Archive

The Best and Worst Anonymous Comments From the OUSA Referendum

Posted 4:44pm Thursday 18th June 2020 by Sinead Gill

The OUSA Referendum happened and it was pretty average. The only real contenscious issue that emerged from the results is whether or not students want OUSA to co-host the Agnew Street party like they do with Hyde (it narrowly failed).  The most consensus students had on a referendum question Read more...

OUSA Exec Almost Asked Students A Question That They Don’t Want to Ask in Referendum

Posted 9:50pm Thursday 21st May 2020 by Sinead Gill

In a 4:15pm emergency executive meeting last Tuesday, the Executive realised that they had no memory of creating or agreeing to include one of the dozen referendum questions. Weeks before each OUSA referendum, the Executive does a call out for student-submitted referendum questions. These Read more...

The University Knows Which Wifi Router You Are Closest To

Posted 9:12pm Thursday 21st May 2020 by Erin Gourley

The University will use the wifi network on campus to contact trace students and staff. Apparently they have always been capable of doing that, but the pandemic has made that capability useful. A University spokeswoman said that “the network [is] one tool among several to meet Government Read more...

Private Residential Colleges Accidentally Made Bank From Wage Subsidy

Posted 9:10pm Thursday 21st May 2020 by Erin Gourley

Otago’s private residential colleges claimed a combined total of $789,893 under the Covid-19 wage subsidy. Turns out a chunk of this was surplus to their needs, so some money will be returned.  The wage subsidy is only available if a business can show a 30% reduction in monthly revenue Read more...

Vic’s International Students Petition for 30% Fee Reduction

Posted 9:06pm Thursday 21st May 2020 by Erin Gourley

The VUW International Students’ Association (V-ISA) are petitioning their University to get a 30% fee refund for international students who returned home for lockdown. The petition, hosted on ActionStation, was created on 16 May and has 849 signatures at the time of writing.  VUW Read more...

Students Are Considering Leaving Otago Uni Over “Invasive” Exam Software

Posted 9:00pm Thursday 21st May 2020 by Sinead Gill

As of publishing, a petition that calls for the removal of ExamSoft software from Otago examinations has raised almost 600 signatures. Students are reportedly so unhappy that they are considering transferring University. Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academic), Professor Pat Cragg, denies many of the Read more...

Noise Complaints on the Rise Since Lockdown

Posted 8:53pm Thursday 21st May 2020 by Erin Gourley

Picture this: you’re having a rave with your ten friends. Yeah, it’s loud, but this is North Dunedin ffs. Not like anyone’s gonna call noise control at 10:30 on a Saturday. But then, as you’re blasting Poi E and dancing alluringly in view of the breathas across the fence, a Read more...

Cops Get Back-up From Aviation Security to Monitor Parties

Posted 8:50pm Thursday 21st May 2020 by Erin Gourley

Aviation Security (AvSec) officers have joined Campus Watch and police in foot patrols on the streets of North Dunedin. The AvSec officers, who wear black uniforms without hats and are not trained police officers, do not have the power to enforce Level 2 rules. A police spokesperson confirmed Read more...

University Libraries Reopen

Posted 7:36pm Thursday 21st May 2020 by Jack Gilmore

The University of Otago has reopened many libraries across campus with new social distancing measures in place. At the time of writing Central, Science, and Roberston libraries have fully reopened with new social distancing measures. Libraries initially opened with reduced hours, closing at 5pm. Read more...

Restoring Voting Rights to Prisoners: What Students have to Say

Posted 7:31pm Thursday 21st May 2020 by Wyatt Ryder

New Zealand’s prisoners have been unable to vote in elections for the last ten years. The law that removed their ability to vote was passed in 2010. At the time, the Ministry of Justice estimated that 27,000 Kiwis lost the right to vote. Since then, the New Zealand’s Human Rights Read more...

Proctorial Justice Stocks Just Vibing in University Storage

Posted 7:27pm Thursday 21st May 2020 by Wyatt Ryder

The University has the Proctorial Justice stocks tucked away in storage, and it looks like that’s where they’re staying. The stocks were removed during the first weeks of 2019, when they were loaned out to the Otago Museum as a feature in their Dare to Be Wise exhibition. The Read more...

Referendum Will Ask Students if NZUSA Is Any Use

Posted 2:22pm Tuesday 19th May 2020 by Erin Gourley

OUSA will propose a theoretical alternative to NZUSA at their upcoming referendum.  Three of the draft OUSA referendum questions relate to NZUSA. The first, which is traditionally included in every OUSA referendum, asks whether students think OUSA should leave NZUSA. According to the Read more...

The Future Is Now: University Implements Examination Software For Upcoming Competitive Exams

Posted 1:01am Friday 15th May 2020 by Alex Leckie-Zaharic

Fresh off announcing their long-awaited exam timetable, the University lobbed a curveball at Accounting students and the massive Health Science First Year cohort on Tuesday afternoon by informing them that their exams would be surveilled. Many students are concerned. Yes, you read that right. In Read more...

OPINION: As Students Adapt, so Must Student Representation

Posted 12:19am Friday 15th May 2020 by Jack Manning

If I were to list all the ways Covid-19 has impacted students, there wouldn’t be enough room for an actual opinion. To name a few, just think of students who are essential workers, students who are parents, students without devices, the thousands of exchange students (both inward and outward Read more...

Critic Saved an Auckland Uni Student from a “Cult”

Posted 12:13am Friday 15th May 2020 by Sinead Gill

Last week, an Auckland Uni student claimed to have been approached by two girls from Elohim Academy. Elohim Academy is a sub-group of the World Mission Society Church of God (WMSCOG), which is known for its aggressive recruitment strategy, and has been labeled by some as a cult.  Keeara Read more...

CRIME: OUSA are About to Breach their Constitution

Posted 11:41pm Thursday 14th May 2020 by Erin Gourley

OUSA have breached their constitution by failing to have their financial statements audited before the semester one referendum.  OUSA will acknowledge the breach in its referendum. “Disclosure: due to COVID-19 and the nature of auditing needing to be on sight, we have been unable to Read more...

Students Will Vote on OUSA Support for Agnew

Posted 4:02pm Thursday 14th May 2020 by Erin Gourley

The upcoming OUSA referendum is likely to determine whether OUSA will support the Agnew Street Party.  Question 10 of the upcoming OUSA referendum will ask students whether “OUSA [should] investigate co-hosting Agnew Street with the Agnew Street Residents”. The referendum cannot Read more...

RAs Get Pay-out After Controversy

Posted 4:46pm Sunday 10th May 2020 by Erin Gourley

RAs who stayed in their residential colleges for the lockdown are now receiving $20 more per week than RAs who left their residential colleges. The $140 pay-out was announced following the outrage from RAs who remained in their colleges for lockdown and were ineligible for a fee rebate. A group Read more...

Proctor Asked Police to Arrest Students for Couch-Burning

Posted 4:29pm Sunday 10th May 2020 by Erin Gourley

The Proctor asked police to arrest and charge students with couch burning offences, according to emails released to Critic under the Official Information Act. A spokesperson for the University of Otago said that they “continue to expect the Code of Student Conduct to be the principal means Read more...

OPINION: It's Time To Recycle Your Shrine of Empty Bottles

Posted 4:28pm Sunday 10th May 2020 by Henessey Griffiths

When you move into a flat, one of the first things you think about is decoration. You decorate your bedroom with the things you want, in an effort to best describe your personality. You create your lounge area as a communal space that showcases your mutual interests and your identity as a flat. Read more...