Archive

An American Exchange Student’s Welcome to Ōtepoti, Aotearoa

Posted 7:33pm Saturday 14th March 2026 by Dylan O'Connor

One month ago – after a hop, skip, and a jump all the way from not-so-sunny Northern California, I arrived in New Zealand for the first time in my life. I’m here on a study abroad semester – which is technically slightly different than an exchange term, though I wouldn’t be Read more...

Who Gets to Be High?

Posted 11:41am Sunday 8th March 2026 by Critic

The big move South to university opened my world.  One night you’re sitting at home with your parents, half-listening to them hammer in their values and opinions at the dinner table. Next, you’re living in close quarters with a few hundred frothy eighteen year olds. People from Read more...

Four Days In The Belly Of The Beast

Posted 11:35am Sunday 8th March 2026 by Heeni Koero Te Rerenoa (Sky)

I went to London to see what all the fuss was about. After all, it has a long history of looking in our direction first. It’s the third week of uni, which means I should be pretty locked in: highlighting readings, colour-coding my calendar, and convincing myself this is the semester I Read more...

Rob Roy: The Ultimate Guide to Hurrying The Fuck Up and Ordering

Posted 1:33pm Sunday 1st March 2026 by Imogen Perry

Potential laxative. Occasional platonic matchmaker. Guaranteed temporary serotonin release. Ice-cream. The lifeline of the student population, but only after a long hard day of pretending to study at Central. Located on the corner of George and Albany Street, Rob Roy is essentially an institution: a Read more...

George Street Block-by-Block

Posted 3:07pm Sunday 22nd February 2026 by Harry Almey

Sitting in Woodhaugh Gardens on a lovely summer day, I got to thinking — being a Dunedin local is a funny thing. I mean, it has to be, right? You spend at least five years perfectly aware of the drunken shenanigans, Boganmobiles, and broken glass everywhere. If you were unfortunate enough to Read more...

Flatwarmings: How to Keep the Pāti Hearty

Posted 2:59pm Sunday 22nd February 2026 by Te Awhirēinga Heperi

E te whānau, it’s that time of year again. Whether you're with last year’s crew, a new flat group entirely, or you’ve just scrolled past your fifth Flatpack ad of the day, we all have one thing in common: flatwarmings. Your very first host. Yes, one of the most illustrious Read more...

Activating the Māori Radar

Posted 2:53pm Sunday 22nd February 2026 by Heeni Koero Te Rerenoa (Sky)

I remember making the big move like it was yesterday. Spoiler: it wasn’t. What I do remember the clearest is how quickly uni can make you feel anonymous – like everyone else got a handbook you somehow missed. Don’t worry, you haven’t. Most people are just better at Read more...

Cheap As Chips! Critic’s Summer Goodies

Posted 4:10pm Monday 13th October 2025 by Critic Staff

Every summer, students travel far and wide across the motu for the break. Critic Te Ārohi staff members reached out to local secrets from their own hometowns to score student discounts*. Your mission: explore your backyard this summer and enjoy these discounts on us. Record your journey in the Read more...

Skulls, Sea-Shanties & a Full Cream Speight’s: A Farewell Tour of Ōtepoti

Posted 2:29pm Monday 13th October 2025 by Adam Stitely

It dawned on me this semester that these months would be my last in Dunedin. There was so much I still hadn't done. What more of the weird, wacky, and wonderful was yet to be seen? As the stress of the end of semester hit, the ominous cloud of exams loomed, and decisions about the future needed Read more...

Who Said That?

Posted 2:20pm Monday 13th October 2025 by Stella Weston, Matilda Rumball Smith & Molly Smith-Soppet

After a long hard year here at Critic Te Ārohi, we decided to bring you a little game for the end of the semester. On the left page you’ll find illustrated portraits of a handful of campus characters – the high strung BSc, the alternative postgrad, the over-eager American exchange Read more...

Sins & Virtues of Flatting

Posted 9:05am Monday 6th October 2025 by Molly Smith-Soppet

Seven Sins  Pride Pride is the over-inflated sense of superiority. The prideful flat is one that considers themselves above the simple tasks that hold flats and the shared Otago experience together. But such pride is, as always, a curse. Pride is selling tickets to a flat party. Pride is Read more...

Penetrating the Perfect Pussy Problem

Posted 10:53pm Saturday 4th October 2025 by Esme Hall

Content warning: Racism I can’t remember how it started. There was no inciting incident that compelled me to question my labia. Perhaps because I was raised by lesbian parents with a strong hippie persuasion, and (radical) feminist ideology being passed around the dining table as if it were Read more...

Asking for a Friend

Posted 9:51pm Saturday 4th October 2025 by Campus Support Services

Student life isn’t always easy. For Mental Health and Wellbeing Week, campus-based support services – Student Health and OUSA Student Support – answer your questions with advice on everything from how to manage your workload through burnout or grief, to dealing with flatcest or Read more...

Where the Fuck the Function?!

Posted 10:49pm Sunday 28th September 2025 by Lily Jane

There is no feeling more rewarding than waking up at 11:45am, with no thoughts in your dusty brain other than “ouch, my head hurts,” followed by: “Did we just host the party of the century?”. Hosting isn't just about shoving every person you know into a room with a JBL Read more...

Stock Your Flat For Free

Posted 10:46pm Sunday 28th September 2025 by Molly Smith-Soppet

Disclaimer (because someone will ask): This is satire but also probably some good advice. Use your critical thinking skills to determine which is which.   So, you’ve blown your last $20 on a hungover Hunger Buster. Fear not, Dunedin is a magical place filled with many Read more...

Everything I know About Hate

Posted 7:50pm Sunday 28th September 2025 by Tristan Shand

It was my first year at university when I read Dolly Alderton’s book Everything I Know About Love. Going into it, I wanted to understand what love meant. For Dolly, it was platonic friendships with women where she finally understood what that pesky little word signified. For me it was a little Read more...

New Zealand Young Writers Fest: A Review

Posted 6:30pm Sunday 21st September 2025 by Stella Weston

Disclaimer: I’m really super biased — this was one of the coolest things I’ve ever had the privilege of being a part of.  The New Zealand Young Writers Festival celebrated its eleventh year in 2025. Beyond promoting the voices of young writers aged 15-35 over the weekend of Read more...

The Road to Te Huinga Tauira

Posted 6:06pm Sunday 21st September 2025 by Heeni Koero Te Rerenoa (Sky)

Porourangi Templeton-Reedy – Ngāti Porou, Ngāi Tūhoe, Tainui Jacqueline Te Kani-Nankivell – Te Aitanga-a-Māhaki, Ngāti Porou, Ngāti Maniapoto, Ngāpuhi Every year, tauira Māori (students) from across the motu (country) gather under one roof Read more...

The 24th Annual Critic Fish & Chip Review

Posted 5:44pm Sunday 21st September 2025 by Hugh Askerud

In many ways, fish and chips embody the ideal student: well-cooked, sopping with grease, and wrapped in paper. Well…maybe we’re not directly comparable, but there is something studenty about fish and chips, trust. More importantly, fish and chips are one of the few ways students have a Read more...

Flaunt Your Fashion

Posted 1:50pm Monday 15th September 2025 by Gemella Reynolds-Hatem (Ngāi Tahu: Ngāi Tūāhuriri, Ngāti Waewae, Ngāti Hāteatea)

Open my whakapapa and you won’t find a tidy capsule collection, but a wardrobe crowded with pieces that refuse a singular aesthetic. Among the Jordans, arab silks sit beside pounamu pieces; between the stacks of NFL jerseys, a hijab folds next to Māori-made designer. It’s messy and Read more...