Archive

St Daves Building Occupied In Student Strike For Education

Posted 11:45am Sunday 2nd August 2026 by Bella Bates

Hundreds of students marched through the University of Otago last Wednesday to protest the abolition of the Fees Free scheme. The campus-wide demonstration ended with the group occupying the St David’s building, protesting rising tertiary education costs and government funding cuts. According Read more...

OUSA Exec Quarterly Reports: Round Two

Posted 11:44am Sunday 2nd August 2026 by Gryffin Blockley

Time sure does fly when you’re having fun – how can it be quarterly report time already? In order for the OUSA Exec to get paid their honorariums (their equivalent of wages), each member must write a report of everything they’ve gotten up to in the last three months. The Exec will Read more...

Study Now, Debt… Forever?: Student Strike for Education

Posted 10:02am Sunday 26th July 2026 by Bella Bates

The countdown is on for the Student Strike for Education, set to kick off this Wednesday at 12pm on Union Lawn. The strike is being organised by Education Action Group 26 (EAG26), a student-led movement that emerged this year in the wake of last semester’s Fees Free protest. To find out what Read more...

University Review Finds “No Substantive Evidence” In Favour Of Ending Palo Alto Networks Partnership

Posted 9:58am Sunday 26th July 2026 by Stella Weston

Following controversy earlier this year around the University of Otago’s proposed partnership with Israeli-government linked Palo Alto Networks, Vice-Chancellor Grant Robertson announced a review of the partnership agreement. This has now been completed, concluding that there is “no Read more...

Quickfire Sex Ed Q&A with Melody Thomas

Posted 9:55am Sunday 26th July 2026 by Stella Weston

For nearly ten years, Melody Thomas has been talking about sex and relationships. If she keeps that up for another 91 years, she’ll be a lot like Critic Te Ārohi. Melody’s the creator and host of the Good Sex Podcast, so we were pleased to have a yarn about all things intimate from Read more...

Local Produce: Natasha – Dun Records

Posted 9:52am Sunday 26th July 2026 by Hanna Varrs

A couple of weeks ago, Taylor Swift, Justin Bieber, and Sabrina Carpenter had a bad day in Aotearoa. That’s because 4EPs, a recent release featuring four EPs by local Dunedin bands Sogg, U-No Juno, Vagina Dry and Sivle Talk, debuted at the number one spot on the Official Aotearea Music Read more...

Dunedin Thunder Women’s Hockey Team Takes On Auckland Steel

Posted 9:37am Saturday 18th July 2026 by Molly Smith-Soppet

This weekend, the Dunedin Women’s Thunder take on league leaders Auckland Steel in the semi-finals of the New Zealand Women's Ice Hockey League (NZWIHL) season. This will be the last chance for Dunedinites to catch the team at home this year, and if Thunder players Caitlin and Manuella are Read more...

Local Produce: Sewlutions Studio by Sanda

Posted 9:35am Saturday 18th July 2026 by Harry Almey

Startup Dunedin runs a yearly Student Pitch Competition, where students with a growing start-up or side hustle can win up to $5000 for their mahi. As we look forward to this year's Student Pitch Competition, Critic Te Ārohi decided to check in on the progress of last year's co-champion, Read more...

Critic Chit-Chats with Chippy

Posted 9:33am Saturday 18th July 2026 by Gryffin Blockley

Labour Leader Chris Hipkins (the Chris nicknamed Chippy, not the other one), braved a Dunedin winter's day to come down to campus for Re:Ori’s Clubs Day. Critic Te Ārohi managed to snag a spot in the former Prime Minister’s packed schedule to talk about some of the key issues Read more...

Critical Tribune: Landlords Advertise Mould As “Heritage Feature”

Posted 9:10am Saturday 18th July 2026 by Saraia Allais

Local property managers in North Dunedin have begun rebranding black mould as a “heritage feature”, with one manager stating that “black mould is just such an ugly term for a local treasure”. The change follows an increase in complaints from students expecting rental Read more...

The 2026 Re:Ori Lineup

Posted 4:25pm Saturday 11th July 2026 by Gryffin Blockley

Critic Te Ārohi hopes you have mentally recovered from the first semester. Godspeed if you have any special exams this week – we do not envy you. Before the lock-in starts (we know you’re planning one after those results), there’s a whole week of good stuff to get up to. Read more...

Post-It Note “Warfare” Over AI-Generated Poster

Posted 4:23pm Saturday 11th July 2026 by Stella Weston

Late last semester, a mailing list of Zoology Postgraduate students received a “not-positive email message” from their Head of Department. Critic Te Ārohi understands that the email was sent following some students putting critical post-it notes on an AI-generated poster made by Read more...

Explore Your Artistic Streak With Andrew McCulloch

Posted 4:16pm Saturday 11th July 2026 by Jesse Valpy

Local Artist Andrew McCulloch is running five Life Drawing Classes from the 29th July through to 26th August, on Wednesdays from 6 to 8pm. Taking place in the Evison Lounge at Clubs and Socs, you don’t need to trek far from your flat to pick up a new winter hobby. These sessions are entirely Read more...

EXPLAINER: University Publishes Ethical Investment Policy

Posted 4:15pm Saturday 11th July 2026 by Gryffin Blockley

On Friday July 3rd, the University published their new Ethical Investment Policy. This followed the acceptance of the findings of the Working Group on Institutional Neutrality. Those findings included a recommendation to develop and adopt an ethical investment policy.  Why did the University Read more...

Critical Tribune: University Confirms Plans to Construct Campus Ice Rink

Posted 4:11pm Saturday 11th July 2026 by Grey-Finn Cockley

According to a statement from the University to Critical Tribune, the ice rink (included in fees from Semester Two onwards) will “reduce seasonal depression, boost morale and give physio students something to do other than keg stands.” Critical Tribune speculates that this foray into Read more...

The Man Behind Craig Daniels: Will Murphy

Posted 12:23pm Saturday 23rd May 2026 by Hanna Varrs

Second-year Will Murphy (@willmurphycomedy) has “always been into theatre”, which makes it no surprise that when he enrolled in Otago he chose to major in Theatre Studies. With a “soft spot” for comedians, he grew up watching the likes of Rowan Atkinson (better known as his Read more...

Government to Tweak Climate Change Law

Posted 12:20pm Saturday 23rd May 2026 by Jack Evans

Amid a flurry of news from the Government, such as the cutting of fees free, and Judith Collins leaving Parliament (tofā soifua Judith), Minister of Justice Paul Goldsmith has dropped a bombshell for the future of Aotearoa’s climate change response. Here is a quick explainer from Critic Read more...

Diversify The Library: Books That Reflect Our Experience

Posted 12:18pm Saturday 23rd May 2026 by Gryffin Blockley

With over twenty thousand students, Ōtākou Whakaihu Waka tauira boast a massive range of backgrounds and lived experiences. In order to reflect this range, the team behind the library has a new project: Diversify the Library (DTL). They’re working hard to have their (already Read more...

Capping Show Review: Unleashed, Hilarious and Over Too Soon

Posted 12:17pm Saturday 23rd May 2026 by Harry Almey, Bella Bates, & Jonathan McCabe

Critic Te Ārohi, risking life and limb after publishing a not-so-positive review last year, returned to this year's Capping Show. Thankfully, we didn't have to worry. We only needed to get about 10 minutes in before realising that we weren't going to regret putting them on the front Read more...

Critic Te Ārohi’s (Theatrical) Guide to Mid-Year Break

Posted 12:07pm Saturday 23rd May 2026 by Saraia Allais

If you’re stuck down in Dunners for the upcoming break, don’t fall to the temptation of a three-week long bed rot. If you fancy doing something other than drinking the cold away, or finding hot new ways to procrastinate exam study, Critic Te Ārohi’s got you. Happy end of Read more...

Local Produce: U-No Juno

Posted 12:06pm Sunday 17th May 2026 by Ethan Montañer

U-No Juno are undoubtedly one of the most enthralling bands in the current Ōtepoti music scene, pulling from a colourful array of influences to craft their own self-described brand of “post-post-post-post-post-post-post hardcore”. Since 2024, the band have been carving out a name Read more...

International Students Report Insurance Delays

Posted 11:54am Sunday 17th May 2026 by Georgia Hejduková

International exchange students are a staple of the University of Otago’s community. However, it’s easy to forget to question some of the barriers they may face in getting here. One such barrier is health and travel insurance, which is a prerequisite for international students. While the Read more...

Runway Revival a Runaway Success

Posted 11:51am Sunday 17th May 2026 by Te Awhirēinga Heperi

Runway Revival 2026 had Errick’s packed with Ōtepoti’s most fashionable residents (believe it or not, they do exist down here). The fashion show featured a wraparound runway, twinkling lights, and the skilled Dunedin quartet, all put together by Presbyterian Support to showcase Read more...

A Peep Behind The Capping Show Curtains

Posted 11:49am Sunday 17th May 2026 by Harry Almey

'Twas the week before Capping opening night, and the walls of Central were plastered with missing posters of the cast. As worried as the next guy, Critic Te Ārohi put on a brave face and big-boy pants and went undercover to investigate. Critic understands that the cast of SQUEAL: A Read more...

“Misunderstanding” Results In University Removing OSJP Posters

Posted 10:37am Sunday 10th May 2026 by Hanna Varrs

Critic Te Ārohi recently received a tip from a café worker at St David Café, who was allegedly asked to remove posters put up by Otago Students for Justice In Palestine (OSJP) on the 22nd of April. The employee told Critic that café workers were asked to remove the Read more...

Unions Rally For May Day

Posted 10:31am Sunday 10th May 2026 by Molly Smith-Soppet

Union flags filled Union Hall last Friday (lol), as around 150 workers, students, and organisers gathered to mark May Day (also known as International Workers’ Day). The hui brought together a wide cross-section of unions — from nurses and firefighters to supermarket workers and Read more...

Palo Alto Partnership Under “Review”

Posted 10:28am Sunday 10th May 2026 by Hanna Varrs

What Happened? As previously reported, the University of Otago has confirmed a partnership with Palo Alto Networks (PANW), a cybersecurity company that has been accused of having “deep links to the Israeli government” by Otago Staff for Palestine (OSP). The partnership is intended to Read more...

Local Produce: Emily Esplin

Posted 10:24am Sunday 10th May 2026 by Maea Wikohika

Emily Esplin (she/they) is an emerging Ōtepoti artist carving out a sound that feels raw, honest, and distinctly their own. Her music sits somewhere between vulnerability and distortion, a space where soft introspection collides with an ever-growing rock influence. She’s also Read more...

Leary’s Theory for Better Mental Health Services

Posted 10:19am Sunday 10th May 2026 by Harry Almey

Ingrid Leary, Labour MP of Taieri since 2020, and Labour Spokesperson for Mental Health, recently sat down for her first-ever interview with Critic Te Ārohi. Young people consistently have ranked the mental health crisis and climate change as their top concerns for the future, so Ingrid wants Read more...

North D in Thirty Years: What Will Our Flats Look Like?

Posted 10:18am Sunday 10th May 2026 by Stella Weston

The North Dunedin Spatial Plan Project aims to ensure that there is enough housing for students in North D for the next thirty years. But that’s not just any housing – it’s housing that encapsulates what students want. Novel! Organised by the City Development Team of the Dunedin Read more...

“Stay Petty”: The Subs and Cats Saga

Posted 2:48pm Sunday 3rd May 2026 by Bella Bates

The drama is bubbling over between two of Dunedin’s biggest players in student nightlife in a TikTok-based standoff. Suburbia (lovingly known to the fresher population as ‘Subs’) took to TikTok with a not-so-subtle jab at rival Catacombs (‘Cats’). Feathers were Read more...

University Trials Partnership With Parking Enforcement Services

Posted 2:45pm Sunday 3rd May 2026 by Gryffin Blockley

Parking Enforcement Services (PES) have been contracted to conduct a parking enforcement trial at two car parks over the next three months, a University of Otago spokesperson has confirmed to Critic Te Ārohi.  You may recognise PES from major supermarket parking lots in Dunedin, or, if Read more...

Critic Te Ārohi x The Maharajas: Charity Edition

Posted 2:43pm Sunday 3rd May 2026 by Imogen Perry

Critic Te Ārohi and Dave from The Maharajas: we’ve got a loving history. A match made in heaven, one might say. On Saturday the 9th of May, Dave and the Maharajas team will be hosting the ultimate charity night – good vibes, good flavours, good people. So we’ve taken the Read more...

Crisis Café Opens In North East Valley

Posted 2:41pm Sunday 3rd May 2026 by Harry Almey

It’s another win for wellbeing in Otago, with the South Island's second Crisis Recovery Café opening in the North East Valley. Operated by the Otago Mental Health Support Trust (OMHST), the café shares spaces with the Valley Project. Critic Te Ārohi sat down for an Read more...

Local Produce: Rheumy

Posted 1:35pm Sunday 26th April 2026 by Ethan Montañer

Rheumy are a self-described “kosmiche noise group” who materialised into Ōtepoti’s music scene in early 2025. The trio create compositions that can be difficult to pin down with descriptions — the music is somehow free-form yet intentional, rhythmic yet droning — Read more...

Student Wellbeing Hub is (Officially) Open

Posted 1:26pm Sunday 26th April 2026 by Harry Almey

Two years after announcing that Te Pou Whirinaki (the Wellbeing Hub) would take the place of the old Campus South stationary shop, Vice-Chancellor Grant Robertson, and National Party Minister for Mental Health Matt Doocey, gathered on the 15th of April for its official opening. Te Pou Whirinaki Read more...

Strait Talk: What’s Actually Going On in Hormuz?

Posted 1:24pm Sunday 26th April 2026 by Bella Bates

With TikTok explainers flying around and group chats spiralling, Critic Te Ārohi went straight to Professor Robert Patman to make sense of the escalating situation in the Strait of Hormuz. Patman, a Professor in the University of Otago’s Politics Department, specialises in international Read more...

Possums? We Don’t Know Her

Posted 1:22pm Sunday 26th April 2026 by Luke MacLeod

The Otago Peninsula was declared possum free in March, making it one of the first inhabited landscape-scale areas in Aotearoa to successfully eliminate the pest. Critic Te Ārohi reached out to Chris Arnison, Community Coordinator and Operations Director of the Otago Peninsula Biodiversity Read more...

Execrable: Written Warning, MoU and Political Planning

Posted 1:18pm Sunday 26th April 2026 by Hanna Varrs

Celebrating 4/20 likely in a different way to most students, the OUSA Exec still managed to push their fortnightly meeting up to a marathon two and a half hours on the 20th of April. Who can say they aren’t dedicated? There was a heap on the agenda to get through, and get through it they Read more...

‘Dunedin Herald’ Taking Shit Posting to the Next Level

Posted 1:17pm Sunday 26th April 2026 by Stella Weston

The Dunedin Herald is a new satirical Instagram account, self-described as “our most special city’s most trusted news”. Despite being only six days old at time of writing, they’ve gained over 1400 followers. Although the student behind the account wanted to remain anonymous Read more...

Delivereasy Statistics Reveal Dunedin’s Food Delivery Diagnosis

Posted 1:15pm Sunday 26th April 2026 by Imogen Perry

A fifteen minute walk in the cold versus experiencing the full offerings of Fatty Lane from bed for a $5 delivery fee – this choice is becoming shamefully easy. Kiwi-owned delivery platform, Delivereasy, has recently shed light upon customer statistics, revealing the tendency for tauira across Read more...

Q&A with Q and Dave

Posted 1:42pm Sunday 19th April 2026 by Stella Weston

Qiulae 'Q' Wong believes that the “role of government is to look at the horizon and stand for that.” She’s sick of the divisive, “pendulum politics” that we see in New Zealand today, with governments undoing policy changes with every switch in power. Founded in Read more...

OUSA Q1 Exec Reports: These guys want to get paid

Posted 1:38pm Sunday 19th April 2026 by Gryffin Blockley

After riding the high of their election wins last year, the OUSA Executive have had to put their heads down and start the mahi for 2026.  The Exec gets paid through something called ‘honorariums’. In order to receive their honorarium, the Exec members must hand in a quarterly Read more...

Critical Tribune: Breatha Raises Hand in Class

Posted 1:29pm Sunday 19th April 2026 by Dildo Connor

Second year breatha, Shooda Sckipt, was sat in his Tuesday morning lecture last week. Talking to Critical Tribune reporters, Shooda recounted that he had “surprisingly mustered up the courage” to make it to a lecture for a class that had an upcoming midterm assignment – no small Read more...

The Bowling Club Needs Students

Posted 1:25pm Sunday 19th April 2026 by Molly Smith-Soppet

Whether you don’t know what to cook in the flat tonight, are struggling with midterm stress, or your body is beginning to deteriorate due not seeing a vegetable in a week, Critic Te Ārohi has a solution for you. The Bowling Club delivers straight to OUSA Clubs and Socs, which is a perfect Read more...

Vice-Chancellor’s Welcome Email Returns 100% AI Prediction

Posted 4:34pm Saturday 11th April 2026 by Hanna Varrs

Critic Te Ārohi recently received a news tip from an anonymous student that ran Vice-Chancellor Grant Robertson’s welcome email through GPTZero (Model 4.2b). The message was sent to all students at the start of the year, and had the subject-line “Student update: 25 February Read more...

Explainer: Albany Street Connection Project

Posted 4:27pm Saturday 11th April 2026 by Hanna Varrs

Since 2021, the Dunedin City Council (DCC) has done heaps of advertising, letter drops, media coverage and public consultation about the changes happening to Albany Street and surrounding areas. The $4.8 million Albany Street Connection Project (ASCP) construction and road reseal will fully take Read more...

University Defends Partnership With Palo Alto Networks

Posted 4:17pm Saturday 11th April 2026 by Stella Weston

The University of Otago announced its partnership with international cybersecurity firm Palo Alto Networks (PANW) in May of last year to aid in the development of a new Masters in Digital Technology at the budding Queenstown campus. However, the partnership has recently come under scrutiny by Otago Read more...

Local Produce: Bunchy’s Big Score

Posted 4:12pm Saturday 11th April 2026 by Ethan Montañer

Bunchy’s Big Score is an Ōtepoti art/pop/rock band who have become well-loved in the local scene over the past two years. Known for their noisy ear-worm bangers and ridiculously fun live shows, the quartet is preparing for what will be their biggest year yet. The band’s current Read more...

Critical Tribune: Hyde Street Party 2026 Flat Themes Unveiled

Posted 4:09pm Saturday 11th April 2026 by Dyldo Connor

As Otago students return from mid-sem break, speculation from the shitposters of the Castle26 Facebook group has been at an all time high. Critical Tribune is here to put the rumors to bed and confirm the official Hyde Street Party flat themes. Critical Tribune investigative journalists spoke to Read more...