Archive

20% of Drugs Were Not as Advertised

Posted 2:28pm Sunday 2nd October 2022 by Zak Rudin

The annual drug checking report published by KnowYourStuffNZ (KYS) just dropped. Critic Te Ārohi delved into the numbers to uncover the highs and lows of drug testing over the 2021-2022 season. KYS are a “community organisation of volunteers,” operating in partnership with the Read more...

Annual Awards Affair Airs Astounding Achievements

Posted 2:24pm Sunday 2nd October 2022 by Keegan Wells

The annual Blues and Golds awards night was held last Wednesday, with a veritable swag of student achievements (outside of the standard uni grind) being celebrated.  Awards were handed out for community service (Silver Service Awards), sporting achievements (Blue Awards) and arts Read more...

Ski Club “Coup” Nearly Sweeps Exec Elections

Posted 2:20pm Sunday 2nd October 2022 by Denzel Chung

Your student leaders for 2023 have been voted in. Less than 10% of the student population bothered to cast their ballot. Ski Club members, who had heard that many roles were uncontested, stacked the ballot with their club. They took home five positions, and ousted the returning Vice Read more...

Showtime For Capping Show

Posted 2:18pm Sunday 2nd October 2022 by Zak Rudin

Capping Show has hit Otago University for the 128th year running. This year’s theme: Campus Nine-Nine. Critic Te Ārohi sat down with Martha and Nina, two of the directors of the show, to get the lowdown. With well over a century of shenanigans, the Capping Show has certainly been Read more...

Pollinator Workshop at Te Oraka

Posted 1:41pm Saturday 24th September 2022 by Zak Rudin

Last Saturday, Animal Aquatic Plant Ecological Society (AAPES) and Slow Food Youth Otago (SFYO) joined forces to host a pollinator workshop at Te Oraka. The workshop had it all: “pollinator activities, groovy tunes and yummy snacks”. What even are “pollinator activities,” Read more...

(More) Student Food Outlets Closed

Posted 1:39pm Saturday 24th September 2022 by Nina Brown

The already emaciated student food scene has taken another blow with the closure of three more campus food outlets for the rest of the year. In their most recent communications email (the one you stopped reading mid-way through the pandemic), the Uni announced the closure of Hunter Cafe, Frankly Read more...

US Air Force Plane Spotted at Dunedin Airport

Posted 1:37pm Saturday 24th September 2022 by Fox Meyer

An international intelligence group is meeting in Queenstown, and it appears that an American Air Force plane hopped over to Dunedin for Monday night last week. Why would American spies take a break from their busy schedule to visit Dirty Duds? We can only speculate. The Five Eyes are an Read more...

Students “Giving Back” to Rescue Choppers, Blood Donations

Posted 1:36pm Saturday 24th September 2022 by Zak Rudin

Following a gnarly Mt Hutt crash, two Otago Uni students recently partnered with the New Zealand Blood Service (NZ Blood) and the Canterbury Westpac Rescue Helicopter to take blood and money from students. For a good cause, of course.  Last year, Isaac suffered a compound fracture to his Read more...

Otago Student Joins Highlanders Squad For 2023

Posted 1:33pm Saturday 24th September 2022 by Denzel Chung

It’s common for students to have a side hustle alongside their study commitments. It is, however, a bit rarer for that side hustle to be playing professional rugby in one of the world’s top competitions.  For business student James Arscott, however, playing top-level rugby has Read more...

Uni Staff Vote For Strike Motion

Posted 1:31pm Saturday 24th September 2022 by Zak Rudin

A nationwide strike of Tertiary Education Union (TEU) members, including some of your professors, could be on the cards.  On Tuesday 21st, around 150 Uni staff united in the Main Common Room as part of a nationwide TEU “stop work meeting” to vote on a motion to go on strike. The Read more...

Starters, Student Engagement and Ski Shenanigans Dominate OUSA Forums

Posted 1:22pm Saturday 24th September 2022 by

This week, we’ll get the chance to vote for our very own student leaders. Critic Te Ārohi attended OUSA’s Exec candidate forums last week to get a vibe check on the candidates, and found them agreeing on a surprisingly large range of topics, from student bars to low student Read more...

“Curry Grenade” Smashes Through Castle St Window

Posted 9:55pm Sunday 18th September 2022 by Denzel Chung

A Castle St resident got a rude shock on Sunday 11 September, when their first-floor room’s window was smashed by a “curry grenade” hurled from a nearby flat.  Elaina told Critic Te Ārohi that she was sitting downstairs with her flatmates when she heard “a Read more...

Radio One Keeps Ice Hockey Trophy with OUSA

Posted 7:43pm Sunday 18th September 2022 by Fox Meyer

Last weekend, the Kinoko Homes Beavers defeated the Aotea Amps to win the coveted B-League Dunedin Ice Hockey finals, because nothing is more important than B-level ice hockey in a city about as far away from Canada as physically possible. This meant that, for the second year in a row, student Read more...

Merino Muster Marathon Mastered by Muscle and Malcholol

Posted 7:37pm Sunday 18th September 2022 by Keegan Wells

Ian Hardenbergh, an international student from Colorado, came second in his age group and third overall out of 200 competitors at the Merino Muster cross country ski race at Snow Farm. The race was 42km long, and he only stopped at 18km to yak and felt “much better after”. How does such Read more...

Night Market Held at Te Oraka

Posted 7:35pm Sunday 18th September 2022 by Zak Rudin

Te Oraka held a “night market” for students last Thursday. It was a chilled, incredibly wholesome night featuring student-run stalls, live acoustic music, thrift shopping and (most importantly) hot choccies. Te Oraka is a student-run sustainability hub, thrift shop, “repair Read more...

Students Take On Ōtepoti’s First Marathon in 3 Years

Posted 7:31pm Sunday 18th September 2022 by Hugh Askerud

Sunday mornings are often a challenge for students indulging in a life of Hemingwayesque hedonism; even more so if you’ve got a 42.2km run lined up in less than an hour. This was the exact predicament a number of students found themselves in as the first marathon to be held in Ōtepoti Read more...

Property Management Offers Prizes for Good Reviews

Posted 7:29pm Sunday 18th September 2022 by Denzel Chung

Last week, an Ōtepoti property manager sent an unsolicited email to all their customers, offering everyone who left a good Google review a chance to win a $500 Prezzy card, while discouraging people from leaving bad reviews. The email was sent by Bex Harris, who co-owns the Propertyscouts Read more...

Crooked Spoke Throws Spring Bike Party

Posted 7:27pm Sunday 18th September 2022 by Zak Rudin

The Spring Bike Party (not to be confused with Springbok Party) hit the streets of Ōtepoti last Friday night. Featuring bikes rigged with sound systems and lots of street dancing, it had “the vibe of a school disco and the agility of a snail”. The party consisted of around 50 people Read more...

(Continued): Every Local Election Candidate, Summarised

Posted 7:25pm Sunday 18th September 2022 by Critic

Running for Dunedin City Council (DCC) Andrew Whiley Team Dunedin Running under the centre-right Team Dunedin ticket, Andrew spruiks his experience “speaking on, representing and supporting all communities across the city”. He wants to ensure “everyone has the opportunity to Read more...

Political Signage Bombards the Streets

Posted 6:03pm Sunday 11th September 2022 by Hugh Askerud

With local council elections just over a month away, political candidates are waiting with baited breath to see if the public will make or break their futures in office. While breath-holding competitions may be the strategy for some, it seems like most have taken to festooning their faces to Read more...

Snow Flurries Hit Ōtepoti

Posted 5:54pm Sunday 11th September 2022 by Zak Rudin

Skiers, snowboarders and snow enthusiasts rejoiced last Monday as snow returned to the streets of Ōtepoti. The flurries hit North Dunedin at around 7:30pm, sending students out into the night in a collective frenzy of excitement, many still clad in their dressing gowns.  Unsurprisingly, Read more...

Psych Building Named After Certified Racist

Posted 5:50pm Sunday 11th September 2022 by Nina Brown

Otago Uni has confirmed that Galton House, an Otago Uni Department of Psychology building, is named after Sir Francis Galton. A world-leading psychologist, statistician, geographer, meteorologist and overall genius, he was also, unfortunately, a massive fucking racist.  Galton was an ardent Read more...

(Almost) Every Local Election Candidate, Summarised

Posted 5:42pm Sunday 11th September 2022 by The Critic News Team

It’s that time of year again: billboards line fences and roadsides, posters with grinning faces are everywhere, targeted ads are clogging your social media feed. Winter has come and gone. Election season is here. But with 39 candidates for the Dunedin City Council (DCC) and 12 Dunedin Read more...

The Hunt for Dunedin’s Space Rock Is On

Posted 5:25pm Sunday 11th September 2022 by Fox Meyer

At 10:50pm on Sunday August 28, a fireball ripped across Otago’s night sky. Three specialty cameras, set up just a month before the event, managed to catch the meteor’s trajectory before it smashed into paddocks just outside Dunedin. To our knowledge, no alien technology has been Read more...

Club Constitutions Won’t Have to be Revamped Quite Yet

Posted 6:49pm Friday 2nd September 2022 by Fox Meyer

OUSA club execs were frustrated last week when a request went out that all OUSA clubs would have to redo their constitutions. This would have been a very lengthy process, and a lack of consultation ruffled some feathers. Action by the OUSA Student Exec has seen this backpedalled, with the addition Read more...

Christchurch Counter Protest Draws Dunedinites Decrying Discrimination

Posted 6:46pm Friday 2nd September 2022 by Denzel Chung

Last Wednesday, a small, dedicated group of anti-fascist protesters confronted a crowd of Counterspin Media supporters in Ōtautahi Christchurch. The anti-fascists hoped to “get their narrative” out, and stood in opposition to a protest marked by intimidation and Islamophobia. Read more...

OUSA’s Annual General Meeting Canned Due To Lack Of Students

Posted 6:45pm Friday 2nd September 2022 by Denzel Chung

OUSA’s annual general meeting (AGM) happened on Tuesday 23 August. Or at least, it should have, before it was cancelled because not enough students showed up. The AGMs, also known as “Student General Meetings” (SGMs), are theoretically meant to be a chance for students to have Read more...

Concerns About “Hidden” Anti-Vaxxers In Local Elections

Posted 6:42pm Friday 2nd September 2022 by Denzel Chung

Local body elections are not often known for being hotbeds of fake news and nastiness, but there are fears that the post-Covid world has changed this. Critic Te Ārohi spoke to Kayli Taylor, a former Otago student now working at the Disinformation Project, to try and cut through the Read more...

Slimy Nitrate Monster Running for Otago Regional Council

Posted 6:38pm Friday 2nd September 2022 by Nina Brown

Slime, a “nitrate monster” that describes itself as “green, slimy, and luscious,” wants to be the first non-human on the Otago Regional Council (ORC). Its goal? Money, at all costs. Graciously, Slime took a break from busily expanding its reign over Aotearoa’s waterways Read more...

Ecology Student Runs for Otago Regional Council

Posted 6:31pm Friday 2nd September 2022 by Denzel Chung

Full disclosure: Elliot is Features Editor at Critic Te Ārohi. Rest assured that we grilled them exactly how we would grill any other council candidate. Elliot Weir, a student doing their Masters in Ecology, is also running for a spot on the Otago Regional Council (ORC). As far as Critic Te Read more...

Police Respond to Dunedin Residents’ Complaints About Noise

Posted 3:35pm Friday 19th August 2022 by Nik Ferit

Disclaimer: This story is entirely fictional and was written by AI In response to complaints from Dunedin residents about noise at student parties, police in the city have adopted a new, more conservative approach, involving specialised officers and increased surveillance of student housing Read more...

Controversial Councillor Candidate Cleared to Run As “Jedi”

Posted 3:33pm Friday 19th August 2022 by Denzel Chung

A candidate for the Dunedin City Council (DCC) is running as an “independent pro-freedom Jedi warrior”. Despite the candidate’s controversial political views, the Chief Jedi of Aotearoa seems to have given his blessing to the move.  Malcolm Moncrief-Spittle, owner of online Read more...

Last-Minute Motions Added to OUSA Ballot

Posted 3:29pm Friday 19th August 2022 by Fox Meyer and Zak Rudin

The upcoming OUSA Annual General Meeting looks to be a serious and no-nonsense event, not to be missed by anyone passionate about student governance and bureaucratic procedure. Current proposals slated for inclusion include investigating the Taj Mahal fire, extending breaks for students, mandating Read more...

School Strike 4 Climate Slated for September

Posted 3:26pm Friday 19th August 2022 by Denzel Chung

Almost a year and a half after their last swathe of nationwide protests, the “School Strike 4 Climate” (SS4C) is planning to return to Aotearoa on September 23. Organisers hope that this will be “the biggest climate strike mobilisation in Aotearoa to this day”.  On Read more...

(Inter-regional) Rail Me Daddy

Posted 3:25pm Friday 19th August 2022 by Keegan Wells

The Government’s Transport and Infrastructure Committee has opened an inquiry into “the future of inter-regional passenger rail in Aotearoa”, hoping to investigate whether trains could play a bigger role in intercity transport. And yes, this means a debauched winter booze train Read more...

Did Weet-Bix’s Stat Attacks Cause the All Blacks To Sink or Swim?

Posted 3:16pm Friday 19th August 2022 by Hugh Askerud

Shoppers were surprised and likely bemused to find Weet-Bix had released a new edition of their infamous Stat Attacks cards in the middle of July: timed perfectly to coincide with the All Blacks’ epic losing streak.  For those who have only ever felt the stale, joyless sensation of Read more...

The Untold Story of the Mysterious Castle Street Tagger

Posted 3:05pm Friday 19th August 2022 by Anna Robertshawe

It was a dark and stormy night, but the Re-O parties were in full swing. DnB raged, bottles were smashed back, students galloped around North D, fuelled by alcohol and a desperation for good (or at least numbing) times. A familiar story. That is, until one visitor from “up north” changed Read more...

Sponsored Money Management Book Given Away By UBS

Posted 3:04pm Friday 19th August 2022 by Denzel Chung

Full disclosure: Denzel is a member of Simplicity, who funded and sponsored Money Made Simple. A mysterious money-management book, sponsored by a KiwiSaver provider, is being given away with every purchase at the University Bookshop (UBS). Critic Te Ārohi decided to investigate, primarily Read more...

Conservation Heroes Buy 40 Boxes of Purple Gs

Posted 3:02pm Friday 19th August 2022 by Fox Meyer

This week, we got a Snapchat of some local conservationists supporting the endangered Purple Goanna. We reached out to these intrepid environmentalists to see what inspired them to make such big sacrifices for such little reptiles.  When we asked Rico, Angus and Ben how many boxes of Purple Read more...

Researchers Want YOUR Poop!

Posted 3:01pm Friday 19th August 2022 by Fox Meyer

On Wednesday, 10 August, a mass email was sent out by Dr. Dominic Agyei in the Food Science Department. It was asking students for their poop. The email was objectively hilarious, opening with the line: “We scratched our heads for a while but could not think of a nicer way to say it than Read more...

First Joint Māori-Pasifika Leadership Hui Held

Posted 1:41pm Monday 15th August 2022 by Fox Meyer

Last weekend, Te Rōpū Māori and the Otago Pacific Island Students’ Association joined forces to tautoko the tauira leaders of tomorrow. The kaupapa (event), the first student-led initiative of its kind at Otago, was attended by over 100 tauira (students) and various guest Read more...

Protest Against Noise Complaints Receives Noise Complaint

Posted 1:39pm Monday 15th August 2022 by Zak Rudin

Around 150 people occupied the Octagon on Sunday August 7 to support Dunedin's iconic Crown Hotel and oppose Dunedin City Council (DCC) regulations which they say have been threatening Dunedin’s live music scene. Ironically, they were even slapped with a noise complaint for their Read more...

Memorial Service Held to Remember Hiroshima

Posted 1:37pm Monday 15th August 2022 by Zak Rudin

A sombre group of around 30 people gathered at the Museum Reserve Peacepole on Saturday August 6, to mark 77 years since the atomic bombing of Hiroshima. Ashley Macmillan from the Department of Peace and Conflict Studies said it was a “gathering to remember the atrocity and call for it never Read more...

Academic Who Withdrew From Sustainability Panel Speaks Out

Posted 1:33pm Monday 15th August 2022 by Denzel Chung

Last week, Critic Te Ārohi reported on the criticism faced by an Otago Uni panel discussion about “Inequality in Aotearoa” which featured an all-Pākehā group of panellists. Ahorangi Tūhono (Associate Professor) Alex MacMillan, who was due to participate in a separate Read more...

Aussie Skateboarder First in World To Hill-Bomb Baldwin

Posted 1:32pm Monday 15th August 2022 by Keegan Wells

On August 1, Zak Mills-Goodwin became the first ever person to bomb Baldwin Street on a skateboard. He thinks he managed to hit speeds of 70km/h, but didn’t want to confirm anything on the record since speed limits can still be broken on skateboards.  Zak, an Australian, has been doing Read more...

All-Male Flat on their 15th Application

Posted 1:31pm Monday 15th August 2022 by Anna Robertshawe

All-male flatting groups are struggling to find a place to live next year. A few have blamed their bad luck on gender discrimination – with stereotypes continuing to haunt boys on the lookout for flats. “It’s the most demoralising thing: turning up to a flat viewing as a group Read more...

Otago Daily Times Runs Paid Articles From Chinese Government

Posted 1:25pm Monday 15th August 2022 by Denzel Chung

On July 28, the Otago Daily Times ran a sponsored article from a media outlet controlled by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), and have since published at least three more. The original article, titled “Chinese-built modern railway leads to brighter future for Kenya,” has nothing to Read more...

$4 Lunch Goes AWOL For A Week, Students Destitute

Posted 7:04pm Friday 5th August 2022 by Nina Brown

OUSA’s beloved $4 lunch fell victim to Aotearoa’s latest Covid wave, forcing it to shut for a week. It left a trail of starving, impoverished students in its wake. Critic Te Arohi went out to check on the destitute, lunch-less masses, left with nothing to sustain them but the salt from Read more...

Students Hoard Minion Daddies

Posted 7:03pm Friday 5th August 2022 by Fox Meyer

Last week, Critic Te Arohi was sent a Snapchat of a student’s room. It was covered wall-to-wall with the Minion Daddy centrefold from our sex issue. Interior design experts Josh and K stopped by to explain their life choices. Josh and K are both first years at Aquinas. K had just moved into Read more...

Peeking Behind the Med Revue Curtain

Posted 7:01pm Friday 5th August 2022 by Zak Rudin

The annual Med Revue took place last weekend, drawing med and non-med students alike for three nights of theatrical antics. “Charlie and the Doctor Factory” gave students their money's worth with three hours of skits and choreographed song and dance. And as a bonus, most of the jokes Read more...

Student Wants YOU! (To Vote, For Him)

Posted 7:00pm Friday 5th August 2022 by Denzel Chung

Otago Uni student Jett Groshinski is the first student to put his hand up for this year’s local body elections. He’s gunning for a spot on the Dunedin City Council (DCC), and is aiming for a chance to wear the Mayoral chains, too.  The PPE (Philosophy/Politics/Economics) and Read more...

Students Upset over Lack of Recordings

Posted 6:58pm Friday 5th August 2022 by Fox Meyer

Lecture recordings are not mandatory at the University of Otago. A debate sparked in COSC204 provides an example of the problems this can create. Associate Professor Andrew Trotman’s decision not to publish recorded lectures led to a lengthy series of emails with his COSC204 students Read more...

International Students Stuck Between A Complex and a Hard Place

Posted 6:56pm Friday 5th August 2022 by Keegan Wells

Nine American international students have been put into an Airbnb “complex” up on Heriot Row, paying US$2,000 more for the semester than what they were originally offered – and not even getting a Kiwihost for the privilege.  These nine students were put into this Read more...

“Inequality in Aotearoa” Discussion Panel Purely Pākehā

Posted 6:53pm Friday 5th August 2022 by Denzel Chung

An Otago Uni panel discussion about “Inequality in Aotearoa” has copped criticism for featuring an all-Pākehā group of panellists. The panel has since been delayed, to give Otago Uni time to “ensure our panel features a diverse range of knowledge and Read more...

Free Speech Debate Looking for Student Voices

Posted 1:51pm Sunday 31st July 2022 by Fox Meyer

Your student president has pulled out of a “free speech panel” hosted by the Free Speech Union (FSU) on 17 August, citing “pressing work and study commitments”. The FSU has previously faced controversy for promoting and platforming views critics say are “extremist, Read more...

OUSA Exec Breach Own Policy

Posted 1:50pm Sunday 31st July 2022 by Fox Meyer

The Student Executive board for OUSA have breached their own accountability policy, according to minutes from the 14 July meeting this year.  All Exec members are required to submit weekly breakdowns of what they’ve been up to, to provide a record of their work and also to prove that Read more...

MĀOR110 Enrolments Up 52%, While Health Sci Numbers Fall

Posted 1:47pm Sunday 31st July 2022 by Leo Lublow-Catty

The Strategy, Analytics and Reporting office (SAR) at Otago Uni have released this year’s enrolment growth statistics, revealing the fastest-growing and fastest-shrinking first-year papers in the 2021-22 period. The paper with the biggest percentage increase in enrolment was EAOS111, Read more...

Burger Plant Changes Ownership

Posted 1:21pm Sunday 31st July 2022 by Zak Rudin

Burger Plant, the vegan burger joint on Fatty Lane, has just changed owners. Critic Te Arohi spoke with Tom, the previous owner and a culinary arts Polytech student, to get to the meat of the issue. What is now Burger Plant began with a little setup at the Farmers Market in 2019: “$600 Read more...

Super Sick Students Surf Stormy Stream

Posted 1:18pm Sunday 31st July 2022 by Keegan Wells

While students across North D were busy hunkering down during last week’s storm, two looked at the waves of the Leith and saw something else: a mid-winter surfing opportunity. They promptly chucked their wetsuits on, rented Unipol boards, and hit the eddy just near the Clyde St bridge on last Read more...

Apartment Development Concerns Musos

Posted 1:17pm Sunday 31st July 2022 by Denzel Chung

Around 60 supporters of Dunedin’s music community gathered for a hui to support the Crown Hotel, amidst fears that the renowned music venue could be threatened by a new apartment building next door. The group are hoping that a protest on Sunday 7th of August could help raise further awareness Read more...

Ultimate Frisbee Club Ultimately Unhappy with Unipol

Posted 1:14pm Sunday 31st July 2022 by Keegan Wells

A new Unipol system which replaces most court bookings with a free-for-all “drop-in-and-play” system has been questioned by Otago Uni’s Ultimate [Frisbee] Club (OUUC), who say that it has been disruptive to training and “makes it hard for small developing sports to grow, Read more...

OUSA Doesn’t Support Fair Pay Agreements

Posted 1:12pm Sunday 31st July 2022 by Denzel Chung

OUSA has criticised the Government’s proposed new Fair Pay Agreements, with their submission on the Bill currently before Parliament calling it a “fundamentally flawed… [and] restrictive model”. This stands in contrast to other student submissions on the Bill, which have Read more...

New Covid Wave Raises Mask Questions

Posted 1:10pm Sunday 31st July 2022 by Zak Rudin

With another semester comes another wave of Covid, and students and staff are once again in the firing line. Despite years of grim Zoom calls making many staff and students desperate for in-person learning, for some, the risk of getting Covid still outweighs the benefits of being on campus. This Read more...

Med Students (Even More) Stressed by Ballot Delays

Posted 1:08pm Sunday 31st July 2022 by Nina Brown

Concerns have been raised by some medical students over the “unnecessary uncertainty” caused by this year's drawn-out Medical School ballot process. Attempts to address an unusually large third-year cohort heading off in 2023 for placement resulted in a lengthy consultation over Read more...

North D Flats Receive an Unwanted Interior Makeover

Posted 1:05pm Sunday 31st July 2022 by Keegan Wells

Several Castle St flats have been broken into recently. Unlike most break-ins, nothing was taken: instead, they’ve received an unwanted interior design makeover, with a face being spray painted on the inside. The culprit is still at large. On the Saturday night of Re-O Week, the residents Read more...

All Buses Stay Half-Price as Services Slashed By 30%

Posted 6:02pm Monday 25th July 2022 by Elliot Weir

Bus fares in Ōtepoti Dunedin will remain at a dollar until January 31 next year, thanks to the Government extending their half-price public transport scheme. A more urgent problem is emerging, however: a driver shortage that is leading to sweeping service cancellations, causing grief for Read more...

StudyLink Wait Times up 37%

Posted 6:01pm Monday 25th July 2022 by Ruby Werry

If you feel like StudyLink wait times are longer than usual this year, you’re on the money. StudyLink claims that average wait times sit at around 20 minutes (up 5 minutes from last year) – but students have been reporting far longer ordeals. Phone calls are already a bit of a mission Read more...

Blame Putin for RTD Shortage

Posted 5:56pm Monday 25th July 2022 by Ruby Werry

If you’ve noticed getting your hands on Diesels or Billy Mavs has been harder recently, you’re not alone, and you’re not wrong. International shortages of bourbon have been causing prices to spike. While the spirit is adored by middle-aged men and those who are middle-aged men at Read more...

You May Not Be Eligible For That Free $350

Posted 5:53pm Monday 25th July 2022 by Elliot Weir

While many students have already been scheming how they’ll spend the Government’s upcoming $350 cost of living payment, a caveat means that some students on a student loan will be ineligible to receive the payment. In May, as part of this year’s Budget, the Government announced Read more...

(Yet Another) Report Highlights Student Suffering

Posted 5:50pm Monday 25th July 2022 by Denzel Chung

Data from a nationwide survey of students has shown, yet again, that students largely live in poverty – often living in unaffordable housing and going without food, healthcare, clothing and other necessities. Aotearoa’s student unions, alongside the Green Party, are hoping that this Read more...

Free Condoms Abound on Campus

Posted 5:49pm Monday 25th July 2022 by Nina Brown

Condoms, while super important, can really stretch tiny student budgets: the average box retails at $12-$24, and in the cold, long nights of winter, the costs can add up fast. Dunedin, however, turns out to be busting with free condoms – so Critic Te Arohi decided to check out where you can Read more...

Students Make a Stand for Reproductive Rights

Posted 2:50pm Monday 25th July 2022 by Zak Rudin

Last Saturday, almost 200 Otago Uni students organised a peaceful sit-in at the lower Octagon to protest the overturning of Roe v Wade. The hour-long protest included speeches, music and (of course) TikToks. On June 25, the United States Supreme Court announced the overturning of Roe v Wade, a Read more...

MĀOR110 Te Reo Aptitude Assessment gets the Axe

Posted 2:46pm Monday 25th July 2022 by Skyla & Fox Meyer

For the first time, Health Sci First Year (HSFY) students can take “Intro to Conversational Māori” (MĀOR110) as an optional eighth paper. Last week, the University repealed an entrance requirement to the paper barring students with virtually any te reo background, lest they Read more...

UniQ Top Pride Fundraiser In The Country

Posted 3:57pm Sunday 17th July 2022 by Denzel Chung

Otago Uni’s queer students’ club, UniQ, raised nearly $13,000 for Sweat With Pride – more than double what they originally aimed for. This made them the top fundraising team in Aotearoa.  Sweat With Pride is an annual fundraising event which encourages participants to do 21 Read more...

Swappa Cup App On The Rise

Posted 3:55pm Sunday 17th July 2022 by Zak Rudin

Chatime has finally given single-use takeaway cups a hard pass, instead stamping its seal of approval on the Swappa Cup “cup-borrowing” app. Outlets across campus are expected to roll it out soon.  Every day, an estimated 800,000 disposable cups are (you guessed it) disposed of. Read more...

Inhibition-Lowering Substance Lowers Inhibitions, Study Shows

Posted 3:54pm Sunday 17th July 2022 by Nina Brown

New research by global comparison site Finder has made the shocking revelation that people like to buy shit while drunk. Every breatha who has bought a new vape after their first Mav of the night could tell you as much.   According to their research, involving “a nationally Read more...

660 Scholarship Winners: What’re They Up2?

Posted 3:47pm Sunday 17th July 2022 by Annabelle Vaughan

Last year, Emily Bell and Samuel Leaper were two of the four students who received the University’s inaugural Six60 Scholarship. The scholarship lets them live, rent-free, at 660 Castle Street, for the whole year, as well as giving them the chance to be mentored by one of Aotearoa’s most Read more...

Volunteer Service Abroad Bounces Back After Covid

Posted 3:45pm Sunday 17th July 2022 by Fox Meyer

Te Tūao Tāwāhi (Volunteer Service Abroad, VSA) is gearing back up to send recent grads to work overseas. The whole “international travel” aspect was complicated by Covid, but a new “e-volunteering” strategy is now an option alongside the traditional Read more...

From “Fuck! I Can’t Cook” To “Fuck! I’m a Cook!”

Posted 3:40pm Sunday 17th July 2022 by Denzel Chung

Former Otago student Alice Taylor’s MasterChef run came to an end last week with a solid third-place finish. This isn’t the end of the culinary road for her, though, with judge Michael Dearth offering her a new job at his Italian restaurant Baduzzi. Alice sat down with Critic Te Arohi to Read more...

Leith Surges, Paddlers Rejoice

Posted 3:37pm Sunday 17th July 2022 by Denzel Chung and Keegan Wells

The nationwide storm last week saw the Leith rise to 70 times its normal flow. Local legends from the Otago University Canoe Club (OUCC) were all over it, tackling what they estimated was about a Grade 4 rapid. While the Leith normally cruises along at around 0.8-1 cubic metres of water per Read more...

Aotearoa Continues Imports of “Blood Phosphate”

Posted 3:32pm Sunday 17th July 2022 by Zak Rudin

A group of around 15 activists gathered outside Ravensdown’s fertiliser factory at Ravensbourne last Tuesday, for a “morning of mourning” over a “shipload of shame”. On a cold, dark and wet morning, the black-clad protesters were opposing the “unwelcome” Read more...

Ireland Screws All Blacks, Unscrews Lightbulbs

Posted 2:29pm Sunday 17th July 2022 by Fox Meyer

After handing the All Blacks their first-ever Dunedin defeat on Saturday 9 July, the Irish national rugby team parked up at Vault 21. And evidently, they weren’t too keen on leaving. Chris Dickie, a bartender at Vault, said that as closing time grew near that night, staff at the bar started Read more...

Everyone’s Favourite $4 Lunch Lady Begins A “New Incarnation”

Posted 2:27pm Sunday 17th July 2022 by Denzel Chung

Jane “J-Ma” Beecroft, long-known as the $4 lunch lady, is beginning a “new incarnation” on campus. She’s hoping her new “chat room,” which she calls “Life, the Universe and Everything”, will help provide a space where students can feel Read more...

Ireland Screws All Blacks, Unscrews Lightbulbs

Posted 1:14pm Wednesday 13th July 2022 by Fox Meyer

After handing the All Blacks their first-ever Dunedin defeat on Saturday 9 July, the Irish national rugby team parked up at Vault 21. And evidently, they weren’t too keen on leaving.   Chris Dickie, a bartender at Vault, said that as closing time grew near that night, staff at the Read more...

SCANDAL! Man Opens Door!

Posted 1:59am Saturday 9th July 2022 by Denzel Chung

An Edinburgh Realty tenant was left feeling “infuriated” after a tradie unlocked her bedroom door to complete some repairs while she was asleep.  Marie* rents in the Station Apartments complex, a set of 5 studio apartments on Anzac Avenue managed by Edinburgh Realty. At first Read more...

GARBAGE! EnviroWaste Red Bins GONEBURGER In Dunedin!

Posted 1:57am Saturday 9th July 2022 by Denzel Chung

At least one provider of Dunedin’s red bins, EnviroWaste, have pulled the plug on signing up new customers. Fears of an impending bin monopoly have been dismissed by EnviroWaste, who said the move is only temporary.  A check of the EnviroWaste website using Dunedin addresses shows an Read more...

WOW! Otago Student Chef makes it BIG TIME

Posted 1:55am Saturday 9th July 2022 by Denzel Chung

While most of us were dumping two-minute pasta into a microwave bowl and serving it with a side of James Speight’s finest, an ex-Otago student has been rubbing shoulders with the likes of Nadia Lim on the latest season of MasterChef New Zealand. Critic Te Arohi caught up with Alice Taylor to Read more...

SOUTHLAND: The Next Silicon Valley???

Posted 1:54am Saturday 9th July 2022 by Fox Meyer

A massive, cutting edge carbon-neutral data centre is slated to open in – of all places – Southland. Otago Uni have already signed up to be one of the facility’s major clients. Despite what some Aucklanders may be thinking, there are actually some pretty good reasons for tech Read more...

Otago Lecturer speaks at Anti-Mandate Protest

Posted 1:35am Saturday 9th July 2022 by Elliot Weir and Denzel Chung

At a demonstration against vaccine mandates and Three Waters legislation, an Otago Uni lecturer spoke for five minutes to "educate" the opposing counter-demonstration across the road by reading the Britannica definition of fascism and sharing a stage with a prominent alt-right Read more...

Protest Standoff! Big Anti-Fash Bash TRIUMPHS Over “Freedom and Rights Coalition”

Posted 11:37pm Friday 8th July 2022 by Zak Rudin, Denzel Chung and Elliot Weir

At 12pm on Saturday 2nd July, around 150 anti-fascist counter-protestors faced off against a “Freedom and Rights Coalition” (FRC) protest, led by Destiny Church’s Derek Tait. With the anti-fascists outnumbering the FRC group five to one, Ōtepoti sent them a clear message: Read more...

Heaps of West Coast Land to be Reclassified

Posted 11:29pm Friday 8th July 2022 by Denzel Chung and Fox Meyer

The Department of Conservation (DoC) is set to reclassify 600,000 hectares of protected “stewardship” land on the West Coast – the size of over 3 Rakiura (Stewart Islands). DoC says that this will provide stronger protections for its natural and historic features, but some worry Read more...

DOCO DRAMA! Filmmakers Condemn Israeli Embassy Funding

Posted 11:27pm Friday 8th July 2022 by Denzel Chung

A group of filmmakers participating in the Doc Edge documentary film festival have written an open letter over its acceptance of sponsorship funding from the Israeli Embassy in New Zealand.  The Embassy is supporting the screening of the film “Dead Sea Guardians”, an Israeli Read more...

Maths Mayhem!

Posted 11:25pm Friday 8th July 2022 by Nina Brown

Six mathematics alumni and current students have sent an open letter to the University of Otago expressing their concerns over its alleged disregard of the importance of maths education. Critic Te Arohi spoke to Elliot Marshall, a signatory of the letter, about claims that inadequate funding and the Read more...

Guard who Dispensed "Sauce Fines" Apparently Unlicenced

Posted 11:24pm Friday 8th July 2022 by Denzel Chung and Fox Meyer

The security guard who allegedly called a student “stupid” and “selfish” after issuing her a $300 fine for “stealing” a packet of tomato sauce no longer appears to be working at Night N’ Day or Pak ‘N Save, where he was also employed.  This may Read more...

Fake News Tourbus Chased Out of Dunedin

Posted 1:37pm Saturday 4th June 2022 by Denzel Chung

A nationwide tour by Counterspin, a group promoting Covid-19 misinformation and often violent rhetoric, was forced out of Dunedin city after sustained public pressure caused several hosts to pull out.    The nationwide tour, titled “Let’s Not Forget,” had stopped in Read more...

Uni’s Emissions Boss Responds To Govt’s Emissions Reduction Plan

Posted 4:58pm Sunday 29th May 2022 by Zak Rudin

Last week, the Government released their first Emissions Reduction Plan (ERP) since passing the Zero Carbon Act in 2019. Critic Te Arohi spoke with Craig Cliff, the Uni’s Net Carbon Zero Programme Manager, on the impact of the plan and whether it goes far enough to address the existential Read more...

Kind Company Rebrands To “Kindred”

Posted 4:55pm Sunday 29th May 2022 by Zak Rudin

Around two weeks ago, Kind Company, a vegan cafe on George Street, became Kindred. They’re now a “mostly” vegan cafe that serves some meat and dairy. Critic Te Arohi spoke to Penelope, the owner of Kindred, about the change. Penelope, told Critic Te Arohi the rebranding was an Read more...

“Storm Hyde St” Event Page Gets the Axe

Posted 4:52pm Sunday 29th May 2022 by Keegan Wells

A pisstake of a Facebook event page has been taken down after its creator received a stern talking to by the Campus Cop, who was worried it could “put the future of Hyde Street in jeopardy”. The page encouraged students to storm Hyde Street, as “they can’t stop us Read more...

Dunedin Jobs Facebook Group Invaded by Camgirls, Spammers

Posted 4:49pm Sunday 29th May 2022 by Sean Gourley

A local Facebook group meant for promoting job opportunities has been swamped by spam and ads promoting WhatsApp camgirls.  Dunedin Jobs, which boasts almost 18,000 members, is a “a group that facilitates posts for everyday jobs for everyday people”. More recently, they seem to Read more...

PHARMAC Simplifies Criteria To Access HIV Prevention, Treatment

Posted 4:48pm Sunday 29th May 2022 by Denzel Chung

PHARMAC, Aotearoa’s national drug-funding agency, will simplify the criteria for patients wanting to access pre-exposure prophylaxis of HIV (PrEP). The changes, which will take effect from 1 July, are being labelled as “a massively positive change for [the LGBTQI+]  Read more...