Archive

71.6% Increase in Region’s MDMA Consumption During Flo-Week

Posted 5:19pm Sunday 21st April 2024 by Hanna Varrs

Wastewater testing has revealed a 71.6% increase in MDMA consumption during Flo-Week, meaning the cops know you got geary. Cocaine consumption also had a marginal rise (in this economy?) but it was 35 times less prevalent than MDMA.  The information has come to light after Critic Te Read more...

Breaking Sound’s Policies Still Under Fire

Posted 5:17pm Sunday 21st April 2024 by Jordan Irvine

Breaking Sound’s policies continue to be questioned by local musos. It’s been revealed to Critic Te Ārohi that multiple Dunedin bands, including IVY and The Beatniks, have had issues of underpayment with the company owing to their odd policies. Discussions centred around their Read more...

Crossword Trauma Leads to Plea for Hyde Tickets

Posted 5:14pm Sunday 21st April 2024 by Hugh Askerud

The Hyde hustle has been strong this year, with some twisting the “trauma” of repeated Critic crossword errors (soz) into a bid for tickets. A flat of four sent an email last Monday after spotting the latest typo to Critic Editor Nina and OUSA President Keegan, claiming it had Read more...

Castle Street Clean-up Turnout Disappoints

Posted 5:09pm Sunday 21st April 2024 by Hugh Askerud

The fifth annual Sophie Crestani Castle Street Clean-up took place last Friday, attracting a disappointingly small turnout. Few members of the Castle St fraternity showed up, with the majority of initial attendees being either Caroline Freeman College residents or Hold On To Your Friends (HOTYF) Read more...

Letter from KnowYourStuffNZ: What is Harm Reduction?

Posted 2:20pm Sunday 14th April 2024 by Max Phillips

My name is Max Phillips, and I am a drug user. “User” is a bit of a loaded word, but it shouldn’t be, since everyone reading this is also a drug user. Over 80% of New Zealanders drink alcohol (one of the most harmful drugs), and we can tend to forget that things like panadol are Read more...

Unicol Fresher Wins Big from Online Gambling (Twice)

Posted 2:17pm Sunday 14th April 2024 by Iris Hehir

A Unicol fresher has won big money from online gambling. Known around campus as Elvis*, he won $27k in total; taking his gambling virginity in a weekend that can only be described as one for the books. Elvis tells Critic that it all began the summer before Uni, when he was drinking with some Read more...

South D Warehouse Starts to Sell Frozen Meals

Posted 2:15pm Sunday 14th April 2024 by Gryffin Blockley

There’s a new player in the budget culinary scene in Dunedin: South D Warehouse. The store is the second Warehouse location in Aotearoa to start selling frozen meals after they successfully popped off in Manukau.  The meals are “family-sized” (or a single serve for a drunk Read more...

Te Rōpū Māori Names Te Kaihāpai and Tumuaki Takirua at Bi-Election

Posted 2:12pm Sunday 14th April 2024 by Harriette Boucher

Te Rōpū Māori held their SGM/bi-election last Wednesday, April 10 – the third and final time you’ll be seeing that date in the news section this week, promise. The election was called to fill the positions of Tumuaki Takirua (Co-President) and Te Kaihāpai Read more...

White Claw’s Coming to Town

Posted 1:46pm Sunday 14th April 2024 by Nina Brown

Don your frat boy caps, White Claw is coming to Aotearoa. In a statement to Newshub, DB Breweries, official partner of the American RTD, confirmed that “the rumours are true” – they’ll be hitting shelves nationwide from April 19. For those not in the know, White Claw is Read more...

TiB Seeks Feedback on Uni Sexual Misconduct Policy

Posted 1:44pm Sunday 14th April 2024 by Hanna Varrs

TW: Mention of sexual harm. Thursdays in Black kicked off their year with a sexual harm prevention hui last Wednesday in the Union common room. The hui was organised in collaboration with OUSA Student Support, Te Whare Tāwharau, and the Uni’s Sexual Misconduct Action Response Team Read more...

Landlord Leases Queen St Parking for $35 a Week

Posted 1:41pm Sunday 14th April 2024 by Hugh Askerud

A landlord has been leasing out car parks to a Queen St population battling to find a park. Eight to ten car parks have been made available for lease by the landlord after he realised his tenants only “had about three cars.” What’s shocked students is the price, with one student, Read more...

OUSA Exec Hyde Giveaway Increases Insta Following By 500%

Posted 1:39pm Sunday 14th April 2024 by Hugh Askerud

The OUSA Exec’s Instagram page has popped the fuck off after announcing a Hyde St Party ticket giveaway. All students had to do to enter was follow their Instagram page. OUSA’s President/Overlord Keegan reported to Critic Te Ārohi that, at the time of publishing, the giveaway had Read more...

Feedback Section Skipped at Clubs Meeting to Gather Feedback

Posted 1:34pm Sunday 14th April 2024 by Hugh Askerud

Last Wednesday was the first OUSA-affiliated Clubs meeting of the year, held at the Clubs and Socs building. Critic was told, by Clubs and Socs Rep Emma Jackson, it would be “very informal,” as she also told people to get their fill of chips which she had “bought too many” Read more...

Aquinas Room Security Still An Issue

Posted 1:28pm Sunday 14th April 2024 by Hugh Askerud

Allegations of break-ins at Aquinas have proven to be true, despite the college stating that “locks are up to date.” Critic Te Ārohi has received evidence of residents accessing specific locked rooms with the use of only a student ID. A series of differing lock mechanisms has meant Read more...

The Baaa Karaoke Threatens Thirsty Thursday Supremacy

Posted 11:04am Monday 8th April 2024 by Hugh Askerud

Word on the street is that The Baaa karaoke has ostensibly filled the Thursday night social calendar gap after reporting “lines out the door” since the start of 2024. Supporting the piss-fuelled antics of over 200 breathas a night, The Baaa’s karaoke has allegedly trumped all other Read more...

Bar Behemoths Combine to Support LGBTQIA+ Community

Posted 9:47pm Friday 5th April 2024 by Hugh Askerud

Woof! have teamed up with Emerson’s Brewery to create a t-shirt encouraging people to “be proud of the rainbow thirst trap that you are!” Not only will the t-shirts be drippy as fuck, but they’re also helping fund an initiative to provides stores with printed materials in Read more...

Non-Student Kicked Out of OUSA Sauna

Posted 9:45pm Friday 5th April 2024 by Hanna Varrs

A non-student has been permanently banned from the OUSA Clubs and Socs building following a sauna incident where the patron caused “discomfort for other users within that session,” according to OUSA’s Clubs and Societies Operations Manager Jamie Leckie.  Leckie told Critic Read more...

Salmond Lashes Out Following Food Review

Posted 9:42pm Friday 5th April 2024 by Sam Smith-Soppet

Critic Te Ārohi has once again come to blows with a hall after a full kitchen staff meeting was organised to address the magazine’s now infamous food review. The meeting allegedly saw Critic staff being called out by name and staff shed tears after reading the review in the company of Read more...

New Queen St. Facebook Group Claims to Have No Freshers

Posted 9:40pm Friday 5th April 2024 by Molly Smith-Soppet

The smell of a fresh Dunedin street Facebook group is in the air again with the creation of ‘QUEEN/GEORGE 24’. And wow, it's not got the one thing all of Dunedin claims to despise: fucking freshers (or so they reckon). If you're wondering why you need another platform to buy fake Read more...

Opinion: Nitro Goes Woke?

Posted 9:20pm Friday 5th April 2024 by Nicholas McDermott

In the ever-evolving landscape of alcoholic beverages, one name has stood out for its unapologetic embrace of the wild side: Nitro. Known for having partygoers buzzing with energy, Nitro has carved a niche for itself as the go-to drink for those looking to elevate their night from the mundane to the Read more...

University “Highly Likely” to Cut Some Journal Subscriptions

Posted 9:12pm Friday 5th April 2024 by Monty O’Rielly

Academic journals have been added to the University’s list of casualties after Critic Te Ārohi was told that it was “highly likely” that resources, including some academic journals, would be cut.  A University spokesperson told Critic Te Ārohi that they could be Read more...

Capping Show Reveals ‘Beezie’ Theme

Posted 9:08pm Friday 5th April 2024 by Molly Smith-Soppet

The Capping Show is back for the 130th time (never gets old), brandishing a new theme and a bucket load of sure-to-be-explicit skits – we counted “49 assorted sex, dick and tit jokes” last year. Critic Te Ārohi met up with co-Stage Director Jack Archibald to flesh out the Read more...

Aquinas Has a Bra Thief

Posted 8:58pm Friday 5th April 2024 by Sam Smith-Soppet

News of a bra thief on the loose in Aquinas has students in a panic. Sources say that the thief has been on the loose since the beginning of March.  In the space of a few weeks, several pairs of women’s brassiere and underwear have been reportedly stolen, leading residents to suspect Read more...

Pint Night Glasses Going Extinct

Posted 8:20pm Friday 5th April 2024 by Hugh Askerud

U-Bar’s pint glasses are in short supply, dropping to a stock of only 500 out of the 3000-4000 that were bought for the bar just a few years ago. Weird, I wonder why? Hospitality Services Manager Adrian Lowrey told Critic Te Ārohi that he is “trying to buy some new ones at the Read more...

Uni Football Rising Out of the Pits

Posted 4:28pm Saturday 23rd March 2024 by Hugh Askerud

University football has pulled itself out of a hole after slashing through both men’s and women’s University of Canterbury teams in a pre-season derby. Now the club is talking a big game, with men’s captain Ben Campbell telling Critic Te Ārohi, “Anything short of the top Read more...

Citizens Advice Bureau Launch Youth-Focused Website

Posted 4:25pm Saturday 23rd March 2024 by Gryffin Blockley

Nobody ever seems to be truly prepared for the shit show that is moving out of home, which is why the Citizens Advice Bureau (CAB) have created a tool to help. Launched with the knowledge that there’s no 100-level paper on bullshitting through life, the Bureau announced the ‘Youth Tool Read more...

“Nut Free” Carrington College Serves Nuts

Posted 4:19pm Saturday 23rd March 2024 by Angus Rees

Carrington College found themselves in a tricky situation last week, after a resident allergic to peanuts unknowingly consumed a biscuit containing nuts. The student ate said sweet treat with faith in the fact that Carrington kitchen had become nut free. Yikes.  A student associated with Read more...

Pint Night Pox Strikes!

Posted 3:58pm Saturday 23rd March 2024 by Jodie Evans

Chickenpox’s ‘patient zero’ has come forth after students received an email on Thursday March 14 alerting them to an outbreak of chickenpox (or varicella-zoster) within the student community. The email warned that the virus is “highly infectious” and the “risk of Read more...

OUSA First Quarter Reports

Posted 3:30pm Saturday 23rd March 2024 by Hugh Askerud

Every quarter, each OUSA exec member submits a report to prove they’ve actually been doing the job they were elected to do. The exec then meets to vote on whether each member should be paid their honorarium (like a salary for elected positions, paid only on the basis that members are actually Read more...

A Fond Farewell to L.Hotel

Posted 3:25pm Saturday 23rd March 2024 by Jordan Irvine

On Thursday, March 14th, we all received a gutting post notification (we have ours on at least) from L. Hotel announcing a ‘CYA L8TER NZ Tour’. The tour marks the last chance for fans and haters (kidding, everyone loves them) to say goodbye to the “tax-evading, gluten-free Read more...

‘Let’s talk about Drugs’ Turns To ‘Let’s Talk Shit’

Posted 3:23pm Saturday 23rd March 2024 by Hugh Askerud

Sparks flew at an otherwise underwhelming ‘Let’s talk about Drugs’ event where panellists and the handful of attendees squabbled over who can prevent drug harm the best. At its peak, 15 people were at the event, including its four panellists: Max Phillips (president of Students for Read more...

Otago Regional Councillor Calls Student “Entitled” Over Bus Fares

Posted 3:17pm Saturday 23rd March 2024 by Nina Brown

Last week, the Otago Regional Council (ORC) voted 5-7 not to extend the half price bus fares. In what would normally be a one-liner headline in the TL;DR, Critic sniffed a story when we were forwarded an email chain between law student Grace and Councillor Michael Laws, who attacked her character Read more...

Transfer Station Dumped from North D

Posted 6:04pm Sunday 17th March 2024 by Harriette Boucher

Brace yourself for some trashy news, the local dump is gone. The Dunedin Wickliffe Street Transfer Station (the tip near the Uni) has permanently closed. A shame, since it was both conveniently close to the student area and free for all students to use. Green Island is now the closest dump, setting Read more...

Staunch University Presence for St Patty’s

Posted 5:59pm Sunday 17th March 2024 by Hugh Askerud

The University is set to take a stand on St Patrick’s Day, utilising subbies and a host of others to take an organised security approach during the event.  Subwarden Rachel* told Critic Te Ārohi about the Uni’s planned presence on the day: “They were trying to get the Read more...

New Post-Grad Club Emerges Under Mysterious Circumstances

Posted 5:56pm Sunday 17th March 2024 by Hugh Askerud

The Society for Postgraduate Students (SPS) has mysteriously emerged after the old post-grad club (the Otago Postgraduate Association) was left abandoned late last year. The club was sworn into being by the OUSA exec at a meeting on the 5th of March, passing with all Read more...

Harm Reduction Hui ‘Bout to Drop

Posted 5:52pm Sunday 17th March 2024 by Hugh Askerud

Harm reduction is about to take centre stage with the Deep South Alcohol and Drug Harm Reduction Hui happening Monday and Tuesday this week at the Dunedin Art Gallery. According to the invite, the key aim is to “provide an opportunity to network to build relationships with others who are Read more...

Dunedin Debuts New Fringe

Posted 5:48pm Sunday 17th March 2024 by Jordan Irvine

On Wednesday, March 13th, the Dunedin Fringe Festival officially kicked off at Te Whare o Rukutia, ushering in 11 days of comedy, theatre, art, and the kind of general sophistication which you just need every once in a while.  The night began with MC/comedian/Fringe act Nicola Brown, who Read more...

Free Breakfast is Back to Five Days a Week

Posted 5:46pm Sunday 17th March 2024 by Gryffin Blockley

For those of you bold enough to wake up before 9:30 (we get it, you’re better than us), OUSA Clubs and Socs have recently announced the extension of their renowned free breakfast programme to five days a week. The breakfast is open from 8:30-9:30am. Located in the Evision lounge, all Read more...

Music Company’s Policies Questioned

Posted 5:44pm Sunday 17th March 2024 by Jordan Irvine

Musos and performers alike have rallied together in defiance of ‘Breaking Sound’ after only one of five acts made revenue on a Wednesday night gig at Errick’s due to a questionable policy.  Breaking Sound is an LA-based company that gets promoters to find 4-5 bands to Read more...

“Weird” St Patty’s Escorted Walk Raises Eyebrows

Posted 5:22pm Sunday 17th March 2024 by Nina Brown

Last week, Students for Sensible Drug Policy (SSDP) had planned to host an escorted walking tour of North Dunedin on St Paddy’s Day for attendees of an alcohol and drug harm hui they’re co-hosting. On Thursday, SSDP’s executive announced its cancellation, stating they’d Read more...

Rainbow Story Time Attracts Boomer Hate

Posted 5:19pm Sunday 17th March 2024 by Nina Brown

A Dunedin Pride event went ahead smoothly, despite the presence of several protesters both online and in person. ‘Rainbow Stories with Miss Annie’ was held at the Dunedin Public Library on Saturday, March 9, attracting a significant amount of publicity due to online protests prior to the Read more...

Knife-wielding Vampire Robs Flat

Posted 3:07pm Sunday 10th March 2024 by Sam Smith-Soppet

On March 1st, someone posted photos to the Castle24 Facebook page of a guy sitting on the ground with a bleeding nose, surrounded by police. The post warned others that he’d been on a thieving spree in the neighbourhood before “the cops took him”.  The burglar — who Read more...

Rob Roy Dairy For Sale

Posted 2:35pm Sunday 10th March 2024 by Gryffin Blockley

Rob Roy is for sale. Harcourts listed the historic building on their website on Feb 21, calling it “an icon of the local dairy and ice cream scene.”  Critic Te Ārohi swung by Rob Roy and had a yarn to owner Liz Watson, who was forced awake before 6:30am (after a big night at Read more...

U-Bar Takes the sword to Pint Night line…inequality

Posted 2:22pm Sunday 10th March 2024 by Hugh Askerud

Management at U-Bar is taking a stand against inequality in the Pint Night line. The call for action comes after reports that wait times could be over an hour long late last year. In their battle against lines that haunt students’ nightmares, U-Bar will extend its opening hours on Wednesday Read more...

Opinion: Shit’s Really Going Downhill for Student Journalism

Posted 2:20pm Sunday 10th March 2024 by Monty O’Rielly

The sentiment that journalism is dying is thrown around so often that it seems a tired subject at this point. It’s treated as an inevitable. Last week’s report that Newshub, one of our major media sources in Aotearoa, is being forced to close was surprising but banal. It was merely Read more...

Link Gets a Glow-Up

Posted 1:57pm Sunday 10th March 2024 by Hugh Askerud

The Link is about to look like the Dunedin Farmers Market after getting a glow up which will leave microwave-lovers and OUSA clubs rejoicing. The University is partway through constructing a quasi-kitchen for the area, as well as opening up space for a series of groups to open stalls during Read more...

Student Journalists Restricted (And Then Not) From Parliament

Posted 1:50pm Sunday 10th March 2024 by Hugh Askerud

Student journalists cried for blood across the motu last week after Speaker of the House Gerry Brownlee revoked the Aotearoa Student Press Association’s (ASPA’s) access to Parliament’s Press Gallery. Critic Te Ārohi joined in with the masses (despite not having been aware of Read more...

OUSA’s TikToker Accused of Rigging Giveaway

Posted 1:44pm Sunday 10th March 2024 by Angus Rees

The OUSA marketing team’s TikTok content creator Amber Harrison has been slammed by commenters after giving away a Hybrid Minds double pass to her ex-flatmate. A series of extremely avid Hybrid Minds fans have protested the giveaway, alleging a conspiracy designed by the TikTok-famous Amber. Read more...

Hayward Accuses Critic Food Reviewers of Subterfuge

Posted 1:34pm Sunday 10th March 2024 by Nina Brown

Critic Te Ārohi spent the past couple of weeks reviewing every hall of residence’s food — some with permission, but largely as undercover freshers. It went well for the most part, until News Editor Hugh and Features Editor Iris had their covers blown at Hayward, and Critic was put Read more...

Initiations Meet Their Maker in the Proctor’s Office

Posted 2:35pm Friday 8th March 2024 by Harriette Boucher

What do you get when you cross a duck, a goldfish, and an eel with copious amounts of alcohol and ‘sufficient evidence’? Suspension and community service. 58 students from the University of Otago and three from Te Pūkenga have lived to tell — or rather not tell — the Read more...