Archive

OUSA to Introduce Drug Testing for O-Week

Posted 2:09pm Tuesday 19th February 2019 by Charlie O’Mannin

The Otago University Students’ Association (OUSA) will introduce drug testing for O-Week, the first time this service has been offered in New Zealand outside of music festivals. Debbie Downs, OUSA CEO, said that “It’s all very well for people to say ‘just don’t take Read more...

OUSA Buys Starters Bar

Posted 7:03pm Monday 10th December 2018 by Charlie O’Mannin

The Otago University Students’ Association has bought Starters bar, ending years of OUSA Presidential candidates promising they’ll buy a student bar and then forgetting about it.  OUSA Events Manager Jason Schroeder told Critic that OUSA “wanted to ensure that we did Read more...

Med School Finds Credible Evidence of Cheating

Posted 4:37pm Friday 23rd November 2018 by Charlie O’Mannin

The University of Otago’s Medical School has released the results of third year medical students objective structured clinical examination (OSCE), after holding the results while investigating alleged cheating, despite having have “credible evidence” that cheating took place, Read more...

Med Students Exam Results Withheld After Alleged Cheating

Posted 11:14am Tuesday 20th November 2018 by Charlie O’Mannin

Third year medical students’ exam results are being withheld after alleged cheating on the objective structured clinical examination (OSCE), making some students worried that everyone who sat the exam might be recalled to Dunedin to resit it. In a letter sent out to third year medical Read more...

Critic Wins Big at Student Press Awards

Posted 1:09am Tuesday 23rd October 2018 by Critic

Otago University student magazine Critic Te Arohi was the big winner at the 2018 Aotearoa Student Press Awards this weekend, picking up eight awards and winning the overall award of Best Publication for the second year straight. The awards were judged by some of New Zealand’s most Read more...

RA Speaks Out Against the University

Posted 11:49pm Thursday 4th October 2018 by Staff Reporter

There’s a pretty solid argument to be made for the claim that being an RA is the shittiest job in the world, because RAs are forced to do something worse than death on a daily basis – interact with freshers. Charlene Chainz would surely say something along the lines of, “A noble Read more...

Vice-Chancellor Rejects Safe Drug Testing Initiative

Posted 11:38pm Thursday 4th October 2018 by Charlie O’Mannin

Otago University Vice-Chancellor Harlene Hayne rejected a proposal by Josh Smythe, OUSA Re-Creation Officer, to have pill testing services available during Re:Ori to combat the problem of people obtaining substances that are not what they were sold as, which can have the potential to harm or kill Read more...

Te Roopū Māori Votes to Become Financially Independent from OUSA

Posted 11:35pm Thursday 4th October 2018 by Charlie O’Mannin

Te Roopū Māori, the Māori Students’ Association, has voted at a recent Student General Meeting to separate their finances from OUSA and join the Office of Māori Development, taking their funding directly from the University instead of through OUSA.   At the moment Read more...

Is This the Sexiest OUSA Budget Yet?

Posted 11:31pm Thursday 4th October 2018 by Sinead Gill

Every year your student union has to lobby the University for funding (which is fucked, we know) and then has to decide where that money will go. A lot of the time these budgets look like a copy and paste from the previous year, but this year there are some notable changes that you need to look out Read more...

OPINION: Half of the OUSA Exec Positions Are a Complete Waste of Time

Posted 11:24pm Thursday 4th October 2018 by Joel MacManus

OUSA just went an entire year without the Campaigns Officer running a campaign, despite it being in their job title. The closest thing to a ‘campaign’ was making a weekly exec roundup video on Facebook that fuck all people watched.  We don’t want to entirely dismiss the Read more...

Selwyn 4 Sale

Posted 11:22pm Thursday 4th October 2018 by Sophia Carter Peters

The Anglican Church has placed Selwyn College, one of the four independent colleges left (St Margs, Knox, and Salmond being the others), up for sale. As the oldest college at Otago, being in the possession of the Anglican Church since 1893, this is a historic event. At a recent synod (churchey Read more...

Critic Breaks Down the Second OUSA Referendum

Posted 11:20pm Thursday 4th October 2018 by Charlie O’Mannin

As winter passes to spring and Mole crawls out of his hole in the ground (casual Wind in the Willows reference for all my peeps out there) the student population gradually come out of hibernation and their minds turn irresistibly to a single end. That’s right, the OUSA Referendum is upon us Read more...

Proctor Protest Was the Biggest Otago Student Protest Since the ‘90s

Posted 11:17pm Thursday 4th October 2018 by Tyler West

The 1990s hold a weird place of reverence in campus politics at Otago. Grainy black & white photos of students seizing control of the Clocktower or marching in their thousands alongside the Leith are impossible to surpass. It’s pretty easy when you’re on a march across campus today Read more...

Proctor Offered Resignation After Bong-Taking Revelations

Posted 11:16pm Thursday 4th October 2018 by Joel MacManus

University of Otago Proctor Dave Scott offered to resign after it was revealed that he had removed several bongs from student flats while the residents were away. Vice Chancellor Harlene Hayne rejected his offer and told him she wanted him to stay on in the role.  A university spokesperson Read more...

Consent Workshops in Colleges Fail Due To “Lack of Interest”

Posted 11:02pm Thursday 4th October 2018 by Esme Hall

Te Whare Tāwharau’s consent workshops in colleges did not go ahead this semester. Melanie Beres, Academic Leader for Te Whare Tāwharau, said that although college leadership were supportive of consent workshops, pick-up from students was “very limited”.  OUSA Read more...

Re-Creation Officer Josh Smythe’s Pay Re-duced by 20%

Posted 8:28pm Thursday 4th October 2018 by Charlie O’Mannin

Josh Smythe, OUSA Re-Creation Officer, has been in the centre of a debate around whether honorarium payments should be linked to an Exec Officer’s performance after his pay was cut by 20% at a recent OUSA Exec meeting for not fulfilling his role to the satisfaction of the Read more...

The Best Unpublished OUSA Exec Quotes

Posted 6:54pm Thursday 4th October 2018 by Charlie O’Mannin

Critic has to sit through all the OUSA Exec meetings, which are mostly either horrendously boring or absurdly tense. However, in between there are some ok moments.  So Critic presents: the best quotes from Exec meetings that never made it into Read more...

A Super Duper Extra Special Exclusive Interview with Caitlin Barlow-Groome

Posted 6:49pm Thursday 4th October 2018 by Esme Hall

OUSA President Caitlin Barlow-Groome is leaving our fine institution and plans to move up in the world of student politics and run for NZUSA President.   What do you think your most rewarding moment was as OUSA Pres? Ah that’s tough, do I only get to choose one? Reflecting on Read more...

Editorial: The One Where I Get Self-Indulgent

Posted 6:41pm Thursday 4th October 2018 by Joel MacManus

I’m very sad. This is the last issue of Critic for 2018. I will be moving on next year, appointing a new editor, and leaving this beautiful city and all you wonderful people. That makes me sad.  I love this magazine. I really do, despite all the 4am nights and 60+ hour weeks, I love Read more...

OUSA Demands Proctor and Campus Watch Be Stripped of All Disciplinary Powers For Off-Campus Actions

Posted 1:29am Friday 28th September 2018 by Charlie O’Mannin

After political infighting and threats of no confidence, OUSA came together last week and dramatically voted to both support the Proctor Protest and to demand that all off-campus disciplinary powers of the Proctor and of Campus Watch be removed.  Critic went to print on Thursday, so we Read more...