Archive

By Underpaying RAs, the University is Taking Advantage of its Most Kind-Hearted Students

Posted 8:06pm Thursday 19th April 2018 by Joel MacManus

Editorial: My first year at Otago in a residential college was the worst year of my life. I had left my small school where I had known most of my classmates since childhood, and been transplanted into a hectic mixing pot where I didn’t know anyone and felt like I didn’t fit in. I was Read more...

President’s Pet Fish Murdered in Brutal Homicidal Rampage

Posted 5:47pm Thursday 19th April 2018 by Charlie O’Mannin

OUSA President Caitlin Barlow-Groome has been in mourning this past week after her beloved pet fish were eaten alive by her flatmate’s friend. The gruesome mouthal assault occurred after her flatmate and his friend had been drinking alcohol and perhaps swearing. The friend menacingly plucked Read more...

“Stress and Uncertainty” for Uni Staff Over Job Cuts

Posted 12:45am Friday 13th April 2018 by Esme Hall

The University of Otago has admitted causing “stress and anxiety” after unspecified job cuts were announced, leaving many support staff unsure of their future. The University announced in July last year that 160 equivalent full-time jobs would disappear after the Support Services Read more...

Editorial: Critic Announces Bold New Plan to Make the OUSA Referendum Suck Less

Posted 8:28pm Thursday 12th April 2018 by Joel MacManus

The OUSA Referendum is always boring as shit and no one ever submits any questions. Mostly because it seems like it takes actual time and effort and requires a passion for student politics that most people simply don’t have. The thing is, it’s not that hard to get stuff added to the Read more...

Opinion: Kicking up a Fuss About a Change in Petrol Excise Tax Is a Waste of Time

Posted 8:15pm Thursday 12th April 2018 by Ben Hay-Smith

Anyone who is calling out the current Labour government for lying and turning back on their pre-election promise of “no new taxes” until 2020 is either: An idiot. Arguing semantics to make a minor issue seem larger than it is. When the Labour party promised in the lead-up to Read more...

Wild Dunedin Festival Getting Back to Nature

Posted 8:13pm Thursday 12th April 2018 by Thea Bailie-Bellew

When you first look at the programme for the Wild Dunedin Festival, it’s a little overwhelming to see so many events crammed into only five days. There are express tours to the albatross colony, a wildlife photography exhibition, a penguin kite-building workshop, and documentary viewings, and Read more...

Anonymous Domestic Abuse Support Available on OUSA Website

Posted 8:11pm Thursday 12th April 2018 by Esme Hall

OUSA has introduced access to the Shielded Site Project through its website. Shielded Site is put together by Women’s Refuge New Zealand and is an icon that sits on any website and launches anonymous resources to help those in domestic violence situations. Victims of abuse can access Read more...

OPINION: Postgrads Need to Eat Too

Posted 8:10pm Thursday 12th April 2018 by Chelle Fitzgerald

As a third year student who depends on the student allowance in order to keep my miserable existence in a run-down flat (up a hill no less!), I have been anxiously watching and wondering about Labour’s 2017 election promise to reinstate the postgraduate student allowance. Currently, honours Read more...

BREAKING INVESTIGATIVE REPORT

Posted 8:08pm Thursday 12th April 2018 by Charlie O’Mannin

In recent weeks a sinister Wall has emerged on the bottom floor of the lie-brary, where the computers used to be. The Wall has been painted black, with strange runic symbols daubed in invisible ink, and white plastic, the colour of white, girdles its extremities.  A pair of large double Read more...

Hyde Street to Become Fully Self-Funded After Ticket Price Increase

Posted 8:02pm Thursday 12th April 2018 by Charlie O’Mannin

Ticket prices for the Hyde Street Party are increasing this year as OUSA make the event financially independent. Ticket prices for the average student are going up from $20 to $35, and ticket prices for residents are going from $2 to $5.      OUSA Events Manager Jason Read more...

Students Pay Tribute To Departing Law Dean

Posted 7:59pm Thursday 12th April 2018 by Joel MacManus

Tributes have poured in from current and former Otago University Law Students following Mark Henaghan stepping down as Dean of the Otago Faculty of Law. A Facebook group, “Seeking Mark Henaghan Tributes” was created on April 6 by former students Andrew Row and Harriet Enright, and Read more...

OUSA No Longer Offering Free Flu Jabs

Posted 8:48pm Thursday 5th April 2018 by Thea Bailie-Bellew

OUSA has decided not to give out free flu shots to students this year. As if the fresher flu wasn’t bad enough, now we don’t even have the chance to escape it. Back in 2016, OUSA ran a pilot scheme of 150 free flu vaccinations in order to gauge interest prior to launching a bigger Read more...

OPINION: How Gay Is Gay Enough?

Posted 8:46pm Thursday 5th April 2018 by Sinead Gill

I’m not sure how proud I feel during Pride Week. Let me cover my ass real quick. I’m not saying I’m not proud of the events on offer, or of the people who work tirelessly to put them on. Pride Week 2018 looks cool. I’m just saying that there are still internal conflicts in Read more...

OUSA Battle of the Bands Poster “Culturally Insensitive”

Posted 8:44pm Thursday 5th April 2018 by Joel MacManus

A promotional billboard for the OUSA Battle of the Bands event has been pulled after it sparked controversy for its use of a hodgepodge of cultural symbolism for a seemingly unrelated event. The image shows a person in some sort of traditional headdress from an unspecified South American culture, Read more...

Pride Week is back, bitches!

Posted 8:42pm Thursday 5th April 2018 by Sinead Gill

A cause for celebration! Pride Week is back after its three-year hiatus. And it looks to be a cracker week, boasting an impressive line-up of 17 events over nine days. If you’re worried about missing out on cool stuff because of classes, don’t fear! Some of their events are running Read more...

Critic Offers to Purchase Vic Uni Student Mag Salient for $1500 and a Playstation 2

Posted 8:41pm Thursday 5th April 2018 by Joel MacManus

A recent fire sale at Victoria’s Salient Magazine isn’t solving the real problem, according to Waikato and Otago student magazine editors. Salient Magazine is facing a funding crisis recently after receiving $10,000 less than originally anticipated from Victoria University of Read more...

No Third Gender Option for Otago University Enrolment

Posted 8:39pm Thursday 5th April 2018 by Joel MacManus

There is no gender option other than male or female on University of Otago enrolment forms, something critics say is alienating potential transgender or intersex students. One student, who was interested in enrolling but found there were no options which accurately reflected their gender Read more...

No Non-Binary People Allowed in OUSA Women’s Room

Posted 8:38pm Thursday 5th April 2018 by Esme Hall

OUSA has rejected a request to allow non-binary women to use the OUSA Women’s Room. OUSA’s policy says the Women’s Room in the Union Building is a safe space for women to feel “welcome and free from harassment of any kind”. After a suggestion from Otago Read more...

OUSA Battle of the Bands poster ‘Culturally Insensitive’

Posted 5:16pm Tuesday 27th March 2018 by Joel MacManus

A promotional billboard for the OUSA Battle of the Bands event will be pulled after it sparked controversy for its use of a hodgepodge of cultural symbolism for a seemingly unrelated event.   The image show a person in some sort of traditional headdress from an unspecified South American Read more...

Why I Hope Joseph Parker Loses

Posted 11:21pm Thursday 22nd March 2018 by Charlie Hantler

On April 1 this year, plenty of people will be made to look like fools all over the world, but none more so than the big kiwi, Joseph Parker. He’s almost certainly going to lose to a far better opponent, and I am thrilled about that. Not because of Joseph himself, but because of his piece of Read more...