Archive

Lecturer Claims His Book About Censorship Was Censored

Posted 9:54pm Thursday 3rd October 2019 by Erin Gourley

Emeritus Professor of Psychology and Politics Jim Flynn caused a stir last week when he asserted that his book had been banned. His manuscript, In Defense of Free Speech: The University as Censor, was rejected by UK publishing house Emerald Press because it might infringe hate speech laws or provide Read more...

OUSA Welfare Officer Resigned, Cited Ableism and “Bullying”

Posted 9:51pm Thursday 3rd October 2019 by Sinead Gill

The 2019 Welfare Officer Kerrin Robertson-Scanlon has resigned, blaming the Exec for pushing her out after having her pay cut completely for not doing her work.  There will be no by-election to replace her. OUSA rules dictate that elections can only take place during normal semester time, Read more...

Property Managers Slap Bogus Cleaning Fees On Tenants

Posted 9:43pm Thursday 3rd October 2019 by Esme Hall

Throughout Critic’s reporting on tenancy issues this year, we have heard numerous stories of property managers slapping bogus cleaning fees on tenants. Alex* fought down a cleaning fee from $230 to around $60 this year. He said he “witnessed a pattern of unprofessional and Read more...

Opinion: The OUSA Exec Will Never Be Truly Held Accountable

Posted 11:26pm Sunday 29th September 2019 by Sinead Gill

Before May 2018, the OUSA Exec only got paid for the hours they actually worked, as a measure to hold them to account. This is no longer the case, and it’s causing problems. Back then, every year was broken into quarters, and the Exec would only be paid at the end of each quarter in a lump Read more...

Department of Anatomy At Risk of Being Shut Down After Critical Safety Non-Compliance

Posted 11:17pm Sunday 29th September 2019 by Charlie O’Mannin

The Otago Department of Anatomy is at risk of being shut down by the Ministry of Primary Industries (MPI) after being issued with a “Critical Non-Compliance” with safety regulations during their latest audit. The Critical Non-Compliance was issued because the Department has had three Read more...

EDITORIAL: Don’t Vote For Lee Vandervis

Posted 11:14pm Sunday 29th September 2019 by Charlie O’Mannin

Look. I know this is the third time in a row that I’ve written a boring editorial about an election. I’m sorry. I know all you really want is content about hit Canadian reality TV show Mantracker. To make it up to you I will include a fact about Mantracker in between each boring Read more...

Canta Wins Bid for Editorial Independence

Posted 10:48pm Thursday 26th September 2019 by Esme Hall

Canta Editor Samantha Mythen said she is “super stoked” that her bid for editorial independence has been formally backed by the University of Canterbury Students’ Association (UCSA) Executive. In last Monday’s meeting the UCSA Exec instructed management to “prepare a Read more...

45 Administrators Have Moved Department Since Implementation of Support Services Review

Posted 10:46pm Thursday 26th September 2019 by Sinead Gill

According to an Official Information Act request made by Critic, 45 administrators have been internally moved from one department to another within the University of Otago in just one year. Last year, the University completed a Support Services Review (SSR) and completely shook up how they Read more...

Queer-Friendly Gig Round 2 Goes Off Without A Hitch

Posted 10:44pm Thursday 26th September 2019 by Sinead Gill

Attendees “had a great time” at OUSA’s most recent Queen of Hearts queer-friendly gig at Starters bar. The first Queen of Hearts gig at Starters was hosted in late July and received flak from attendees, who cited “malicious” and “homophobic” harassment Read more...

OUSA Secures A Voting Booth On Campus

Posted 10:41pm Thursday 26th September 2019 by Erin Gourley

OUSA have secured a voting booth on campus for the local elections. This will be the first time that a voting booth has been stationed on campus that is open for more than one day. “Voting on campus, through a traditional voting booth, is leagues more engaging than postal elections,” Read more...

OUSA Welfare Officer Refuses To Resign

Posted 10:40pm Thursday 26th September 2019 by Sinead Gill

OUSA Welfare Officer Kerrin Robertson-Scanlan has been stripped of her duties and 20-hour a week pay, but will keep her title unless she resigns, which she has so far refused to do. Last Tuesday, the OUSA Exec formally rejected Kerrin’s third quarterly report for being Read more...

GROSS MISMANAGEMENT OF THE HIGHEST ORDER

Posted 10:37pm Thursday 26th September 2019 by Charlie O’Mannin

In what might possibly have been described as “the biggest mistake the University has ever made” and “an unforgivable sin” by someone who felt that way about the issue, the bathrooms in the Richardson building have required further maintenance after new taps were installed Read more...

Editorial: Oh Shit, Jack Won

Posted 5:06pm Saturday 21st September 2019 by Charlie O’Mannin

Last week I said that the OUSA presidency was anyone’s game, that any of the three candidates could pull it off. In the week since then I forgot my own good advice. The OUSA bubble were convinced that it wasn’t going to be Jack; most people thought that Will was a safe bet, and if Read more...

Te Roopū Māori Student Election Postponed Due to Lack of Nominations

Posted 4:49pm Saturday 21st September 2019 by Charlie O’Mannin

Te Roopū Māori, the Māori Students’ Association, has decided to postpone their student elections after they had almost no one nominate themselves, meaning that they couldn’t piggy-back on the OUSA election website and will have to use a paper-ballot. Taylor Terekia, Read more...

OPINION: Why Don’t More Women Run For OUSA Leadership?

Posted 4:43pm Saturday 21st September 2019 by Sinead Gill

This year Otago’s student union had no female presidential candidates. Empowering women and people of colour to run for any OUSA position is an annual talking point for the Executive, typically brought up in the weeks leading up to nominations or, in the 2019 Exec’s case, not brought up Read more...

OPINION: Archway Shop Shut For No Reason And I Am Mad

Posted 4:37pm Saturday 21st September 2019 by Sinead Gill

It turns out the University do not actually have a plan for the Archway Shop space. A few weeks ago Critic covered the closing of the Archway Stationery Shop in the Link. The University’s closed a useful store with one particularly friendly employee and replaced it with some cash-grab. At Read more...

Jack “The Poor Man’s James Heath” Manning Wins OUSA President in a Boring, Boring Result

Posted 10:48pm Friday 20th September 2019 by Critic

It’s more of the same for OUSA as Jack Manning takes the Presidential Crown. Jack, who prides himself on being described as “the poor man’s James Heath,” proved to be the most vanilla presidential candidate and won on being everyone’s second choice in the single Read more...

University Reveals How the New CCTV Policy is Being Used

Posted 10:42pm Friday 20th September 2019 by Erin Gourley

Most of the CCTV footage of non-University streets released by the Proctor’s office is in response to requests by residents to property damage or theft, according to an Official Information Act request made by Critic. Between the rollout of increased CCTV coverage of the student area at the Read more...

Canta Editor Calling For Editorial Independence

Posted 10:39pm Friday 20th September 2019 by Esme Hall

Samantha Mythen, the Editor of Canta (the University of Canterbury’s student magazine), is fighting for editorial independence. She is alleging that, since her time as Editor, UCSA have stopped her publishing stories that are critical of the students’ association or even of the Read more...

Come Fly With Me: A Semester in the Life of Harlene Hayne

Posted 8:50pm Friday 20th September 2019 by Sinead Gill

Like binge watching shitcunts on reality TV over and over again, there is something cathartic about peeking behind the curtain and laying bare the lives of the rich and famous. Unfortunately, Critic doesn’t know many rich people, and the most famous people we know (Joel MacManus and James Read more...