This time the victim was Dorian the rabbit. CCTV footage showed a man dressed all in black and wearing a beanie and gloves walking back and forth past the rabbit’s residence, a student flat on Arthur Street. Finally the Read more...

OUSA Election Forums

Posted 2:29pm Sunday 29th September 2013 by Bella Macdonald

Last week saw the OUSA 2014 Executive Candidate Forums take place in the Main Common Room. With more candidates standing than usual, Bella Macdonald went along to suss out who prioritises what. Presidential CandidatesRuby Sycamore-Smith Ruby’s confidence in her achievements as Welfare Read more...

Government Picks on Old People For Once

Posted 2:29pm Sunday 29th September 2013 by Josie Cochrane

Student Allowances are being restricted once again, with mature students now being targeted by cuts to the scheme. As of next year, the Allowance’s 200-week limit will be reduced to 120 weeks (approximately three full years of study) for students aged 40 years or over on the date their studies Read more...

Hayne Joins the One Per Cent

Posted 2:29pm Sunday 29th September 2013 by Thomas Raethel

The Tertiary Education Union (TEU) has condemned the recent trend of pay rises among Vice-Chancellors in universities nationwide. An annual report by the State Services Commission has revealed that at least six Vice-Chancellors across New Zealand received pay rises between 2012 and 2013. The Read more...

SOULS Buys Penance for Their Sins

Posted 2:29pm Sunday 29th September 2013 by Sam McChesney

The Society of Otago University Law Students (SOULS) has made a donation to Women’s Refuge, and in future will run Law Revue scripts past Dean of Law Professor Mark Henaghan, after this year’s Revue was slammed as offensive to women and minorities. Prof Henaghan told Critic that “there were Read more...

Ten Plus Two Equals Twelve, Says Fran

Posted 2:29pm Sunday 29th September 2013 by Zane Pocock

OUSA has announced plans for a one-month trial of a $12 airport shuttle service for students. Although exact dates are yet to be confirmed, the trial period will coincide with the upcoming exam period. As such, it will only be an outgoing service at this stage, but may operate both ways next year Read more...

Uni to Open Responsible, Supervised Bar on Campus

Posted 2:29pm Sunday 29th September 2013 by Claudia Herron

More details have emerged regarding the University’s plans to build a bar on campus, possibly with the involvement of OUSA. Critic reported on 16 September that the University was “looking into” the possibility of owning or co-owning a bar on campus. On 23 September, the news made its way to Read more...

Te Roopu Maori 2014 Executive Nominations

Posted 8:54pm Sunday 22nd September 2013 by Staff Reporter

Tumuaki (President)Arleen McLaren Kia ora whānau Ko Arleen McLaren ahau, he uri tēnei no Ngāti Maniapoto me Ngāti Maru. I am currently a 4th Year Phedder finalist. I am also current tumuaki of PEMA (Physical Education Māori Association). Tumuaki Read more...

Catholic Centre for Life to Provide “Non-Judgemental” Service

Posted 1:47pm Sunday 22nd September 2013 by Josie Cochrane

Family Life International has opened the doors to a new John Paul II Catholic Centre for Life on Filleul Street, Dunedin. This is the third Centre for Life to be opened in New Zealand, following those already running in Auckland and Wellington. Dame Colleen Bayer, National Director of Family Read more...

2014 Election Nominations

Posted 1:47pm Sunday 22nd September 2013 by Staff Reporter

The nominations for the 2014 OUSA Executive have closed, and an array of good-looking candidates have put their names forward to represent you next year. Voting will take place on the OUSA website from 9am Monday 30 September to 4pm Thursday 3 October, with the winners announced that evening. Read more...

Minor Change Called “Attack On Democracy”

Posted 1:47pm Sunday 22nd September 2013 by Claudia Herron

The University of Otago is looking to abandon a 120-year-old tradition in which Otago Graduates are able to vote fellow alumni onto the University Council. Established in 1891, the Court of Convocation has the sole purpose of electing three of its members from among the ranks of its Read more...

Governance Review Shockingly Fails to Deliver

Posted 1:47pm Sunday 22nd September 2013 by Zane Pocock

OUSA’s Governance and Representation Review is now “not necessarily” expected to be complete by the end of the year, says OUSA President Francisco Hernandez. Hernandez told Critic that since recommendations made by the Governance and Representation Review Working Party (the Fun Party) “would Read more...

NZUSA Finally Runs a Campagin

Posted 1:47pm Sunday 22nd September 2013 by Thomas Raethel

The New Zealand Union of Students’ Associations (NZUSA) has joined a Coalition for Fair Internet Pricing in an attempt to stop a nationwide tax on copper-based ADSL broadband services. The move comes after Telecom spinoff Chorus successfully lobbied for taxes on copper-based services to Read more...

“Herod” Chapman Culls the Innocents at EXMSS

Posted 1:47pm Sunday 22nd September 2013 by Bella Macdonald

A group of Massey University extramural students have submitted a request for a Student General Meeting, at which they could move a motion of no confidence in Extramural Students’ Society (EXMSS) President Jeannette “JV” Chapman. Last month, MASSIVE magazine revealed that Chapman was Read more...

Constitution in Tatters

Posted 1:47pm Sunday 22nd September 2013 by Sam McChesney

Both of OUSA President Francisco Hernandez’s referendum questions may prove invalid, after one was ambiguous and the other improperly presented. Hernandez’s question “Should the Otago University Students’ Association (OUSA) adopt a Single Transferrable Voting (STV) system for its elections?” Read more...

Interview: Stevie Jepson

Posted 2:39pm Sunday 15th September 2013 by Elsie Jacobson

Now, we all know about Texan abortion laws after Wendy Davis’s famous filibuster, but what’s the situation here in NZ? Well it’s definitely not as bad as states like Texas or Ohio, but the laws are still pretty backwards and [are] hurting women in a different way to the American laws. We have Read more...

TEU Fears Minister’s Uni Council Changes

Posted 2:39pm Sunday 15th September 2013 by Jack Montgomerie

A lecturers’ union says it is afraid that Tertiary Education Minister Steven Joyce might shrink University Councils and stack them with ministerial appointees. The Tertiary Education Union’s (TEU) National Secretary Sharn Riggs says any changes replacing staff and student representatives with Read more...

Frances Hodgkins Fellowship Announced

Posted 2:39pm Sunday 15th September 2013 by Zane Pocock

Auckland artist Patrick Lundberg was announced last week as the 2014 recipient of the University of Otago’s Frances Hodgkins Fellowship, one of New Zealand’s most prestigious art fellowships. Beginning on 1 February, he will receive a stipend for a year and a studio on campus to pursue his art. Read more...

Execrable | Issue 23

Posted 2:39pm Sunday 15th September 2013 by Sam McChesney

No scandalous revelations this week, folks. This week, all you get is the collapse of drawn-out, politically contentious OUSA project; Budget 2014; a referendum we’ve been waiting for years to hold; a proposal to change OUSA’s voting system at elections; and a laughable attempt by Fran to Read more...

Feral Cats to Be Sent to Heaviside Layer

Posted 2:39pm Sunday 15th September 2013 by Josie Cochrane

Dunedin City Councillor Kate Wilson has created a ‘‘cat committee’’ to discuss solutions to the city’s growing feral cat problem. The committee was set up in response to ongoing concerns about the “pest problem” represented by such cats. Residents argue that if there is a system in place for Read more...

Council of Smaug Hoards Treasure

Posted 2:39pm Sunday 15th September 2013 by Claudia Herron

A number of major forthcoming projects have seen the University pump up its cash reserves and produce an operating surplus significantly above budget, according to monthly financial statements presented at last week’s University Council meeting. The statements revealed that as of the end of July, Read more...

Jones: Racist, Fascist Wanker?

Posted 2:39pm Sunday 15th September 2013 by Jack Montgomerie

Labour leadership candidate and self-described “kingmaker” Shane Jones has suggested that migration to Christchurch from other countries be restricted, and that beneficiaries be forcibly relocated and put to work in the city’s reconstruction. The list MP and former immigration minister told Read more...

God Throws Roofs at Cars

Posted 2:39pm Sunday 15th September 2013 by Bella Macdonald

In the wake of the storm that bolted through Dunedin last week, the Dunedin City Council has deemed the large amounts of damage caused to nearby cars by parts of its buildings flying off “an act of God.” One victim, reported in the Otago Daily Times, was Uil Ludemann, whose car was damaged Read more...

Otago's Stock Does a Fannie Mae

Posted 2:39pm Sunday 15th September 2013 by Thomas Raethel

The University of Otago has been declared the 155th best university in the world, tailing 61 places behind the University of Auckland. The Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) World University Rankings are published annually in the United Kingdom, and according to the official website, feature “over 800 Read more...

Hernandez: “I Am Not A Bitch”

Posted 2:39pm Sunday 15th September 2013 by Sam McChesney

OUSA has firmly denied that the University of Otago attempted to strong-arm the association out of purchasing the Cook or any other North Dunedin pub, after concerns to that effect were raised in an OUSA Executive meeting on 3 September. OUSA currently receives around three-quarters of its Read more...

University Bullies OUSA Over Bar

Posted 1:51pm Sunday 8th September 2013 by Sam McChesney

The revelation in last Tuesday’s Executive meeting that the University is directing how OUSA spends its reserves is significant, but unsurprising. OUSA is known to have large reserves, which it could in theory use to purchase a bar with or without the University’s approval. However, given Read more...

Captain Cook Staggering Back to Life

Posted 1:51pm Sunday 8th September 2013 by Josie Cochrane

The Captain Cook Tavern will be open again within a year, according to a New Zealand architectural firm. Edwin Elliot of Elliot Architects confirmed that the company has been hired to draw up plans to convert the pub, which shut its doors in July after 153 years of operation, into a Read more...

Grinch Continues to Ruin EXMSS

Posted 1:51pm Sunday 8th September 2013 by Bella Macdonald

Following revelations about the Massey University Extramural Students’ Society (EXMSS) President’s salary, EXMSS is once again under scrutiny after one of its staff was suspended without explanation and a member of the Executive unexpectedly resigned on the eve of an Annual General Meeting. Read more...

Execrable | Issue 22

Posted 1:51pm Sunday 8th September 2013 by Sam McChesney

The agenda for last week’s Exec meeting totalled 70 pages, with 27 different items listed. The room had been booked for five hours, but thankfully the meeting “only” lasted three. So, what happened? 1. Serious financial discussions devolved into sugar-fuelled gigglings. Fran kept losing his Read more...

Bus Trial to Cost Far Less Than Actual Bus

Posted 1:51pm Sunday 8th September 2013 by Zane Pocock

The trial for tertiary student discount bus fares set up by OUSA, OPSA and the Otago Regional Council (ORC) is expected to cost the ORC up to $15,000. Ratepayers have been assured, however, that they will not be hit in the pocket. ORC Chairman Stephen Woodhead put the trial “in perspective” Read more...

Arrest And Relaxation

Posted 1:51pm Sunday 8th September 2013 by Anna Bradley-Smith

Students heading away on their OE may soon face a nasty surprise, with new legislation poised to stop the worst loan-defaulters at the border. The Student Loan Scheme Amendment Bill (No 3), which would allow for the arrest of those who have defaulted on student-loan repayments, passed its Read more...

Students Learn to Appear Good and Fuck the World Discreetly

Posted 1:51pm Sunday 8th September 2013 by Zane Pocock

Disciplinary figures released to the Otago Daily Times last week under the Official Information Act show that student behaviour for the first half of 2013 has significantly improved when compared to the same period last year. Only five students were referred to Vice-Chancellor Prof Harlene Read more...

Words Superimposed Onto Ad

Posted 1:51pm Sunday 8th September 2013 by Jamie Breen

This Saturday will host an event designed to bridge the gap between Dunedin’s “town and gown” student population and the general public. The Dunedin Craft Beer and Food Festival, to be held on 14 September, is described by the event organisers as “an evolving platform upon which craft brewers can Read more...

Interview: Steve Drain of The Westboro Baptist Church

Posted 1:51pm Sunday 8th September 2013 by Tristan Keillor

Westboro Baptist Church has become infamous over the past twenty years for its stridently anti-gay messages and picketing of soldiers’ funerals. Steve Drain is a former documentarian who joined the Church in 2001. Drain featured heavily in Louis Theroux’s documentaries The Most Hated Family in Read more...

OUSA to Pad Eleven More CVs

Posted 1:51pm Sunday 8th September 2013 by Staff Reporter

Nominations for positions on the 2014 OUSA Executive are now open until 4pm on 19 September, with voting to take place from 31 September to 4pm on 3 October. There are 11 positions on the Executive. In addition to the full-time position of President, there are four 20-hour positions Read more...

Switched On Museum to Bring Prostitution, Gambling

Posted 1:51pm Sunday 8th September 2013 by Josie Cochrane

The Marijuana Museum of Dunedin, founded by Abe Gray of Otago Norml and Julian Crawford of the Aotearoa Legalise Cannabis Party (ALCP), opens its doors this week to educate locals and tourists on the world of cannabis. Crawford is also a candidate for the Otago District Health Board (DHB) and the Read more...

Council to Railroad Cars Into Cycle Lanes

Posted 1:51pm Sunday 8th September 2013 by Jack Montgomerie

The Dunedin City Council looks set to implement a transport strategy focusing on cycling, walking and public transport in the downtown area. However, a group representing local businesses has accused the strategy of neglecting its needs, prompting a sharp online response from the Mayor. The Read more...