Archive
Interview: Hilary Calvert
Posted 4:45pm Sunday 28th July 2013 by Jack Montgomerie
Local businesswoman, landlord and former ACT MP Hilary Calvert recently confirmed her candidacy for the Dunedin mayoralty and City Council. She spoke to Critic’s Jack Montgomerie about student flats, obelisks, and her plans to rein in council spending. Critic: You are running for mayor. Read more...
Foreign Workers Flock to Christchurch Rebuild
Posted 4:45pm Sunday 28th July 2013 by Jack Montgomerie
As the Christchurch rebuild draws workers from around the world, the city’s demographics as well as its buildings look set to change. Since the February 2011 earthquake brought destruction to Christchurch and subsequent demolitions further denuded the city of buildings, construction companies Read more...
“Action” Fran Acquires 200 Legless Chairs to Sell for Charity
Posted 4:45pm Sunday 28th July 2013 by Zane Pocock
OUSA were donated 200 seats from the deceased Carisbrook stadium last Wednesday, none of which have legs. They are to be sold to students for a gold coin donation, with all proceeds going to Rotary to help organisations such as the Neonatal Trust of Otago and the Yellow Eyed Penguin Trust. Read more...
A Sneak Peek at OUSA’s 2014 Budget
Posted 3:59pm Sunday 21st July 2013 by Sam McChesney
The details of OUSA’s Service Level Agreement (SLA) negotiations with the University have been leaked to Critic. The following is a breakdown of how OUSA intends to spend your money in 2014. $13,760 on a corrugated iron shed for the NORML protestors. This will protect regular (i.e. non-NORML) Read more...
The 2012 Audit: How OUSA Spent Your Money
Posted 3:59pm Sunday 21st July 2013 by Zane Pocock
An audit of OUSA’s Service Level Agreement (SLA) budgeted spending in 2012 was tabled at last Tuesday’s Executive meeting. The SLA is the mechanism by which the University of Otago funds OUSA. The audit, carried out by nominated accountants PricewaterhouseCoopers (PWC), shows that OUSA had a Read more...
Wakachangi Beer Launch
Posted 3:59pm Sunday 21st July 2013 by Thomas Raethel
Comedian Leigh Hart visited Leith Street Liquorland on 13 July to promote his new beer’s launch in Dunedin. Wakachangi Lager is to be primarily marketed toward New Zealand students. Hart told Critic that he considers the lager to be an alternative to brands like Speight’s. He admitted that the Read more...
Dunedin Becoming Auckland
Posted 3:59pm Sunday 21st July 2013 by Claudia Herron
Students’ standard of living appears to be on the rise with students now looking for better rental properties. The New Zealand Residential Rental Review (NZRRR) 2013 shows that in the 12 months leading up to May this year rent prices have decreased in several Dunedin areas, depending on the Read more...
Political Cocks in Democratic Balls-Up
Posted 3:59pm Sunday 21st July 2013 by Michaela Corlet
The government is currently trying to pass the Government Communications Security Bureau (GCSB) and Related Legislation Amendment Bill under urgency. The Bill will allow the GCSB to spy on New Zealanders for other governments or private groups. In 2011-12 the GCSB carried out surveillance on Read more...
Illuminate Pain Party
Posted 3:59pm Sunday 21st July 2013 by Jamie Breen
5,000 people attended the Illuminate Paint Party at Forsyth Barr Stadium on Wednesday night of Re O-Week. A combination of alcohol, drugs and large numbers of excited partygoers caused several injuries. Nobody was arrested at the party, but the injuries that occurred required medical Read more...
University Panders to Dumb US Rating System
Posted 3:59pm Sunday 21st July 2013 by Josie Cochrane
The University of Otago will soon be including a Grade Point Average (GPA) on all students’ academic transcripts. Professor Vernon Squire, Deputy Vice-Chancellor, said “presenting the GPA increases the portability of the academic transcript.” This will make it easier for Otago students to show off Read more...
Ong Nearly Wronged in Long Con
Posted 3:59pm Sunday 21st July 2013 by Claudia Herron
Dunedin tenants and landlords are being warned about scams targeting the rental market after a University of Otago student almost fell victim to scammers while looking to let her room for the remainder of the year. Having finished her studies, University of Otago student Jasmine Ong Read more...
Return of the MOTHRA - Run For Your Lives
Posted 3:59pm Sunday 21st July 2013 by Bella Macdonald
OUSA Education Officer Jordan Taylor is making a bid for the return of the MOTHRA Student Film Making Awards run by OUSA. The event, which was named after C-grade Japanese film MOTHRA, was last held in 2011. Taylor claimed that the event, which had been running for over 20 years, was Read more...
Otago Teaching Is Shit, Says Otago Teacher
Posted 3:59pm Sunday 21st July 2013 by Jack Montgomerie
Associate Professor Gordon Sanderson, recent recipient of the Prime Minister’s $30,000 Supreme Tertiary Teaching Excellence Award, has slammed the University of Otago’s approach to teaching. After accepting the award, the Dunedin School of Medicine Ophthalmology professor told lecturers who want to Read more...
Hernandez Considering Council Bid
Posted 3:59pm Sunday 21st July 2013 by Sam McChesney
OUSA President Francisco Hernandez has dropped several strong hints that he is lining up a run for the Dunedin City Council (DCC) in November’s local body elections, although nothing has been confirmed. The Otago Daily Times reported last Tuesday that others had asked Hernandez to consider Read more...
Trans-Pacific Partnership
Posted 8:23pm Sunday 14th July 2013 by Jack Montgomerie
The 18th round of negotiations for a 12-country trade agreement in the Pacific Rim has just begun in Malaysia, but potential provisions relating to copyright laws have caused concern among Internet groups. In 2005, the P4 trade agreement was signed and ratified by New Zealand, Brunei, Chile Read more...
The Second Quarterly Executive Reports
Posted 8:23pm Sunday 14th July 2013 by Staff Reporter
Every quarter, each member of the Executive presents a report on what he or she has been up to, and in some of these quarters, Critic wades through the mutual back-slapping and puffery long enough to bring you detailed coverage of the wankfest that ensues. We gave it a miss last quarter, so decided Read more...
Hayne Suspicious of the Internets
Posted 8:23pm Sunday 14th July 2013 by Josie Cochrane
University of Otago Vice-Chancellor Professor Harlene Hayne has spent all of January studying “everything that I could lay my hands on” about Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs), she says in the most recent University of Otago Magazine. The article ponders whether “these MOOCs herald the demise of Read more...
Pakehahaha Are They Serious?
Posted 8:23pm Sunday 14th July 2013 by Claudia Herron
What started out as a “tongue-in-cheek” response to the Mana Party’s Maori-only housing proposal now has tens of thousands of “likes” on Facebook and has surpassed every mainstream political party – including the Maori Party, National and Labour – in the social media popularity stakes. The Read more...
Re-Orientation Week Happened | Opinion
Posted 8:23pm Sunday 14th July 2013 by Thomas Raethel
As quite possibly Dunedin’s nonevent of 2013, Re-O-Week has been a constant disappointment for anyone with a brain stem. Only through a haze of excess alcohol consumption and synthetic cannabinoid smoke will people be led to believe they had a mean time. Too bad most of North Dunedin’s dairies Read more...
Weeding Out the Poor Performers
Posted 8:23pm Sunday 14th July 2013 by Jamie Breen
In a sign of growing intolerance against drugs and alcohol in the workplace, wider testing mechanisms are being introduced for workers and beneficiaries. The New Zealand Government is set to introduce new requirements on 15 July whereby a beneficiary will need to test for various forms of drugs and Read more...
Critic Keen on Puns
Posted 8:23pm Sunday 14th July 2013 by Staff Reporter
A new student-made app, brazenly billed as “Twitter meets Facebook meets Snapchat,” has been launched in Dunedin by start-up Keen. Co-founder Emily Sutton describes Keen as “an app that enables people to spend less time with technology.” The app allows its users to post about Read more...
Dunedin Craft Beer Festival
Posted 8:23pm Sunday 14th July 2013 by Zane Pocock
Due to a partnership between Forsyth Barr Stadium and Lion Nathan, the name “Dunedin Craft Beer Festival” is set to be somewhat ironic. The stadium has a contract with the beer mass-producers/ monopoly-holders that requires any event involving alcohol to include the company’s brands. Read more...
Campus Produces Two Council Hopefuls
Posted 8:23pm Sunday 14th July 2013 by Jack Montgomerie
Students looking for representation on the Dunedin City Council in October’s general election are spoiled for choice this year, with two candidates already courting the student vote. Aaron Hawkins, who came fourth in the 2010 mayoral election with three per cent of the first preference votes, Read more...
Otago Considers Recreating Christchurch
Posted 8:23pm Sunday 14th July 2013 by Claudia Herron
The University is considering demolishing both the Arts building (Burns) and the Property Services building on Albany Street after the two buildings were deemed earthquake-prone under the University’s Seismic Programme. The University’s Seismic Strengthening Policy states that all buildings Read more...
Dalai Lama Visits New Zealand’s First University
Posted 6:05pm Sunday 7th July 2013 by Phoebe Harrop
The Dalai Lama’s recent visit to Dunedin was, in local terms at least, quite the scandal. Before the visit, Mayor Dave Cull had joined the ranks of other esteemed political figures (Barack Obama, Julia Gillard, John Key) who, wanting to be BFFs with China, have refused to officially welcome his Read more...
Students on the Streets in Turkish Turmoil
Posted 6:05pm Sunday 7th July 2013 by Jack Montgomerie
What began as a protest against the construction of a shopping centre has turned into the largest public demonstration seen in Turkey in recent years. Students have been at the forefront of the protests, which erupted in Istanbul, Ankara and many smaller cities and towns. “Innocents have been Read more...
What’s Up, Doc? Not Much
Posted 6:05pm Sunday 7th July 2013 by Claudia Herron
Doc’s Coffee House has sadly closed up shop in George Street and filed for bankruptcy after a series of relocations saw it go from a profitable business to “essentially drowning.” Critic spoke with Doc’s owner/ operator Phil McDonald about the future of the café, which is looking to return in mobile Read more...
Dunedin: New Zealand’s Second-Best Wellington
Posted 6:05pm Sunday 7th July 2013 by Zane Pocock
On 14 September, OUSA will be bringing the inaugural Dunedin Craft Beer Festival to Forsyth Barr Stadium. The beer brands involved are still being finalised; however, they are likely to include such South Island companies as Emerson’s, Mac’s and Moa. Many different food vendors will Read more...
Yet Another Fran-Said-Dan-Said
Posted 6:05pm Sunday 7th July 2013 by Sam McChesney
The OUSA Representation and Governance Review is now underway, with a Working Party appointed over the break. The Working Party will hear student submissions and make recommendations on changes to OUSA’s governance structure and constitution. The Working Party is comprised of 11 members, Read more...
Peter Dunne: An Obituary
Posted 6:05pm Sunday 7th July 2013 by Zane Pocock
It is with great sadness that Critic farewells an old friend – a rooster of epic proportions who once crowed the loudest stories of incompetence and befuddlement. Although not yet dead, the career of MP Peter Dunne has been given only a year to live. Long holding a cherished position in the Read more...
Re-O-Week to Bring Paint, Sexism
Posted 6:05pm Sunday 7th July 2013 by Brittany Mann
OUSA has been working around the clock to deliver students the biggest Reorientation Week yet, say OUSA figures. Critic staff members dispute the accuracy of this statement, however, having observed the Events team working only until 5pm. Wednesday 10 July sees the return of the Illuminate Read more...
Captain Cook Runs Aground, Is Eaten by Savages
Posted 6:05pm Sunday 7th July 2013 by Josie Cochrane
Hold back the tears everyone – the Captain Cook Tavern will have its doors shut throughout Re-O-Week and potentially for good, although the owners are still looking to have someone take over the lease. Dominion Breweries and James Arnott, one of the owners of the Cook, are no longer Read more...
UBS: Unemployed Book Sellers?
Posted 6:05pm Sunday 7th July 2013 by Claudia Herron
Staff restructuring at the University Book Shop (UBS) has seen a number of positions made redundant, with those staff members affected invited to reapply for newly-created positions. The restructuring is the culmination of six years of falling profits due to the difficult trading conditions faced by Read more...
Dalai Lama visits Dunedin
Posted 1:13pm Thursday 13th June 2013 by Phoebe Harrop
500 people packed out St. David lecture theatre on Tuesday to see the 14th Dalai Lama. Despite earlier trips to the city, this was his Holiness’ first official engagement at the University of Otago, and his first at any New Zealand university. His Holiness was welcomed in typically eclectic Read more...
Execrable | Online
Posted 4:46pm Wednesday 5th June 2013 by Sam McChesney
The last Executive meeting Critic attended was a desperately dull affair, full of hot air, procedural inanities, and general self-aggrandising pointlessness. The prospect of another snorefest loomed, before Critic noticed that nearby execcies’ regular chirpy demeanours had been replaced with grim, Read more...
Protests break out across Turkey
Posted 2:05pm Sunday 2nd June 2013 by Jack Montgomerie
What began as a protest against a shopping mall has turned into massive demonstrations against police violence in Turkey. Protestors had initially staged a sit-in objecting to the ruling Justice and Development Party’s (AKP) plans to build a shopping mall on Gezi park, which sits in the middle of Read more...
“I hate that shit. I can’t stream Pirates anymore.”
Posted 3:03pm Sunday 26th May 2013 by Josie Cochrane
Computer network traffic at the University decreased by over 30% last year, following the introduction of restrictions on illegal downloading through the University network. Usage dropped from 464,159 GB in 2011 to 315,847 GB last year, a difference equivalent to over 400,000 hours of torrented Read more...
Busin’ like a bus
Posted 3:03pm Sunday 26th May 2013 by Thomas Raethel
The Otago Regional Council (ORC) has been lobbied by several student bodies to discount Dunedin’s bus fares for both University and Polytechnic students. OUSA, OPSA and Generation Zero all submitted material supporting Dunedin bus reforms at a Council meeting held on 15 May. OPSA spokesman Read more...
Cadbury’s new product
Posted 3:03pm Sunday 26th May 2013 by Bella Macdonald
Cadbury has announced a new product to be made in Dunedin that will be tailored to “New Zealand tastes.” It is expected to arrive on the shelves later this year. The announcement of the new product comes after Cadbury’s Dairy Milk blocks underwent a packet transformation, including a Read more...
Execrable | Issue 13
Posted 3:03pm Sunday 26th May 2013 by Sam McChesney
The Exec meeting began with two requests for OUSA affiliation, from the P3 Foundation on Campus and the Dunedin Feminist Collective. Lucy and Ruby asked if they needed to abstain due to conflicts: Lucy has dealt with P3 while Ruby is a DFC member. “Don’t worry,” Fran reassured them. “It’s not real Read more...
Psychoactive Substances Bill Committee named
Posted 3:03pm Sunday 26th May 2013 by Bella Macdonald
Associate Minister of Health Peter Dunne announced the Psychoactive Substances Bill Committee on Friday 17 May. The committee is to be chaired by Otago University Associate Professor of Medicine Richard Robson, and has been put in place to determine a safety testing regime for “legal high” Read more...
Georgie Pie
Posted 3:03pm Sunday 26th May 2013 by Claudia Herron
Dunedin may be getting its own piece of the Georgie Pie, depending on the success of the New Zealand fast food favourite’s re-release in Auckland and Hamilton early next month. Critic spoke with a North Dunedin McDonald’s manager, who said it was “uncertain” whether Dunedin would be serving Read more...
Budget provokes outrage and apathy among students
Posted 3:03pm Sunday 26th May 2013 by Jack Montgomerie
An OUSA-run forum on the Government’s budget resulted in yawns for many on Monday. Speakers from the youth wings of most parliamentary parties were generally ambivalent, although Finance Minister Bill English’s latest effort attracted criticism from even the Government’s most ardent supporters. Read more...
Fredric leaves Critic happy
Posted 3:03pm Sunday 26th May 2013 by Staff Reporter
Callum Fredric has stepped down as editor of Critic after reaching a settlement with OUSA last Friday. Fredric was suspended after a meeting with Darel Hall, the General Manager of OUSA and its subsidiary company Planet Media Dunedin Ltd (PMDL), on Friday 3 May. This suspension was confirmed in a Read more...
Excessive entitlement exacerbates exams
Posted 3:03pm Sunday 26th May 2013 by Claudia Herron
Exam failure may be attributed to a student’s exaggerated belief that they deserve to succeed, according to research conducted by the University of Otago. The study confirms, as educators often claim, that some students believe they have a right to succeed, known as “excessive entitlement,” Read more...
Referen-dumb?
Posted 3:03pm Sunday 26th May 2013 by Sam McChesney
An OUSA referendum will be held this week from Monday 27 to Friday 31 May. The referendum comprises six questions, one of which would radically alter OUSA’s governance structure. Question Six was included in the referendum after former Executive member Dan Stride started a petition and Read more...
The Cook is cooked
Posted 3:03pm Sunday 26th May 2013 by Jack Montgomerie
The Captain Cook Tavern’s long history looks set to come to a close, with the pub’s lease expiring un-renewed on 29 June. James Arnott is one of the owners of Cook Brothers Bars, which has operated the pub for nine years, along with other establishments in the Octagon, Queenstown, Christchurch and Read more...
Fredric steps down as Critic editor
Posted 2:26pm Tuesday 21st May 2013 by Staff Reporter
Callum Fredric has stepped down as editor of Critic after reaching a settlement with OUSA last Friday. Fredric was suspended after a meeting with OUSA General Manager Darel Hall on Tuesday 7 May. The terms of the settlement remain confidential. Hall refused to confirm any details to Critic, Read more...
Israelient
Posted 1:24pm Sunday 19th May 2013 by Thomas Raethel
Last Tuesday afternoon, Otago University hosted Shalom Cohen, the former Israeli Ambassador to Egypt, for a discussion with students and staff. Cohen is currently the acting Israeli Ambassador to New Zealand. Mr Cohen spent much of the heated discussion addressing the recent “Arab Spring”; or Read more...
University council holds a meeting
Posted 1:24pm Sunday 19th May 2013 by Bella Macdonald
Otago University has been deemed by the Otago Daily Times as “trumpeting” its contribution to Dunedin after the annual Economic Impact Report was presented at the University Council meeting on Tuesday 14 March. A media release by the University stated, “The overall direct economic impact of Read more...
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