Archive

Proctology

Posted 4:15am Thursday 5th May 2011 by Gregor Whyte

After an absence of far too long, a whole eight issues in fact, Critic is proud to once again bring you Proctology. Critic’s first meeting with the Proctor was a nervy affair. After getting used to the familiar sight of TailGunner Joe, the Proctor was instantly suspicious of a new face, especially Read more...

Student loans to remain interest free. Students to remain OTP.

Posted 4:12am Thursday 5th May 2011 by Gregor Whyte

The government has announced that significant changes to the student loan scheme will be included in the Budget of May 19. However, Tertiary Education Minister Steven Joyce confirmed that student loans will remain interest free for those students residing in the country. Among the changes to the Read more...

Otago catches up with AUT

Posted 4:09am Thursday 5th May 2011 by Aimee Gulliver

The University of Otago has moved to standardise its Honours degree system, moving to the “3+1 model” currently used by other universities nationwide. The move comes after a University working party recommended the change, which is intended to substantially improve the administrative aspect of Read more...

Dunedin to transform from cold shithole into busy, cold shithole

Posted 4:05am Thursday 5th May 2011 by Aimee Gulliver

The month of May in Dunedin is characterised by graduating students descending on the city in droves for the three graduation weekends. Restaurants, accommodation and flights are booked months in advance to ensure the availability of each element of graduates’ last weekend of scarfie debauchery Read more...

Execrable - 9

Posted 3:48am Thursday 5th May 2011 by Aimee Gulliver

Last Exec meeting saw a change of scene for the meeting’s location. With the Capping Show practicing in the boardroom, Critic and the Exec relocated to the OUSA office, behind the desk where you all hand in lost property and the like. This had the added bonus of having couches as seating, so if Read more...

Otago film selected for festival

Posted 3:46am Thursday 5th May 2011 by Lozz Holding

A controversial film by University of Otago student James Muir has been selected to screen in the London International Documentary Festival in May. River Dog is an environmental documentary that follows Muir’s father’s battle to stop farmers grazing stock on the Pahaoa riverbed in the Read more...

NZ Pair place third in international law competition

Posted 3:42am Thursday 5th May 2011 by Lozz Holding

University of Otago law students Nic Blumsky-Gibbs and Sean Conway gained third place in an international client consultation contest in the Netherlands earlier this month. The duo entered the contest’s final with a perfect score. Ultimately the competition was won by a team from Jamaica, Read more...

Law Study Released

Posted 3:31am Thursday 5th May 2011 by Aimee Gulliver

Timaru’s finest export, University of Otago Law Facult Professor Mark Henaghan, has said that more can be done to reduce delays in processing civil cases through the court system. Professor Henaghan, Dr Saskia Righarts and Rachel Laing have recently authored a preliminary study on civil case Read more...

Chronicles of Castle - 9

Posted 3:28am Thursday 5th May 2011 by Sam Reynolds

Most people headed home for Easter, leaving Castle Street as hollow and empty as the social life of a Health Sci student. Luckily for us there was enough muppet behaviour before Easter to keep us going. This story happened a while ago but it’s worth the retelling as one poor fellow had a Read more...

Fonterra

Posted 4:07am Wednesday 27th April 2011 by Georgie Fenwicke

Is there a method to this madness? John Campbell has been raging against high dairy and milk prices for weeks. We pay too much, says he. Why should Australians get cheaper milk and cheese than we do? We make the stuff, after all. Fonterra, the country's largest dairy producer, responded by freezing Read more...

Apocalypse Now. Possibly.

Posted 3:51am Wednesday 27th April 2011 by Aimee Gulliver

Disclaimer: article full of doom, gloom and ranty quotes An OUSA panel set up to review the future of its media company Planet Media took submissions last week, and will report to the OUSA executive on the 3rd of May with their findings.   OUSA has been reviewing all its assets and Read more...

Execrable - 8

Posted 3:46am Wednesday 27th April 2011 by Aimee Gulliver

Last week’s Exec meeting welcomed in OUSA’s two newest members, Postgrad Rep Thomas Koentges, and International Students Rep Art Kojarunchitt. And WHAT a first meeting for them to have come to… The bulk of the meeting was taken up with a formal complaint from former OUSA Financial Service Officer Read more...

Roman Empire declined, domestic enrolment numbers just following the trend.

Posted 3:43am Wednesday 27th April 2011 by Teuila Fuatai

Stricter entry requirements to the University of Otago have seen a reduction in Semester One enrolments. With penalties for exceeding their allocated domestic roll cap, the University raised entry requirements in Semester Two last year and introduced a two-tier domestic enrolment system this Read more...

OUSA brings in the suits

Posted 3:41am Wednesday 27th April 2011 by Aimee Gulliver

OUSA has engaged Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Limited, better known as Deloitte, to take over general management of OUSA. OUSA called in the world’s largest private professional services firm to fill the gap left by the resignation of General Manager Stephen Alexander.   Sources Read more...

Heated Debate Over Coal Burners

Posted 3:39am Wednesday 27th April 2011 by Lozz Holding

Students for Environmental Action (SEA) are pushing for the University to clean up its act and swap its current unsustainable use of coal burners around campus for a more sustainable and environmentally friendly option. SEA has expressed its concern about the issue, stating that using coal for Read more...

Education Amendment Bill (No. 4) somewhat controversial

Posted 3:31am Wednesday 27th April 2011 by Staff Reporter

The Education Amendment Bill (No. 4) was introduced to Parliament recently and had its first reading under urgency last week. The Bill makes a number of changes to the Education Act, including establishing a new Crown agent Education New Zealand. Perhaps of particular interest to students is that Read more...

Science Communication Centre Booming

Posted 3:29am Wednesday 27th April 2011 by Gregor Whyte

The University of Otago’s Centre for Science Communication has enjoyed phenomenal growth over the last four years, and is now the third most popular masters degree program at the University. The program opened in 2008, enrolling a single student. At the end of last year the program had 24 Read more...

Anzac Day Wreath

Posted 3:28am Wednesday 27th April 2011 by Staff Reporter

OUSA plans to lay a wreath at next Monday’s Anzac day service. OUSA President Harriet Geoghegan told Critic  “We lay a wreath every year and I haven't heard any suggestions from Exec members that we may not continue that practice.”   We were just checking. Read more...

Shanghai scholarships for University and Polytechnic

Posted 3:27am Wednesday 27th April 2011 by Staff Reporter

Visiting delegates from the Shanghai Institute of Foreign Trade University have offered 10 summer study scholarships to Dunedin students as part of fostering the relationship between the sister cities. Five scholarship are allocated to the University of Otago, with five for the Otago Polytechnic. Read more...

Members of community outraged over arrest of boy for breaking the law. Critic confused.

Posted 3:23am Wednesday 27th April 2011 by Lozz Holding

A 15 year old male was arrested on the Union Lawn on Friday the 8th of April after allegedly shoplifting from the $2 shop. Eyewitness reports claim the youth entered campus in between the two OUSA offices on Cumberland St, and sat down in the middle of the NORML 4.20 pro-cannabis Read more...

Disgruntled student attempts to assassinate entire Exec with monologue

Posted 3:19am Wednesday 27th April 2011 by Aimee Gulliver

Former OUSA Finance and Services Officer James Meager spoke about his written complaint at last week’s Executive meeting, over three weeks after it was first submitted. Meager’s complaint raises eleven different concerns. These grievances include the state of the OUSA Constitution and Read more...

Chronicles of Castle - 8

Posted 2:54am Wednesday 27th April 2011 by Sam Reynolds

It was a relatively uneventful week on Castle Street as mid-semester tests proved to be more effective fun sponges than Campus Watch. Luckily there are some students who don’t aim to get marks high up the alphabet and who give us our week’s entertainment. In one particularly cringe-worthy Read more...

Dave Clark:

Posted 7:13am Thursday 14th April 2011 by Georgie Fenwicke

Introducing Dr David Clark, the next Labour Party candidate for Dunedin North. Taking over from Pete Hodgson, his is a face you will probably become quite familiar with come November. For, together with the Rugby World Cup, 2011 is also an election year. Originally from Auckland but having lived in Read more...

Weatherston appeals murder conviction.

Posted 7:00am Thursday 14th April 2011 by Aimee Gulliver

Convicted murderer Clayton Weatherston has appealed his conviction in the Court of Appeal. The three judges on the Court of Appeal have reserved their decision until later in the year. The 34 year old former University of Otago tutor was sentenced to a minimum of 18 years in prison two years Read more...

Tragic death of community-involved student

Posted 6:58am Thursday 14th April 2011 by Aimee Gulliver

As reported last week, University of Otago student and regular Critic contributor Scott Ridley was tragically killed on March 31, when his car collided head-on with a truck and trailer unit in heavy fog near Hampden. Scott was heavily involved in the community in a number of ways, particularly Read more...

Polytech plans move to trimester system

Posted 6:57am Thursday 14th April 2011 by Teuila Fuatai

The Otago Polytechnic is considering extending its academic year from two semesters to three trimesters. Instead of the current 32-week year split into two semesters, there would be three 14-week trimesters. Under the proposed model, classes would begin mid-January and run through to the end Read more...

Polytech Library re-billed as plain Robertson. People shitty about that, and also at terrible pun in this title.

Posted 6:54am Thursday 14th April 2011 by Lauren Enright

Otago Polytechnic deputy chief executive Robin Day said that the name change of the Robertson Library (formerly the Bill Robertson Library) last year has made some of the staff at the institution unhappy. The University of Otago, who own the library, made the decision to change the name. Read more...

Omg moar Exec members. Critic is omg so happy!

Posted 6:53am Thursday 14th April 2011 by Aimee Gulliver

The happy family that is the OUSA Executive has gained two new members after a by-election was successfully held last week. Art Kiojarunchitt has been elected as the International Student Officer and Thomas Koentges has been elected as the Postgraduate Representative for the remainder of Read more...

Bonus Bonds suspected of taking tainted money

Posted 6:49am Thursday 14th April 2011 by Staff Reporter

To mark the “drugs” issue, Critic sent a reporter into the field to delve into the student drug trade. We found that Dunedin is a relatively pricey and difficult place to obtain most drugs, with drugs like ecstasy and acid far less accessible and more expensive than in other major New Zealand Read more...

Students fuck themselves by being too good

Posted 6:47am Thursday 14th April 2011 by Staff Reporter

The Hyde St Keg Party cleanup was such a success that similar initiatives could be extended to other parts of the student area in the future. The cleanup consisted of students being woken up at 9am by council workers to clean up the street after the annual street party. However the Otago Daily Read more...

Green Party plays April Fools’ joke on media. Critic fooled.

Posted 6:46am Thursday 14th April 2011 by Gregor Whyte

The Green Party kicked off April by announcing a hip-hop tour of New Zealand universities. The tour is designed to raise awareness of environmental and social justice issues among students in a cool way that youths will totally dig. Green MP and Party youth spokesman Gareth Hughes said in a press Read more...

Prostate screening

Posted 6:45am Thursday 14th April 2011 by Andrew Oliver

The results of a long-term Swedish trial, recently published in the British Medical Journal, may suggest that prostate screening is causing more harm than good, according to University of Otago Associate Professor Brian Cox. The research showed that even long-term screening did not significantly Read more...

Bouncing off the Halls - 7

Posted 6:43am Thursday 14th April 2011 by Lozz Holding

In the wake of the recent Health Sci CELS191 terms test, worth a life-threatening 20%, freshers have somehow conspired to be exponentially more annoying than usual. The mass march from St. David’s to Castle has become an even more hazardous obstacle for the rest of the student population, as the Read more...

Chronicles of Castle - 7

Posted 6:41am Thursday 14th April 2011 by Sam Reynolds

It’s been a week of internal flat dramas down here on Castle. The first incident stems back to O Week when one smelly little shit took a cool three hundy cash out on the flatcard. He invested the three hundred in disco biscuits unbeknownst to his flatmates, who were left wondering why they Read more...

Annabel Langbein

Posted 4:19am Monday 11th April 2011 by Georgie Fenwicke

Annabel Langbein has had a busy year so far, travelling through the Europe and the US over the past few months to launch her TV series (now syndicated in 74 markets around the world) and cookbook, The Free Range Cook. You may know her as a friendly face on television or perhaps as the woman on your Read more...

Goff stops in for a coffee at Staff Club. Brings best mates. Hughes not invited. Awkward.

Posted 4:18am Monday 11th April 2011 by Julia Hollingsworth (guest appearance)

In a meeting held in the Otago University Staff Club last Tuesday, Labour frontbenchers unanimously decided to back Goff as leader of the Labour Party. The announcement came amid speculation that a change of leadership could be in the works as a result of Goff’s mishandling of the allegations Read more...

The Dark Knight

Posted 4:16am Monday 11th April 2011 by Aimee Gulliver

Little is known about the character situated above the Proctor in the discipline chain; the very elusive and somewhat secretive Provost. Critic does some digging to find out more about the the man you will get sent to if you’ve been significantly naughtier than your average scarfie. The University Read more...

Hughes usurps Hughes as most respected Hughes in NZ politics. Huh?

Posted 4:14am Monday 11th April 2011 by Aimee Gulliver

Critic caught up with MP Hughes while he was down in Dunedin. No, not that Hughes, the other one – Green MP Gareth Hughes. What are you down in Dunedin to talk to students about? My talk tonight is called “Unfuck the world: cheer up, the future is bright.”  Ah right, did you Read more...

By-elections ya’ll

Posted 4:13am Monday 11th April 2011 by Aimee Gulliver

OUSA is holding a by-election for the positions of International Student Officer and Postgraduate Representative. Elections will be held electronically from April 4 2011 at 9am, until April 7 at 4pm. 2009 International Students Representative Art Kojarunchitt is running unopposed for the Read more...

Death at Unipol Recreation Centre

Posted 4:11am Monday 11th April 2011 by Gregor Whyte

A 24-year old student died whilst using a cross trainer at the Unipol recreation centre on Wednesday March 30. The death occurred around 9.30pm in the upstairs cardio room of the facility. Students present at Unipol during the incident told Critic that the unnamed female student reportedly Read more...

British Universities Greedy. Like Cookie Monster

Posted 4:09am Monday 11th April 2011 by Gregor Whyte

British universities have responded to the opportunity to drastically raise student fees without substantive justification by drastically raising student fees without any justification whatsoever (mostly). British students have responded to this by rioting, burning shit, attacking the motorcades Read more...

Miss University

Posted 4:08am Monday 11th April 2011 by Staff Reporter

Radio station ZM is a running a Miss University contest where ladies can post a charming photo of themselves on the station’s website and be in to win $1000 and a years supply of Subway. This competition is pretty much tailor made for first year UniCol tarts, so get your iPhones out and get Read more...

Cagey Character

Posted 4:07am Monday 11th April 2011 by Staff Reporter

A man has taken to a cage by the side of the road on State Highway 1 for a month to protest against the treatment of battery caged hens. Carl Scott was spurred to protest by a draft code issued by the Government's National Animal Welfare Advisory Committee. The draft code called for hens to be Read more...

Insider Trading

Posted 4:05am Monday 11th April 2011 by Teuila Fuatai

University of Otago researchers Dr David Lont and Kate McCune have received international recognition for their work investigating insider share trading in the United States. Together with Professor Paul Griffin of the University of California, the pair performed an eight-year study examining the Read more...

Top Dentistry Award for Otago Student

Posted 4:04am Monday 11th April 2011 by Andrew Oliver

Grace Lee (23), a fifth-year Bachelor of Dental Surgery student at the University of Otago, has been awarded the eminent Hatton International Dental Research Award this month in San Diego, California. Lee was chosen by the International Association for Dental Research for her investigation into Read more...

Bouncing off the Halls - 6

Posted 4:01am Monday 11th April 2011 by Lozz Holding

At this time of year, the look around campus starts to change. Stubbies start getting replaced with warehouse bum-pants, and that healthy summer tan begins to fade into an honest Dunedin white. As well as changing colour, many first years begin to change shape too. Everybody doing first year is Read more...

Business School tests Blackboard-based dating service?

Posted 3:59am Monday 11th April 2011 by Gregor Whyte with reporting by Lozz Holding

The latest online craze predicted to sweep the University of Otago is “Blackboard Dating”, after enterprising business student Sam Love last week used Blackboard’s group email function to attempt to charm a girl known only as “Sarah”. In a move both innovative and profoundly retarded (noted Read more...

Tragic death of Critic contributor

Posted 3:56am Monday 11th April 2011 by Editor

Scott Ridley (23) tragically passed away after a car accident last Thursday March 31, just south of Hampden. The car he was driving collided head-on with a truck. The truck driver, a Christchurch man in his 60s, was found deceased when emergency services arrived at the scene. Scott was airlifted to Read more...

Chronicles of Castle - 6

Posted 3:53am Monday 11th April 2011 by Sam Reynolds

The scene on Castle Street this week was messier than when Edward Scissorhands tried wanking. Things got out of hand as Castle Street’s road was redecorated thanks to a kind soul with a good eye for colour. He or she poured two buckets of paint on the road, one orange and one white. The perpetrator Read more...

Riding in cars with students

Posted 2:25am Tuesday 29th March 2011 by Aimee Gulliver

The Dunedin City Council has plans to stop students from abusing the scarfie ride-share scheme, involving a takedown* of anyone caught breaking its rules. The scheme allows those students attending either the University of Otago or Otago Polytechnic living in a certain zone of Dunedin to share a Read more...