Archive
Skilled Students Snag Blues and Golds
Posted 4:05pm Monday 13th October 2025 by Gryffin Blockley
The annual Blues and Golds awards were held last Thursday to celebrate cultural and sporting achievements of Otago tauira. The yearly ceremony is a collaboration between the University and OUSA, proving just how well some students are able to lock in. In total, 56 individuals or clubs got an award. Read more...
Job-Seeking Students Say “Bullshit” to Luxon’s Employment Claims
Posted 3:10pm Monday 13th October 2025 by Nina Brown
Prime Minister Chris Luxon and Minister for Social Development Louise Upston announced last week that the Government will be imposing further restrictions for Jobseeker applicants. The news sparked an influx of national headlines speculating whether Luxon’s “tough love” approach Read more...
OUSA Quarter 3 Wrapped: Part II
Posted 3:04pm Monday 13th October 2025 by Gryffin Blockley
At last week’s Exec meeting, the last half of the quarter three reports were approved. Here’s what those Exec members got up to to get paid for their honorarium (i.e., top-up their StudyLink). It was a drama-filled quarter for many, but here’s what the Exec were doing when Critic Read more...
A Letter from Grant Robertson
Posted 2:32pm Monday 13th October 2025 by Grant Robertson
As we head to the end of the year, I wanted to wish you all good luck with exams, and hopefully a restful summer before as many as possible of you return in 2026. It has been a difficult year for universities in Aotearoa. The year began with us still reeling from the government’s Read more...
Promposals Sweep North D
Posted 2:26pm Monday 13th October 2025 by Liberty Murray
A group of exchange students swapped their jorts and scuffs for black tie attire on Saturday, October 4th to bring American-style proms to Ōtepoti. Complete with elaborate promposals, the classic awkward photos, and highly sought after awards, organisers Buck and Murray described the Read more...
Critical Tribune: STI Rates Plummet in North D as Castle Clears Out for Exams
Posted 2:24pm Monday 13th October 2025 by Mary Fartin Benz
Reports from frightened freshers have highlighted the concerning increase in Butter hats and Birks across Central Library’s floors. “I didn’t know they knew where campus was!” said Tim, a first-year and future breatha from Studholme, telling Critical Tribune he’s Read more...
Critical Tribune: Fresher Gets Quick Lesson In Tenancy Law After Falling Out With Friend Group They Signed With In January
Posted 10:59pm Saturday 4th October 2025 by Anna Marrs
Critical Tribune has received several news tips over the past couple of weeks complaining about the “absolute state” of tenancy law. Turns out, signing a contract with your mates halfway through first sem isn’t a committed display of the fact you’ll love each other forever, Read more...
Polytech Proposes Switch To Telehealth Student Health Services
Posted 10:20pm Saturday 4th October 2025 by Hanna Varrs
On the 26th of September, the Otago Polytech advised kaimahi, ākonga, the Otago Polytech Students Association, stakeholders, and the media (except for Critic – we found out through a student) of a proposal to move to a telehealth set up for their student health provision for the 2026 Read more...
OUSA Quarter 3 Wrapped: Part I
Posted 10:16pm Saturday 4th October 2025 by Gryffin Blockley
In the blink of an eye, quarter three wrapped up at OUSA at the end of August. With everything from scandals to elections dominating headlines, the Exec has still been hard at work serving students’ interests. While its impossible to cover everything, here’s a taster of what the Exec has Read more...
“Business As Usual” OUSA Budget Dropped
Posted 10:10pm Saturday 4th October 2025 by Nina Brown
OUSA’s budget for 2026 has dropped. You might read “budget” and feel your eyes glaze over. But just as your budget is crucial to stretching StudyLink payments across keeping a roof over your head, avoiding scurvy, and storing away a little extra for barista-made treats or a box on Read more...
Fitzy’s DJ Decks and a Dream
Posted 10:08pm Saturday 4th October 2025 by Stella Weston
As exam season looms, OUSA hosted their Future DJ Competition to refocus on what's really important to students: loud sounds in a club. Hosted in collaboration with George FM and Catacombs, the event boasted an impressive array of prizes intended to help kickstart DJ careers, from festival sets Read more...
‘Dental for All’ Roadshow Hits Ōtepoti
Posted 10:05pm Saturday 4th October 2025 by Molly Smith-Soppet
The Dental for All campaign has kicked off with a nationwide roadshow, stopping in towns and cities all across the motu to push for one thing: free, universal dental care. Last Rāhina, the group cruised into Ōtepoti to run a forum at the OUSA Clubs and Socs building. Guest panelists Read more...
Ammonita Have Brought the Noise
Posted 10:00pm Saturday 4th October 2025 by Gryffin Blockley
OUSA’s annual band competition, Bring the Noise, wrapped up its seventh iteration at U-Bar last week. Presented by Radio One, the competition involved two heats and a final where Ōtepoti bands battled head-to-head, playing only original songs. Last Wednesday, Ammonita took out the title Read more...
Heavy Breathers Continue to Run (Away From Critic)
Posted 12:47am Monday 29th September 2025 by Tilly Rumball-Smith
The Heavy Breathers completed the Emerson’s Dunedin Marathon on the 14th of September. A marathon is a long way. Pretty tiring stuff. So tiring that they couldn’t be fucked being interviewed about it for this article. Fair enough. The Heavy Breathers began in 2023: 33 boys who raised Read more...
POLSA Debate Team Says Scarfie Culture is Out
Posted 12:17am Monday 29th September 2025 by Nina Brown
Should Scarfie culture be officially recognised as intangible cultural heritage? Three Greens politicians, Mickey Treadwell, Francisco Hernandez and Rosie Finnie, think yes. But in a debate hosted by the Otago Politics Students Association (POLSA) at the Business School on Friday September 19, three Read more...
IVY Confused for ‘SoundCloud Rapper’
Posted 11:13pm Sunday 28th September 2025 by Gryffin Blockley
Fresh off the heels of their debut album ‘Hush’, Ōtepoti five-piece IVY encountered a bump in the road during their album promotion. Early on the 20th of September, just eight days after the album drop, a new single appeared on their Spotify profile: DIE ALONE. To the dismay of Read more...
Housing For All: Yarns with Tamatha Paul and Co.
Posted 11:10pm Sunday 28th September 2025 by Via Hooks
It’s the time of year when flatting is on the mind. Whether you’re sorting out next year's lease, continually tidying the communal spaces ahead of flat viewings, or frantically trying to assemble the perfect group to live – it’s top of the to-do list for many tauira. It Read more...
Critical Tribune: University declares state of emergency as brainrot spreads across campus
Posted 11:01pm Sunday 28th September 2025 by Gear Sloppit
The University of Ota-goon has announced an Official State of Emergency after a “catastrophic outbreak” of brainrot left hundreds of students unable to form original sentences, instead communicating exclusively through TikTok sounds and vintage Tumblr quotes. In a press conference Read more...
OUSA Made Breatha Again
Posted 3:08pm Friday 26th September 2025 by Gryffin Blockley
With the highest voter turnout in years, OUSA’s 2026 Executive Election concluded last Thursday. Just over 2300 votes were cast in a chaotic campaign period that saw a barrage of social media posts, chalking, and posters around campus. After snagging 52.45% of the votes, Daniel Leamy is your Read more...
Law’s (Objectively) Hardest 200-Level Paper Goes Open Book
Posted 6:35pm Sunday 21st September 2025 by Gabe Jonson
In second-year Law, students are put through the wringer with four full-year papers: Criminal Law, Law of Contract, Property Law, and Public Law. Usually, the exams are closed-book, but for 2025 LAWS203 (Property Law) is now set to be an open-book exam. The Faculty of Law cites the change Read more...
Thursdays in Black Hosts ‘What I Was Wearing’ Exhibit
Posted 5:59pm Sunday 21st September 2025 by Hanna Varrs
Content Warning: Sexual violence, child sexual abuse, rape, intimate partner violence Following their recent success in the second annual Sex Quiz fundraiser, the Thursdays in Black exec held the What I Was Wearing exhibit in the Main Common Room last week between Wednesday and Read more...
Rail Jam: Bringing the Ski Slope and the Stoke onto Campus
Posted 5:57pm Sunday 21st September 2025 by Jonathan McCabe
The forecasts were true. It was a snowy day on Union lawn last Thursday. Yeehaw! Twenty two tonnes of snow landed on Union Lawn on Thursday the 18th of September ready for punters to carve some fresh lines in the midst of a bustling campus. There was no better chance for ski bums to prove why Read more...
Alumni Fly From Afar to Settle 20-Year-Old Boozy Bet
Posted 5:55pm Sunday 21st September 2025 by Nina Brown
Born out of a drunken argument over who was slower, Otago alumni Blake Plummer and Jolyon Swinburn agreed to race in a marathon at age 40. The boys cracked open a cold one as they told Critic Te Ārohi the story of a 20-year-old bet that brought them back to their alma mater for the Read more...
Castle Packs out for Pizza Eating Comp
Posted 5:50pm Sunday 21st September 2025 by Zoe Eckhoff
Suburbia has extended their dominance over students’ Saturday nights into the following day by hosting a Biggies Pizza (Sub’s day-time persona) eating competition on Sunday, September 13th. Hosted at the infamous Courtyard flat, roughly 21 nominees from various Castle St flats attempted Read more...
Fiery Exec Campaigns “Healthy Democracy”
Posted 9:27pm Thursday 18th September 2025 by Nina Brown
It’s election season for the OUSA Executive. With 20 candidates vying for a position in 2026, three lunch-time forums were held last week to provide the opportunity for candidates to share their policies. Knowing most students don’t have the capacity to sit through six hours of Read more...
Critical Tribune: EMERGENCY: Snow Forecast for Union Lawn Microclimate as 36 Tonnes of Snow Scheduled to Arrive this Thursday
Posted 1:34pm Monday 15th September 2025 by Petra Barfy
Panic sweeps through the University of Otago campus this week after meteorologists issued an unprecedented forecast predicting “localized blizzard conditions” for Union Lawn, where a sudden 36-tonne snowfall is expected to bury the area on September 18. The snowstorm, strangely absent Read more...
100 Dancers Storm the TCol Stage
Posted 1:16pm Monday 15th September 2025 by Molly Smith-Soppet
Otago Dance Association (ODA) are tumbling headfirst down the rabbit hole this month with the crowning jewel of the club: their annual showcase. Mark your calendars for the 26th and 27th of September when 108(ish) students will take the stage. This year, the performance is a stage-adaptation of Read more...
Otago’s Campus Celebrates 50 Years of Te Wiki o Te Reo Māori
Posted 1:09pm Monday 15th September 2025 by Gryffin Blockley
Te Wiki o Te Reo Māori has reached its golden jubilee, celebrating 50 years of advocating for Aotearoa’s native language. This year's byline is ‘ake ake ake’ – a forever language. It’s a huge occasion for pride and community-building for many on the University Read more...
Background Checking Wanna-be Mayors
Posted 1:02pm Monday 15th September 2025 by Nina Brown
If you’ve gone on a cruise out of town lately, you’ll have clocked the shocking array of roadside billboards begging for that sweet democratic #1 ranking. Last week, OUSA hosted the candidates for the upcoming local body elections in a series of forums, held in the Main Common Room at Read more...
Student Pen Becomes Magical Sword
Posted 12:22pm Monday 15th September 2025 by Harry Almey
Ah, Otago students, we know how it is. You're forever time poor; all those books, never enough time to actually read them. So, you can imagine Critic Te Ārohi’s surprise when we heard the cry: one of Otago's own is becoming an author! Here are the trials and tribulations it takes Read more...
Amnesty Youth Debuts Night Lecture Series
Posted 12:14pm Monday 15th September 2025 by Gryffin Blockley
In only their second year of existence, Amnesty Youth Otago (AYO) have rapidly become one of OUSA’s most on-to-it clubs. Fresh off the heels of winning Team of the Year at the recent Amnesty Dove Awards, the team is channeling their efforts into a new initiative: a lecture series. And as an Read more...
Execrable: Refusals to Resign & Letters Abound
Posted 6:44pm Sunday 7th September 2025 by Hanna Varrs
Push For Jett Groshinski’s Resignation In bombshell news, Political Representative Jett Groshinski was asked to resign by two-thirds of the OUSA Executive at their most recent meeting on Thursday, August 28th. The Exec told Critic Te Ārohi that the decision was “not made Read more...
Critical Tribune: Breather attends a lecture in person and discovers he really likes it
Posted 5:20pm Sunday 7th September 2025 by Matt Hilda
“I didn’t really know what the bros were up to during the day,” Zack admitted. “They were always off to go see David, or Burns. Even when they said they were at Castle 2, I went over to the flat on Leith and the boys just told me to fuck off. I felt a bit left Read more...
Episode II: Return of the Spud
Posted 5:12pm Sunday 7th September 2025 by Harry Almey
It's been an eventful time for the Polytech’s potato-preneur Emily Gilbert. In the span of a month, she’s reached student stardom with her stupendous spud scoop – from an experimental culinary assignment to Patti’s and Cream sales and a national TV stint. Forget Leo and Read more...
Regional Council Candidates Tempt Students with ‘A Better Deal’
Posted 5:00pm Sunday 7th September 2025 by Gryffin Blockley
The Otago Regional Council (ORC) looks after things like buses and Otago’s natural environment – and a group of candidates are announcing a ‘Better Deal for Students’. They reckon some of these ideas may be lucrative for student voters in the upcoming Local Government Read more...
Law Revue Reviewed: It Didn’t Suck
Posted 4:55pm Sunday 7th September 2025 by Harry Almey, Zoe Eckhoff & Ella Grayson
From skits to show, Law Revue 2025 did not overstay its welcome (take hints, Med Revue) in showcasing some of the boldest, talented people from the law community – wrapped in a sexy one-and-a-half-hour-long session so we could all get back to our teddy bears on time. The love child of students Read more...
OUSA President Nearly Lived in a Cage for a Week
Posted 4:49pm Sunday 7th September 2025 by Gryffin Blockley
If you ever wanted to watch the OUSA President live in a literal cage for a week, unfortunately your dreams have been locked away. From the 25th to the 29th of August, OUSA President Liam White had planned to live in a cage to raise awareness of poor student housing. Critic Te Ārohi has a scoop Read more...
Political Rep Jett Groshinski Formally Asked To Resign By Executive
Posted 4:58pm Friday 29th August 2025 by Hanna Varrs
The Otago University Students’ Association (OUSA) Executive has requested the resignation of Political Representative, Jett Groshinski, following an internal review of conduct and responsibilities at this week’s Executive meeting on the 28th of August. The OUSA Executive told Critic in a Read more...
Critical Tribune: The Most Insufferable Person You Know Becomes LinkedIn Influencer
Posted 10:29pm Sunday 24th August 2025 by Anderson Coomer
The sound of students audibly sighing across Dunedin last week was recorded as a magnitude of 1.9. This disturbance comes after the most insufferable person you know is now a LinkedIn influencer. Sora Noying, a fifth-year law and politics student, who is more commonly known amongst acquaintances as Read more...
Student Health Continues to Offer Same-Day Appointments Despite Wait-Time Pressures
Posted 10:21pm Sunday 24th August 2025 by Tilly Rumball-Smith
Student Health has the massive job of providing healthcare to eighteen thousand students at Otago University. If you don’t have a GP down in Dunedin (practically all of us) you’re going to Student Health for every cough, UTI, Covid test, and sick note. For mental health matters, however, Read more...
BDS is Back: Students Overwhelmingly Endorse Posture at SGM
Posted 10:18pm Sunday 24th August 2025 by Nina Brown
It was standing room only in the Main Common Room (MCR) last Thursday as a large group of students met to vote on a motion on whether OUSA should re-adopt their Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) posture. The student general meeting (SGM) was called by Political Representative Jett Groshinski and Read more...
Ending Bad Care for Endometriosis
Posted 10:12pm Sunday 24th August 2025 by Stella Weston
A petition has been launched to review and re-write the Government’s national endometriosis guidelines. The brains behind the petition, Endo Warriors Aotearoa, are a grassroots charity working to support those affected by endometriosis. Second-year Law and Politics student Jomana Moharram, who Read more...
First Came the Floods, Then Came the Asbestos
Posted 10:08pm Sunday 24th August 2025 by Zoe Eckhoff
Things have gone from bad to worse for residents of Carrington College’s Dawson House. In July, flooding forced them to relocate to Toroa. Asbestos discovered under soggy tiles made them stay there. Adorning a metaphoric hazmat suit, Critic stepped in to assess the situation. A few Read more...
BDS is Back: Students Overwhelmingly Endorse Posture at SGM
Posted 7:03pm Thursday 21st August 2025 by Nina Brown
It was standing room only in the Main Common Room (MCR) last Thursday as a large group of students met to vote on a motion on whether OUSA should re-adopt their Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) posture. The student general meeting (SGM) was called by Political Representative Jett Groshinski and Read more...
Sustainability Students’ Stellar Semester
Posted 11:33pm Sunday 17th August 2025 by Gryffin Blockley
Bikes, bagels, and bargains. The team behind Toitū te Taiao Sustainability Office is continuing a stellar line up of events this year. Toitū te Taiao are the team that runs sustainability initiatives around campus such as Te Oraka, the sustainability neighborhood, and diversion days. Read more...
Execrable: Betrayal from the Inside?
Posted 11:30pm Sunday 17th August 2025 by Gryffin Blockley
A special general meeting (SGM) has been called with a motion for OUSA to re-adopt BDS. The culprit? One of OUSA’s own: Political Representative Jett Groshinski. The SGM will take place this Thursday, August 21st, at 1pm in the Main Common Room. An SGM is an invitation for the student Read more...
Students Chalk Up Change to Lecture Recordings
Posted 11:27pm Sunday 17th August 2025 by Harry Almey
To fight for their proposed lecture recording policy, the OUSA Exec team, chalk in hand, marched outside to do a deadly battle. Despite the bitter cold and rainclouds forming, concrete outside the OUSA offices was transformed into a sea of chalked messages – before immediately getting washed Read more...
A Tale of Twin, Mouldy Cities
Posted 11:25pm Sunday 17th August 2025 by Gryffin Blockley
Dunedin may be the undisputed student city of Aotearoa, but Wellington is not far behind. Both cities are also known for being cold and miserable at times, and especially known for their shit flats. Critic Te Ārohi took a look at what your local council will do for you when shit hits the fan in Read more...
Freshers Plagued by Even More Diseases than Usual
Posted 11:20pm Sunday 17th August 2025 by Imogen Perry
With Semester 2 well underway, the residential colleges have allegedly been transformed into a cesspit of unknown bacteria, threatening the social lives of freshers left, right, and centre. Yet the unspoken question lies unanswered – are you gonna get Covid, strep or the flu by accidentally Read more...
Student Activists Help Shutter ANZ
Posted 11:18pm Sunday 17th August 2025 by Tilly Rumball-Smith
Heads up, there’s plans to demolish Nelson! Ridiculous, right? Well, it’s not far from the truth – and 31 protestors blockaded ANZ across the motu on the 8th of August to demonstrate their disapproval. Bathurst Resources Ltd, Aotearoa’s biggest mining company, has a Fast Read more...
Execrable: Betrayal from the Inside?
Posted 10:20pm Thursday 14th August 2025 by Gryffin Blockley
A special general meeting (SGM) has been called with a motion for OUSA to re-adopt BDS. The culprit? One of OUSA’s own: Political Representative Jett Groshinski. The SGM will take place on Thursday, August 21st, at 1pm in the Main Common Room. An SGM is an invitation for the Read more...
The Diagnosis of Med Revue
Posted 10:19pm Sunday 10th August 2025 by Harry Almey
Despite being cancelled for a certain student-theatre review earlier in the year, Critic Te Ārohi is back on its feet for Med Revue. Ever gluttons for punishment, here’s what three hours of enduring med-student humour is like (in the name of charity, of course). Med Revue’s Read more...
Potato Milk Review: Sold Nowhere Else in NZ
Posted 9:41pm Sunday 10th August 2025 by Harry Almey
Society loves potatoes for their versatility: Deep-fried, mashed or made into vodka. But one brave Polytechnic tauira, Emily Gilbert, has invented ‘Spud Milk’ – a NZ first. "Another icky health food!" you blurt out loud while reading this review. "Quality Read more...
Law Students Swap Firms for Fundraisers
Posted 9:38pm Sunday 10th August 2025 by Gryffin Blockley
A group of Law tauira have put together a roster of fundraising events for Ōtepoti Whānau Refuge. The first of a stacked five-piece line up is a designer clothes sale on the 16th of August, featuring brand new clothes from many iconic labels at up to half price. Critic Te Read more...
BDS Binned: OUSA Executive Fronts Up to Widespread Criticism
Posted 9:29pm Sunday 10th August 2025 by Gryffin Blockley, Hanna Varrs & Nina Brown
News of the OUSA Exec abandoning their Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) posture has triggered an outpouring of criticism from the student community and beyond. The decision went against the 53% of 1,766 students (8.83% of 20,000 students) who voted “yes” to maintaining the policy Read more...
The Goon Show has Landed in Dunedin
Posted 9:24pm Sunday 10th August 2025 by Molly Smith-Soppet
A cult-classic British radio comedy from the 1950s is getting a revival at the most unlikely of places, Allen Hall Lunchtime Theatre. If you're feeling emotionally burnt out by unfair grades or the political drama flooding your TikTok feed, then this might just be your reprieve. The Goon Show is Read more...
BDS Binned: OUSA Executive Fronts Up to Widespread Criticism
Posted 12:35pm Friday 8th August 2025 by Nina Brown, Hanna Varrs & Gryffin Blockley
News of the OUSA Exec abandoning their Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) posture has triggered an outpouring of criticism from the student community and beyond. The decision went against the 53% of 1,766 students (8.83% of 20,000 students) who voted “yes” to maintaining the policy Read more...
Are Vapes Exploding In Our Mouths? Coalition Says “Nuh Uh”
Posted 8:29pm Sunday 3rd August 2025 by Zoe Eckhoff
In a massive win for the nicotine-addicted, vaping restrictions introduced by the previous Labour government have been rolled back by the current coalition government, just over a month since they kicked in. Mason Corporation, who own the vape shop Shosha, challenged the court to lift the ban on Read more...
Nurses Strike Against “Detrimental To Patient” Working Conditions
Posted 8:27pm Sunday 3rd August 2025 by Via Hooks
Last Wednesday, Dunedin nurses joined a national 24-hour strike to protest dangerously low staffing in hospitals across the motu. Marching from the Octagon, a large crowd had gathered on the Museum Reserve by noon, expressing their dissatisfaction with the current Government and Te Whatu Ora’s Read more...
Chaos on the Commute
Posted 8:25pm Sunday 3rd August 2025 by Liberty Murray
In case actually showing up to your morning lectures was bad enough, a recent streak of icy mornings have left Otago tauira shaken and embarrassed. Students were falling like dominoes and cars were slipping and sliding around the roads, much to the enjoyment of wise students who didn’t leave Read more...
Execrable: BDS Abandoned, NZUSA Withdrawal & Protests Planned
Posted 8:23pm Sunday 3rd August 2025 by Nina Brown, Hanna Varrs & Gryffin Blockley
The OUSA Exec held Critic hostage for two hours at their meeting last Thursday (we outlasted Liam, even). In what could only be described as a “robust” meeting (I can’t stop) the agenda had three big ticket items: finally talking about the referendum results, NZUSA withdrawal, and Read more...
Shit Times in Studentville with Chlöe Swarbrick
Posted 8:20pm Sunday 3rd August 2025 by Nina Brown
Behind the mirage of constant socialisation and great discounts, the reality of student life is that it’s a bit shit sometimes. When Green Party Co-Leader Chlöe Swarbrick was in town for the launch of the Green’s Ōtepoti campaign in the upcoming local body elections, she found Read more...
Trip Report: 98 Years of OUTC’s Bush Ball
Posted 8:16pm Sunday 3rd August 2025 by Jonathan McCabe
What happens in the bush stays in the bush. The Otago University Tramping Club (OUTC) has built up an illusive reputation over its storied history of people full-sending it in the woods. Bush Ball is arguably the most famous (and feral) of their many adventures across the motu each year. Read more...
Students Caress Mountain to Win Free Stuff
Posted 5:51pm Saturday 26th July 2025 by Stella Weston
With over $10k worth of prizes to be won, Radio One’s Re:Ori’ Marathon Mountain event was a huge success, with the winner managing to hold onto a paper mache mountain for over seven hours. The mountain was reportedly the only thing in North D that students had a tighter grip on than Read more...
Uni SCRAMBLES to Find POPH192 Tutors
Posted 5:43pm Saturday 26th July 2025 by Molly Smith-Soppet
Health Sciences First Year (HSFY) students are panicking – and it's not about if they will get into Med for a change. This time, it’s because there are no tutors to help them get the grades. St Marg’s, Arana, Hayward and 192 Castle College were all without POPH192 tutors at the Read more...
Minion Rave Reviewed: Where were all the babois?
Posted 5:39pm Saturday 26th July 2025 by Hanna Varrs, Gryffin Blockley and Maddy Barnes
OUSA was reaching for the moon for the Friday of Re-O, hosting a Minion-themed boiler room at U-Bar. Critic Te Ārohi was more than happy to go bananas and review the event – only to be greeted by a desolate dance floor. There were like 20 people there. Of the OUSA-run Re-Ori Read more...
Carrington Flood Refugees Flee to Toroa
Posted 5:36pm Saturday 26th July 2025 by Hugh Askerud
Carrington residents of Dawson House spent last week in Toroa College after a flooding incident which saw two floors of the building seeped in sewage. The University confirmed to Critic that the culprit flushed paper towels down a toilet, soiling fourteen freshers’ rooms. In other news, Toroa Read more...
Freshers Unhappy with Halls’ New Allergen Management
Posted 5:34pm Saturday 26th July 2025 by Ali G.
Following an allergen mishap at Te Rangihīroa, the Ministry of Primary Industries (MPI) has launched an investigation into halls’ food allergen management procedures. All colleges have now rejigged their allergen management systems, which some say are for the better, and others say for Read more...
Campus Endures 269 Days of Cheesing
Posted 5:13pm Saturday 19th July 2025 by Harry Almey
It was the 11th of October 2024. The Uni’s Te Korokoro O Te Tūī performing arts studio sat basking in the spring sunshine. But on this mundane Friday at 4:52pm, a slice of cheese was photographed on a window, just above the entrance. Almost a year later, the cheese slice that had Read more...
OUSA Exec Gives Birth to Student Charter
Posted 4:53pm Saturday 19th July 2025 by Gryffin Blockley
OUSA’s proposed Student Charter was finally approved at last week’s Exec meeting, birthing it into the wonderful world of policy and bureaucracy. The charter outlines key issues and priorities that students are facing in Dunedin – unfortunately lowering the price of butter did not Read more...
The Rise and Fall of the Green Solo
Posted 4:48pm Saturday 19th July 2025 by Zoe Eckhoff
Ah the kakariki takitahi, a force that once breathed minty nicotine into the lungs of breathas and sheathas alike. But no more, for its reign hath come to a halt. Before the eve of June 17th there was a time when you couldn’t walk down George Street on a Saturday night without seeing the Read more...
Breaking News: You Might Be on Meth and Not Even Know It
Posted 4:47pm Saturday 19th July 2025 by Molly Smith-Soppet
If you felt like O-Week hit harder this year, it wasn't just the hangxiety talking. We felt the same, so we’ve done it again; we hit up the Police to analyse everyone’s piss, and fuck you had a good O-Week! There was a dramatic surge in MDMA consumption across Dunedin during February Read more...
Critical Tribune: University of Otago Reveals Rainbet Sponsorship
Posted 4:18pm Saturday 19th July 2025 by Anderson Coomer
A University of Otago spokesperson, operating under the Instagram handle UoOslaps, has revealed a controversial new partnership with offshore gambling platform Rainbet. In an Instagram Reel featuring a desk littered with paperwork, a leaked law exam, and printouts of boomer complaints from Read more...
Critic Census Reveals Students’ Opinion on Uni’s Institutionally Neutral Stance
Posted 2:44pm Monday 14th July 2025 by Nina Brown
The University issued a statement on institutional neutrality on May 8th in response to mounting pressure to have a political stance on the genocide in Palestine. Shortly afterward, Critic Te Ārohi ran its fifth annual census, published on May 13th, including the question: “Do you think Read more...
Students Swarm the Beehive: Youth Parliament Debriefed
Posted 1:01pm Monday 14th July 2025 by Jonathan McCabe
Youth Parliament provides a socially acceptable setting for rangatahi to yell at a room full of important people. The biggest news story to come from Youth Parliament were the accusations of censoring the youth voice, levied against the Ministry of Youth Development (MYD). Critic Te Ārohi had a Read more...
(OUSA) Greening Out: Second Quarter Reports Summarised
Posted 12:59pm Monday 14th July 2025 by Gryffin Blockley
Two quarters (for non math majors: half) of a year in, it’s been hectic for the OUSA Executive. They’ve been no strangers to Critic Te Ārohi’s headlines, with a referendum, BDS postures and questions of Political Rep Jett’s conflict of interest making appearances – Read more...
Law Exam Leak Labelled “Crippling”
Posted 12:51pm Monday 14th July 2025 by Sam Smith-Soppet
On the morning of Friday June 6, Law students had been gearing up for one of their biggest exams of Semester One, LAWS407 Company Law. A couple of hours before the exam, however, they received an email from the University advising that following a breach of academic conduct, they’d been forced Read more...
Campus Banksy Calls Out ‘Old Boys' Club’ Exec
Posted 12:46pm Tuesday 17th June 2025 by Nina Brown
In the wake of news that Political Rep Jett Groshinski will be running for council and continuing in his role despite a conflict of interest, anti-OUSA Exec propaganda posters have popped up on notice boards around campus calling for Jett to resign. As of writing, Jett tells Critic he has no plans Read more...
Council-Gunning Political Rep’s Conflict of Interest
Posted 3:50pm Tuesday 3rd June 2025 by Nina Brown
With a cheesy ODT photoshoot and a big wide grin, on Wednesday, May 21st OUSA’s Political Representative Jett Groshinski announced his Labour-endorsed bid to stand for Local Body Elections (LBE). Over the course of two (rather tense) Exec meetings, they have collectively decided on a conflict Read more...
Online Gambling Platform Illegally Promotes Through Students
Posted 5:54pm Sunday 25th May 2025 by Sam Smith-Soppet
Online gambling monolith, Rainbet, has come into the spotlight for their advertising strategy in New Zealand, dishing out the cash for Gen Z influencers to promote gambling to their peers – some right here in Dunedin. The catch: it’s not exactly legal. Rainbet has been using student Read more...
Campus Creeps (and what to do about them)
Posted 5:52pm Sunday 25th May 2025 by Gryffin Blockley
A student has approached Critic Te Ārohi with an uncomfortable situation that took place in the Staff Club café, involving a “creepy” encounter with an older man who could not take a hint. Anita* originally reached out to Critic with a letter to the Editor after an Read more...
Rachel Brooking’s Stance for Students
Posted 5:29pm Sunday 25th May 2025 by Hanna Varrs
Politics are at the forefront of people’s minds in a local body election year – most of all your local politicians, such as Dunedin MP Rachel Brooking. For many students, Dunedin living is a temporary situation, nestled in North D for three years before jetting back to Te Read more...
The Great Cup Snatch: Takeaway Cups Gone from Campus Cafés
Posted 5:23pm Sunday 25th May 2025 by Jonathan McCabe
Uni-owned cafés were rocked by a surprise email on the 7th of May, being served with the ice-cold news that iced drinks could no longer be served in biodegradable plastic takeaway cups. In a huge loss for people who actually go to class, students will no longer be able to carry around their Read more...
Breaking In, Throwing Up
Posted 5:21pm Sunday 25th May 2025 by Molly Smith-Soppet
A Roslyn flat got more than they bargained for on a quiet Friday night when a drunk student broke into their home, took off his shoes, and vomited into a flatmate's hamper – all while apologising profusely. Daniel, a recent PhD grad (yes, Doctor Daniel) had been asleep in bed when he Read more...
Mould-Mapping North D
Posted 4:52pm Sunday 25th May 2025 by Hunter Jolly
Last week, the Tenancy Compliance and Investigation Team (TCIT) did the rounds of North-D flats. The government-run team sieged (door-knocked) flats to check that they are complying with the Residential Tenancies Act 1986. In other words, to check whether students have been slumming it in Read more...
Political (In)Action Committee?
Posted 10:52pm Sunday 18th May 2025 by Gryffin Blockley
Amnesty Youth Otago (AYO) and the Politics Students Association (POLSA) have expressed concern to Critic Te Ārohi over OUSA’s new Political Action Committee (PAC), citing worries about inclusion and representation. PAC is supposedly a committee formed to assist Political Rep Jett Read more...
Marine Science Students Refunded After Unfair Paper Charges Revealed
Posted 10:49pm Sunday 18th May 2025 by Gryffin Blockley
In great news for Mako Mermaid fans-turned-students, MARI403 students have been refunded the $267.89 more they were paying for the exact same paper as ECOL411 students. This comes after Critic reported on the disparity last week, thanks to a tip-off from ECOL411 student and OUSA Academic Rep Stella Read more...
Exec SLASHES 82% of Referendum Questions
Posted 10:43pm Sunday 18th May 2025 by Nina Brown
After begging students to submit questions for the biannual OUSA referendum, the Exec has slashed the final list of 103 questions to just 19. Students will soon be invited to flex their democratic muscles and vote a hearty “yes”, disapproving “no” or an apathetic “I Read more...
The Heavy Breathers Are Back, Baby
Posted 10:40pm Sunday 18th May 2025 by Tilly Rumball-Smith
In 2023, a group of 33 third-year boys, calling themselves the ‘Heavy Breathers’, raised 100k to support men’s mental health. The Breathers ran the Emerson’s Dunedin Marathon, donating their proceeds to mental health charity Spark That Chat. And for 2025, they’re back. Read more...
Capping Show Review: The Good, The Bad, and The Nazi Jokes
Posted 10:38pm Sunday 18th May 2025 by Hanna Varrs, Molly Smith Soppet, Iris Hehir & Ellie Bennett
Warning: Semi-spoilers for Capping Show included. Critic Te Ārohi braved the rain and headed along to the opening of this year’s Capping Show, dressed to the nines (in our old hall merch – opening night was fresher-themed) and ready for a hilarious night. The Read more...
The Saltiest Pretzel Stick CONSPIRACY
Posted 10:33pm Sunday 18th May 2025 by Zoe Eckhoff
Ahh the pretzel stick. A delicacy for 5-year-olds with the finest taste. A lunchbox snack that your friends would always ask for a share of. A crispy, salted delight in stick form; it’s genius. Well, if you were looking for another reason to hate capitalism, this is it. The beloved pretzel Read more...
Op-Ed: Otago Community holding Congress to adopt the Otago Declaration on Palestine
Posted 3:38pm Sunday 11th May 2025 by Staff for Palestine
On Thursday 15th May at 12pm staff, students and alumni from the University of Otago community are coming together to adopt a Declaration that supports Palestinian rights and adopts BDS (Boycott, Divest, Sanction). All staff, students and alumni are invited to join us as we come together to stand Read more...
Radio One’s Racket for NZ Music Month
Posted 3:28pm Sunday 11th May 2025 by Hanna Varrs
The month of May is upon us, and as is Music Month across the motu – a time of year that has its roots firmly intertwined with student media. That’s a lot of M’s. The pioneers of Music Month are our radio stations, which consistently lift the bar in promoting Aotearoa Read more...
A Tale of Twin, Differently Priced Papers
Posted 3:26pm Sunday 11th May 2025 by Gryffin Blockley
It’s a tale of two papers: ECOL411 (Reading Ecology) and MARI403 (Critical Thinking for Environmental Scientists). Both papers are more similar than they may seem at first: same course coordinator, assessments and taught together at the same time, in the same room. So what’s the Read more...
Unattended Pot Teaches Lesson in Fire Safety
Posted 3:24pm Sunday 11th May 2025 by Cailin Williams
Waking up to a group of hot, sweaty men in uniform does not sound like something one might be opposed to, though the high chance of suffocation from smoke inhalation may change your mind. Second-year Dundas-dweller Zara experienced something that can only be found in a plot of a Colleen Hoover book Read more...
Ōtepoti’s Largest Trans-Rights Protest
Posted 3:07pm Sunday 11th May 2025 by Gryffin Blockley
Hundreds gathered in the Octagon on the 3rd of May in a loud, proud, and unrelenting show of solidarity against New Zealand First’s proposed gender definition bill. It was reportedly Ōtepoti’s largest ever trans-rights protest, with rainbow umbrellas against drizzly weather giving a Read more...
Uni To Maintain Institutionally Neutral, Adopt Ethical Policy
Posted 3:04pm Sunday 11th May 2025 by Nina Brown
The long-awaited results of a University working group on institutional neutrality are out. The University of Otago announced last week that they will be accepting the recommendations of the group’s 25 page report to adopt a statement on institutional neutrality (dubbed “vague and Read more...
Amnesty Forum Sparks Urgent Conversations
Posted 3:01pm Sunday 11th May 2025 by Ella Grayson
On April 14, Amnesty Youth Otago hosted a dynamic forum in the Business School – titled “People Power Movement: Youth Criminal Justice and Youth Activism”. The talk drew students, advocates, and change-makers into a discussion on the future of justice and equity. Amnesty Read more...
“Intimidating” and Possibly Haunted Portraits Removed from Med School
Posted 10:14pm Sunday 4th May 2025 by Adam Stitely
The removal of portraits depicting former Obstetrics (the medical speciality of childbirth and postpartum), Gynaecology and Women’s Health Heads of Departments from the Med School has caused rumours to circulate. A little birdy told Critic Te Ārohi that some students had found them Read more...
Ōtepoti Outrage at NZ First “Transphobic” Bill
Posted 10:03pm Sunday 4th May 2025 by Gryffin Blockley
New Zealand First has submitted a members’ bill to the Parliamentarian biscuit tin that would define the meaning of ‘man’ and ‘woman’ to mean “an adult human biological male” and a “adult human biological female” respectively within the Read more...
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