Archive

Agnew Street 2020 Will Be An Uphill Battle

Posted 3:44pm Sunday 10th May 2020 by Erin Gourley

Agnew Street Party organisers will face an uphill battle against concerns from emergency services, emails released to Critic under the Official Information Act show. Suggestions to stop or mitigate the risks of Agnew include an eight month alcohol ban in the area. “Numbers attending the Read more...

Don’t Be Surprised If International Students Leave New Zealand, Says NZISA President

Posted 3:25pm Sunday 10th May 2020 by Sinead Gill

International students feel like they have been treated like “cash cows”, and the president of NZISA (the New Zealand International Students Association), Sabrina Alhady, believes that New Zealand universities should expect some of their international students to transfer to Australia. Read more...

University Broke Its Own Rules With Delayed Exam Timetable

Posted 11:07am Friday 8th May 2020 by Erin Gourley

Not only has the delayed exam timetable frustrated students, it also breached clause 3(e) of the University’s Administration of Final Examinations Policy. The Policy states that the exam timetable will be provided “six weeks before the first day of final examinations for first Read more...

Level 3 Parties Held Throughout Dunedin

Posted 5:02pm Thursday 7th May 2020 by Kaiya Cherrington

House parties have reportedly broken out during level 3 lockdown around Dunedin’s student area. Despite the restrictions outlined by the government that gatherings of ten people maximum may be permitted for ceremonies, and to only make a small addition to your bubble, some students have Read more...

Vice-Chancellor’s “Frustrating” Response to Exam Timetable Complaint

Posted 12:50pm Wednesday 6th May 2020 by Erin Gourley

Otago University has not yet released their semester one exam timetable. A commerce student went straight to the Vice-Chancellor with his complaint and received a response.   On May 5, Tim Lamb wrote an email to Vice-Chancellor Harlene Hayne outlining his “total dissatisfaction Read more...

RAs Get Pay-out After Controversy

Posted 2:09pm Friday 1st 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 Read more...

Uni Releases Details of Covid-19 Special Consideration

Posted 1:33pm Thursday 30th April 2020 by Erin Gourley

Grades of 47.5 can be rounded up to a pass for this semester, according to a staff memo on Covid-19 special consideration. University staff received a memo on 28 April with details of the special consideration they can apply to students. The memo was sent to all academic staff by Academic Deputy Read more...

Alcoholics Are Struggling During Lockdown, and Our Social Media Habits Are Making It Worse

Posted 12:10pm Monday 27th April 2020 by Wyatt Ryder

Social media is the go-to place for keeping in touch with loved ones over the lockdown. But with an increase in alcohol related content online, alcoholics are struggling to stay sober and connected.  Tom Tremewan has been sober for two years and four months. He said that the Covid-19 Read more...

Opinion: Stop Complaining About the Tertiary Package

Posted 5:44pm Friday 17th April 2020 by Annabelle Vaughan

It has been three days since the government dropped the Tertiary student support package as part of their Covid-19 response. Instead of this package being met with gratitude, relief, positivity or thanks, it was met with negativity, spite, and bitching from the student masses. But we, as students, Read more...

Illegal Employment and “Toxic” Work Environment at ReBurger

Posted 11:53am Thursday 16th April 2020 by Erin Gourley

Former employees from ReBurger Dunedin have spoken to Critic about illegal employment practices, a lack of training in food safety, inappropriate comments made by the owner, and a high-pressure work environment. The eight employees who spoke to Critic worked at the restaurant from the end of 2017 Read more...

Otago Uni Has a Student Hardship Fund in the Works

Posted 11:21am Thursday 16th April 2020 by Sinead Gill

The University of Otago has confirmed to Critic that there will be a student hardship fund available for students, the details of which will be announced next week. The fund will help Otago Uni students cover living expenses.  Last week, the Otago Uni began soliciting donations from Read more...

Opinion: The Government’s Tertiary Package Is a Joke, Not Support

Posted 4:26pm Wednesday 15th April 2020 by Erin Gourley

The government’s tertiary student support package for Covid-19 dropped yesterday. To get support, students need to take on $1000 of debt that cannot be used to pay rent or buy food. The government has also made changes so that Studylink will not penalise students for dropping courses by Read more...

Students Across New Zealand Are Angry About the Tertiary Student Support Package

Posted 9:52pm Tuesday 14th April 2020 by Sinead Gill

The Government’s Covid-19 tertiary support package has been met with feelings of disappointment and anger by students. Students believe that the Government is ignoring their concerns during the Covid-19 pandemic. NZUSA (the New Zealand Union of Students’ Associations), claim to have been Read more...

Opinion: Seasonal Affective Disorder Got Me Fucked Up

Posted 10:11am Wednesday 8th April 2020 by Henessey Griffiths

We’re closing in on just over a week into the nationwide lockdown, and things are weird. We can’t leave the house for more than a short walk, everywhere is shut, and there is an overwhelming anxiety that looms over everyone. It’s a strange time to be alive. When the lockdown first Read more...

Shitposting Page Turned Cultural Ambassador for New Zealand

Posted 12:00pm Tuesday 7th April 2020 by Sean Gourley

Last Saturday, premier shitposting Facebook page, Could be keen, streamjacked an American music review page, Rock it or knock it music review, with instructions to “hijack [their livestream] by requesting them to listen to drum and bass.” The music reviewers’ initial reaction to Read more...

Students Resort to Typing Assignments on Phones

Posted 1:34pm Saturday 4th April 2020 by Erin Gourley

Students left to type assignments on their smartphones feel that universities have failed to consider accessibility in the transition to online learning. Mapihi, a student at Otago, said she had to make “major adjustments to [her] learning”. Her laptop broke the week before the Read more...

International Students Locked Down In Dunedin Blame Uni

Posted 4:37pm Friday 3rd April 2020 by Wyatt Ryder

Some international students stuck in Dunedin for lockdown are frustrated by the lack of Covid-19 communication from the University. Anthony is a dentistry student from Canada. He lives in a Uni Flat with two other international students. Their Kiwi Host left for the lockdown. In the week of the Read more...

Opinion: I Didn’t Want to Leave Dunedin

Posted 5:44pm Monday 30th March 2020 by Kaiya Cherrington

Last week, thousands of students left Dunedin. Many of them did not want to. For many, their parents had bought tickets for them, and getting on that plane was not a choice. However, it seems that for most students, as soon as their flatmates packed their bags, they packed a bag, too. There was no Read more...

Students Who Are Flatting Are Being Asked to Register with Otago Uni

Posted 5:06pm Friday 27th March 2020 by Sinead Gill

Students who are flatting are expected to sign up to daily wellness checks with Ask Otago. Many students are sceptical about how effective the Uni will be. In an email circulated yesterday by Andrew Ferguson, Otago Uni's emergency and business continuity coordinator, students were told Read more...

Kiwi Host Given 10 Hours to Move from Uni Flat

Posted 8:20pm Thursday 26th March 2020 by Sinead Gill

Kiwi Host Kayli was told 10 hours before New Zealand went into a nation-wide lockdown that she had to move flat. The University’s response to this situation revealed that they are “creat[ing] whole empty flats to handle self-isolating or sick students and their families as could be Read more...