Archive

OUSA Reacts to Uni Name Change Proposal

Posted 2:41pm Wednesday 15th March 2023 by Fox Meyer

On Wednesday, 15 March 2023, the Uni announced that they’re opening feedback for their new visual identity proposal. Essentially, they’ve come up with a new Māori name and logo for the uni, which is one piece of a “long-term plan is the desire to become a Te Tiriti-led Read more...

Dunedin SS4C Strike Underwhelms

Posted 2:04pm Sunday 12th March 2023 by Emily Esplin

School Strike 4 Climate (SS4C) and Fridays for Future joined forces in a nation-wide intergenerational climate strike across the motu on Friday, March 3. The Ōtepoti event, whose organisation was outsourced to Extinction Rebellion (XR), was smaller than most other cities, prompting some Read more...

Back in Black

Posted 2:01pm Sunday 12th March 2023 by Anna Robertshawe

Thursdays in Black is a nation-wide student-led campaign devoted to preventing and responding to sexual violence in tertiary spaces - and it’s back for another year in Dunedin.   Thursdays in Black is aimed at removing stigma and spreading awareness around sexual violence, whilst at Read more...

Sophia Charter Display Launched

Posted 1:06pm Sunday 12th March 2023 by Nina Brown

A new display was launched in the Link last Wednesday, March 8, in honour of the Sophia Charter. The event included speeches from Deputy Vice Chancellor Tony Ballantyne, Dunedin Mayor Jules Radich, representatives of the student group Hold On To Your Friends, and Sophia’s parents Elspeth and Read more...

Bureaucracy, Constipated.

Posted 1:00pm Sunday 12th March 2023 by Lotto Ramsay

It’s taken the University nearly ten years to make more plans than progress on gender-neutral toilets. This is a story about a minority group’s representation on campus, yes, but it’s also an example of a wider problem: how the University’s institutional bureaucracy can get Read more...

Started from Baduzzi Now we Here

Posted 12:54pm Sunday 12th March 2023 by Nina Brown

Former Critic Te Ārohi food columnist Alice Taylor is moving from two-hatted Auckland restaurant Baduzzi to the three-hatted Amisfield in Queenstown. For those of you who don’t know, restaurants are like balding men: the more hats, the better. Three is very impressive.   Last Read more...

Inside that 800-Person Backpackers Party

Posted 2:47pm Sunday 5th March 2023 by Anna Robertshawe

On the Wednesday night of O-Week, View Street throbbed with DnB and pheromones as hundreds of third year students migrated to Backpackers flat for a “sports-themed” host. It was shut down by police in protective gear, and widely criticised online as a “dangerous 800-person Read more...

Gravy Train Derails in NZ

Posted 2:03pm Sunday 5th March 2023 by Fox Meyer

Students from Otago and Victoria Universities had a bone to pick with Yung Gravy’s Ori performances. While the Otago attendees' main complaint was about the American rapper’s stage presence, who “appeared to be fucked out of his mind”, Wellington gig-goers were Read more...

Pride Night officially joins O-week

Posted 1:49pm Sunday 5th March 2023 by Lotto Ramsay

An open space in the Ori ‘23 lineup led to what organisers have called a “golden opportunity” for our queer student community. OUSA Queer Support partnered with Dunedin Pride and UniQ to bring a pride event to O-Week for the first time ever, on Friday 24 February. Hosted on the Read more...

Flat Burgled While People Drank Downstairs

Posted 12:58pm Tuesday 28th February 2023 by Anna Robertshawe

On the Friday of Flo-week at approximately 10pm, a boys’ flat near Queen St had nearly $4,000 worth of stuff stolen from their bedrooms. The theft took place during a party while about 10-15 people were drinking downstairs. It is assumed that the thief came down some steps from a back road and Read more...

No, Adventure Time Wasn’t Shut Down for Playing NWA

Posted 12:51pm Monday 27th February 2023 by Zak Rudin

A party at Adventure Time was shut down at midnight on O-Week’s Thursday, right as NWA’s “fuck the police” came on. This was a coincidence. At around five to midnight NWA came over the speakers, and a roaring crowd sang “fuck the police!” However, when the Read more...

Campus Watch Scores Free Period Products

Posted 7:47pm Sunday 26th February 2023 by

Over the summer break, Campus Watch legend Annabel Cole secured ten pallets of menstrual products for students. They’ll be available for free at the Campus Watch office, OUSA buildings, and at any of the uni colleges while stocks last.   Periods aren’t cheap. While a cool Read more...

Students Oppose Octagon Bar

Posted 5:56pm Sunday 26th February 2023 by Rauri Warren

Students and police united to object to Eleven Bar’s liquor licence renewal at a public hearing on Friday February 17, concerned about the potential harm the establishment could be causing to the “vulnerable student population”. An ex-employee has called the bar “the most Read more...

Arise Church Asked to Leave Tent City

Posted 5:47pm Sunday 26th February 2023 by Fox Meyer

Arise Church has been asked to leave Tent City. As far as we can tell, they’re gone.   Tent City is run by OUSA, and stalls are given contracts to be there. Critic Te Ārohi, also a part of OUSA, has reported extensively on Arise’s allegations of intern abuse and their Read more...

Study: Some Students Intentionally Caught Covid, Didn’t Report Positive Tests

Posted 5:07pm Sunday 26th February 2023 by Zak Rudin

A recent study by a group of sixth-year Otago Med students claims that students significantly under-reported positive Covid-19 RAT tests, both to the Uni and Government. The study was conducted in 2022 between Flo-Week and the end of Semester One. 160 households in North Dunedin were randomly Read more...

Pride Night officially joins O-week!

Posted 6:32pm Saturday 25th February 2023 by Lotto Ramsay

An open space in the Ori ‘23 lineup led to what organisers have called a “golden opportunity” for our queer student community. OUSA Queer Support partnered with Dunedin Pride and UniQ to bring a pride event to O-week for the first time, ever.    Hosted on the museum Read more...

Selwyn River Run Returns

Posted 1:07pm Saturday 25th February 2023 by Hugh Askerud

Earlier this morning, the Leith river became host to the first ‘Water of Leith Run’ since 2021. Around 100 students gathered in the underbelly of the botanical gardens to ready themselves for a sprint down the slippery stones of the infamous river. Another 50 students watched from the Read more...

Arise Church Asked to Leave Tent City

Posted 1:53pm Tuesday 21st February 2023 by Fox Meyer

Arise Church has been asked to leave Tent City. As far as we can tell, they’re gone.   Tent City is run by OUSA, and stalls are given contracts to be there. Critic Te Ārohi, also a part of OUSA, has reported extensively on Arise’s allegations of intern abuse and their Read more...

No, that Landlord Website Wasn’t Taken Down

Posted 4:40pm Saturday 11th February 2023 by Zak Rudin

“What Does My Landlord Own?” came online last Wednesday, allowing users to enter an address and see all other properties tied to that owner. It uses publically available data, but nonetheless the Privacy Foundation has called for it to be taken down.   The website saw 75,000 Read more...

Cone Antics Subvert Police

Posted 3:39pm Monday 23rd January 2023 by Rauri Warren

On Saturday, January 21, at around 11:15pm, trouble was brewing on State Highway 1. Biff*, an Aussie bloke with the mullet to prove it, was about to try his hand as a traffic director, steering cars away from a breathalyser station just down the road.  Biff was staying at the Leviathan, a Read more...

Global Ice Skating Celebration Starts in Dunedin

Posted 3:19pm Saturday 3rd December 2022 by Fox Meyer

The Dunedin Ice Stadium is about to make history. On December 4, it will become the first ice rink to see the sun on the first-ever World Ice Skating Day. This is ironic for several reasons. The most glaring bit of irony is that it’s the middle of summer. World Ice Skating Day (WISD) was Read more...

“Totally Sick” Pint Night Sees Meningitis

Posted 10:40am Tuesday 25th October 2022 by Nina Brown

On Wednesday the 12th, someone with meningococcal meningitis went to Pint Night.  While this bacterial infection can be dangerous, it’s also not the easiest to spread around. A statement from the University described that “it passes from person to person by regular close, Read more...

New Details on Uni Security Lapse

Posted 5:00pm Wednesday 12th October 2022 by Fox Meyer

Last Wednesday, a student tipped us off to the fact that a trove of private University files were accessible online because a security “door” had been left open. This door has since been closed, and we can share more details about exactly what went down.   In June, the Read more...

International Students Brag About Snow

Posted 6:29pm Sunday 9th October 2022 by The Critical Tribune

During last week’s snowfall, international students (mostly American) took to the streets to remind everyone how good they were at dealing with snow. “Kiwis here really can’t handle snow”, said one American, kitted out in jeans and jandals for a brisk walk down snowy George. Read more...

Local Man Warns of Rampant Scam

Posted 6:28pm Sunday 9th October 2022 by The Critical Tribune

Dave, local pisshead and student, contacted the news to report a scam. “Hey bro, I just realized the other day that I’m actually being scammed, and I need to tell other people about it”, he warned. It was very serious. “So, turns out, I’m being scammed by my Read more...

Stop Your Crying, It’s a Sign of the (Local Election) Times

Posted 6:27pm Sunday 9th October 2022 by Jamiema Lorimer

Many signs showed that local elections were in full swing over the last three weeks – including plenty outside student flats. What encourages people to turn their front yards into a massive election advertising space? Critic Te Ārohi talked to some of these flats to find out.  One Read more...

Cutlers Allegedly “Pressures” Tenants

Posted 6:26pm Sunday 9th October 2022 by Denzel Chung

A student has accused Cutlers Property Management of using “pressure tactics” to force them to re-sign their flat as early as June. This included advertising their flat for rent before they’d decided what they wanted to do next year, and preparing to hold flat viewings without Read more...

Lecturer Brings Protests, Podcasts into Classroom

Posted 6:24pm Sunday 9th October 2022 by Nina Brown

Computer science students in COSC203 have voiced concerns (and confusion) over a recent ethics lecture and assignment by lecturer Iain Hewson. Despite ostensibly being a web, databases, and networks paper, students Critic Te Ārohi spoke to claimed that neither the lecture nor the assignment Read more...

“Big Yikes”: Heaps of Uni Data Unprotected

Posted 5:03pm Thursday 6th October 2022 by Denzel Chung

Using an alarmingly simple exploit, pretty much anyone with an Otago email could access a trove of official University data until late on Wednesday night, October 5th. This included personal contact information, transcripts, academic misconduct warnings and even Otago Uni invoices - but it Read more...

$50k of Library Fines Charged in 2021, but Very Little Paid

Posted 2:39pm Sunday 2nd October 2022 by Denzel Chung

Otago Uni charged almost $50,000 in library fines over 2021. Despite this, only a tiny fraction of this amount was actually paid.  According to a publicly available Official Information Act request on FYI.org.nz, the Uni issued $49,941.42 worth of fines for late, overdue and damaged books in Read more...

Unipol Step Fit Legend Retires to Save Lives

Posted 2:37pm Sunday 2nd October 2022 by

Three years and 340 classes later, Unipol Step Fit legend Corben Brown has officially retired from his position as a group fitness instructor to take a job at the Dunedin Hospital as a junior doctor. So, fair enough, really. Critic Te Ārohi nabbed the local star for a chat after his last class Read more...

Fire Department Releases Report on Taj Mahal Fire

Posted 2:34pm Sunday 2nd October 2022 by Denzel Chung

Fire and Emergency New Zealand (FENZ)’s investigative report into the Taj Mahal fire was released last week. While the cause was officially unable to be determined, FENZ pointed to electrical devices under the counter as the likely cause of the conflagration.  The 31-page report, Read more...

20% of Drugs Were Not as Advertised

Posted 2:28pm Sunday 2nd October 2022 by Zak Rudin

The annual drug checking report published by KnowYourStuffNZ (KYS) just dropped. Critic Te Ārohi delved into the numbers to uncover the highs and lows of drug testing over the 2021-2022 season. KYS are a “community organisation of volunteers,” operating in partnership with the Read more...

Annual Awards Affair Airs Astounding Achievements

Posted 2:24pm Sunday 2nd October 2022 by Keegan Wells

The annual Blues and Golds awards night was held last Wednesday, with a veritable swag of student achievements (outside of the standard uni grind) being celebrated.  Awards were handed out for community service (Silver Service Awards), sporting achievements (Blue Awards) and arts Read more...

Ski Club “Coup” Nearly Sweeps Exec Elections

Posted 2:20pm Sunday 2nd October 2022 by Denzel Chung

Your student leaders for 2023 have been voted in. Less than 10% of the student population bothered to cast their ballot. Ski Club members, who had heard that many roles were uncontested, stacked the ballot with their club. They took home five positions, and ousted the returning Vice Read more...

Showtime For Capping Show

Posted 2:18pm Sunday 2nd October 2022 by Zak Rudin

Capping Show has hit Otago University for the 128th year running. This year’s theme: Campus Nine-Nine. Critic Te Ārohi sat down with Martha and Nina, two of the directors of the show, to get the lowdown. With well over a century of shenanigans, the Capping Show has certainly been Read more...

Pollinator Workshop at Te Oraka

Posted 1:41pm Saturday 24th September 2022 by Zak Rudin

Last Saturday, Animal Aquatic Plant Ecological Society (AAPES) and Slow Food Youth Otago (SFYO) joined forces to host a pollinator workshop at Te Oraka. The workshop had it all: “pollinator activities, groovy tunes and yummy snacks”. What even are “pollinator activities,” Read more...

(More) Student Food Outlets Closed

Posted 1:39pm Saturday 24th September 2022 by Nina Brown

The already emaciated student food scene has taken another blow with the closure of three more campus food outlets for the rest of the year. In their most recent communications email (the one you stopped reading mid-way through the pandemic), the Uni announced the closure of Hunter Cafe, Frankly Read more...

US Air Force Plane Spotted at Dunedin Airport

Posted 1:37pm Saturday 24th September 2022 by Fox Meyer

An international intelligence group is meeting in Queenstown, and it appears that an American Air Force plane hopped over to Dunedin for Monday night last week. Why would American spies take a break from their busy schedule to visit Dirty Duds? We can only speculate. The Five Eyes are an Read more...

Students “Giving Back” to Rescue Choppers, Blood Donations

Posted 1:36pm Saturday 24th September 2022 by Zak Rudin

Following a gnarly Mt Hutt crash, two Otago Uni students recently partnered with the New Zealand Blood Service (NZ Blood) and the Canterbury Westpac Rescue Helicopter to take blood and money from students. For a good cause, of course.  Last year, Isaac suffered a compound fracture to his Read more...

Otago Student Joins Highlanders Squad For 2023

Posted 1:33pm Saturday 24th September 2022 by Denzel Chung

It’s common for students to have a side hustle alongside their study commitments. It is, however, a bit rarer for that side hustle to be playing professional rugby in one of the world’s top competitions.  For business student James Arscott, however, playing top-level rugby has Read more...

Uni Staff Vote For Strike Motion

Posted 1:31pm Saturday 24th September 2022 by Zak Rudin

A nationwide strike of Tertiary Education Union (TEU) members, including some of your professors, could be on the cards.  On Tuesday 21st, around 150 Uni staff united in the Main Common Room as part of a nationwide TEU “stop work meeting” to vote on a motion to go on strike. The Read more...

Starters, Student Engagement and Ski Shenanigans Dominate OUSA Forums

Posted 1:22pm Saturday 24th September 2022 by

This week, we’ll get the chance to vote for our very own student leaders. Critic Te Ārohi attended OUSA’s Exec candidate forums last week to get a vibe check on the candidates, and found them agreeing on a surprisingly large range of topics, from student bars to low student Read more...

“Curry Grenade” Smashes Through Castle St Window

Posted 9:55pm Sunday 18th September 2022 by Denzel Chung

A Castle St resident got a rude shock on Sunday 11 September, when their first-floor room’s window was smashed by a “curry grenade” hurled from a nearby flat.  Elaina told Critic Te Ārohi that she was sitting downstairs with her flatmates when she heard “a Read more...

Radio One Keeps Ice Hockey Trophy with OUSA

Posted 7:43pm Sunday 18th September 2022 by Fox Meyer

Last weekend, the Kinoko Homes Beavers defeated the Aotea Amps to win the coveted B-League Dunedin Ice Hockey finals, because nothing is more important than B-level ice hockey in a city about as far away from Canada as physically possible. This meant that, for the second year in a row, student Read more...

Merino Muster Marathon Mastered by Muscle and Malcholol

Posted 7:37pm Sunday 18th September 2022 by Keegan Wells

Ian Hardenbergh, an international student from Colorado, came second in his age group and third overall out of 200 competitors at the Merino Muster cross country ski race at Snow Farm. The race was 42km long, and he only stopped at 18km to yak and felt “much better after”. How does such Read more...

Night Market Held at Te Oraka

Posted 7:35pm Sunday 18th September 2022 by Zak Rudin

Te Oraka held a “night market” for students last Thursday. It was a chilled, incredibly wholesome night featuring student-run stalls, live acoustic music, thrift shopping and (most importantly) hot choccies. Te Oraka is a student-run sustainability hub, thrift shop, “repair Read more...

Students Take On Ōtepoti’s First Marathon in 3 Years

Posted 7:31pm Sunday 18th September 2022 by Hugh Askerud

Sunday mornings are often a challenge for students indulging in a life of Hemingwayesque hedonism; even more so if you’ve got a 42.2km run lined up in less than an hour. This was the exact predicament a number of students found themselves in as the first marathon to be held in Ōtepoti Read more...

Property Management Offers Prizes for Good Reviews

Posted 7:29pm Sunday 18th September 2022 by Denzel Chung

Last week, an Ōtepoti property manager sent an unsolicited email to all their customers, offering everyone who left a good Google review a chance to win a $500 Prezzy card, while discouraging people from leaving bad reviews. The email was sent by Bex Harris, who co-owns the Propertyscouts Read more...

Crooked Spoke Throws Spring Bike Party

Posted 7:27pm Sunday 18th September 2022 by Zak Rudin

The Spring Bike Party (not to be confused with Springbok Party) hit the streets of Ōtepoti last Friday night. Featuring bikes rigged with sound systems and lots of street dancing, it had “the vibe of a school disco and the agility of a snail”. The party consisted of around 50 people Read more...

(Continued): Every Local Election Candidate, Summarised

Posted 7:25pm Sunday 18th September 2022 by Critic

Running for Dunedin City Council (DCC) Andrew Whiley Team Dunedin Running under the centre-right Team Dunedin ticket, Andrew spruiks his experience “speaking on, representing and supporting all communities across the city”. He wants to ensure “everyone has the opportunity to Read more...

Political Signage Bombards the Streets

Posted 6:03pm Sunday 11th September 2022 by Hugh Askerud

With local council elections just over a month away, political candidates are waiting with baited breath to see if the public will make or break their futures in office. While breath-holding competitions may be the strategy for some, it seems like most have taken to festooning their faces to Read more...

Snow Flurries Hit Ōtepoti

Posted 5:54pm Sunday 11th September 2022 by Zak Rudin

Skiers, snowboarders and snow enthusiasts rejoiced last Monday as snow returned to the streets of Ōtepoti. The flurries hit North Dunedin at around 7:30pm, sending students out into the night in a collective frenzy of excitement, many still clad in their dressing gowns.  Unsurprisingly, Read more...

Psych Building Named After Certified Racist

Posted 5:50pm Sunday 11th September 2022 by Nina Brown

Otago Uni has confirmed that Galton House, an Otago Uni Department of Psychology building, is named after Sir Francis Galton. A world-leading psychologist, statistician, geographer, meteorologist and overall genius, he was also, unfortunately, a massive fucking racist.  Galton was an ardent Read more...

(Almost) Every Local Election Candidate, Summarised

Posted 5:42pm Sunday 11th September 2022 by The Critic News Team

It’s that time of year again: billboards line fences and roadsides, posters with grinning faces are everywhere, targeted ads are clogging your social media feed. Winter has come and gone. Election season is here. But with 39 candidates for the Dunedin City Council (DCC) and 12 Dunedin Read more...

The Hunt for Dunedin’s Space Rock Is On

Posted 5:25pm Sunday 11th September 2022 by Fox Meyer

At 10:50pm on Sunday August 28, a fireball ripped across Otago’s night sky. Three specialty cameras, set up just a month before the event, managed to catch the meteor’s trajectory before it smashed into paddocks just outside Dunedin. To our knowledge, no alien technology has been Read more...

Club Constitutions Won’t Have to be Revamped Quite Yet

Posted 6:49pm Friday 2nd September 2022 by Fox Meyer

OUSA club execs were frustrated last week when a request went out that all OUSA clubs would have to redo their constitutions. This would have been a very lengthy process, and a lack of consultation ruffled some feathers. Action by the OUSA Student Exec has seen this backpedalled, with the addition Read more...

Christchurch Counter Protest Draws Dunedinites Decrying Discrimination

Posted 6:46pm Friday 2nd September 2022 by Denzel Chung

Last Wednesday, a small, dedicated group of anti-fascist protesters confronted a crowd of Counterspin Media supporters in Ōtautahi Christchurch. The anti-fascists hoped to “get their narrative” out, and stood in opposition to a protest marked by intimidation and Islamophobia. Read more...

OUSA’s Annual General Meeting Canned Due To Lack Of Students

Posted 6:45pm Friday 2nd September 2022 by Denzel Chung

OUSA’s annual general meeting (AGM) happened on Tuesday 23 August. Or at least, it should have, before it was cancelled because not enough students showed up. The AGMs, also known as “Student General Meetings” (SGMs), are theoretically meant to be a chance for students to have Read more...

Concerns About “Hidden” Anti-Vaxxers In Local Elections

Posted 6:42pm Friday 2nd September 2022 by Denzel Chung

Local body elections are not often known for being hotbeds of fake news and nastiness, but there are fears that the post-Covid world has changed this. Critic Te Ārohi spoke to Kayli Taylor, a former Otago student now working at the Disinformation Project, to try and cut through the Read more...

Slimy Nitrate Monster Running for Otago Regional Council

Posted 6:38pm Friday 2nd September 2022 by Nina Brown

Slime, a “nitrate monster” that describes itself as “green, slimy, and luscious,” wants to be the first non-human on the Otago Regional Council (ORC). Its goal? Money, at all costs. Graciously, Slime took a break from busily expanding its reign over Aotearoa’s waterways Read more...

Ecology Student Runs for Otago Regional Council

Posted 6:31pm Friday 2nd September 2022 by Denzel Chung

Full disclosure: Elliot is Features Editor at Critic Te Ārohi. Rest assured that we grilled them exactly how we would grill any other council candidate. Elliot Weir, a student doing their Masters in Ecology, is also running for a spot on the Otago Regional Council (ORC). As far as Critic Te Read more...

Police Respond to Dunedin Residents’ Complaints About Noise

Posted 3:35pm Friday 19th August 2022 by Nik Ferit

Disclaimer: This story is entirely fictional and was written by AI In response to complaints from Dunedin residents about noise at student parties, police in the city have adopted a new, more conservative approach, involving specialised officers and increased surveillance of student housing Read more...

Controversial Councillor Candidate Cleared to Run As “Jedi”

Posted 3:33pm Friday 19th August 2022 by Denzel Chung

A candidate for the Dunedin City Council (DCC) is running as an “independent pro-freedom Jedi warrior”. Despite the candidate’s controversial political views, the Chief Jedi of Aotearoa seems to have given his blessing to the move.  Malcolm Moncrief-Spittle, owner of online Read more...

Last-Minute Motions Added to OUSA Ballot

Posted 3:29pm Friday 19th August 2022 by Fox Meyer and Zak Rudin

The upcoming OUSA Annual General Meeting looks to be a serious and no-nonsense event, not to be missed by anyone passionate about student governance and bureaucratic procedure. Current proposals slated for inclusion include investigating the Taj Mahal fire, extending breaks for students, mandating Read more...

School Strike 4 Climate Slated for September

Posted 3:26pm Friday 19th August 2022 by Denzel Chung

Almost a year and a half after their last swathe of nationwide protests, the “School Strike 4 Climate” (SS4C) is planning to return to Aotearoa on September 23. Organisers hope that this will be “the biggest climate strike mobilisation in Aotearoa to this day”.  On Read more...

(Inter-regional) Rail Me Daddy

Posted 3:25pm Friday 19th August 2022 by Keegan Wells

The Government’s Transport and Infrastructure Committee has opened an inquiry into “the future of inter-regional passenger rail in Aotearoa”, hoping to investigate whether trains could play a bigger role in intercity transport. And yes, this means a debauched winter booze train Read more...

Did Weet-Bix’s Stat Attacks Cause the All Blacks To Sink or Swim?

Posted 3:16pm Friday 19th August 2022 by Hugh Askerud

Shoppers were surprised and likely bemused to find Weet-Bix had released a new edition of their infamous Stat Attacks cards in the middle of July: timed perfectly to coincide with the All Blacks’ epic losing streak.  For those who have only ever felt the stale, joyless sensation of Read more...

The Untold Story of the Mysterious Castle Street Tagger

Posted 3:05pm Friday 19th August 2022 by Anna Robertshawe

It was a dark and stormy night, but the Re-O parties were in full swing. DnB raged, bottles were smashed back, students galloped around North D, fuelled by alcohol and a desperation for good (or at least numbing) times. A familiar story. That is, until one visitor from “up north” changed Read more...

Sponsored Money Management Book Given Away By UBS

Posted 3:04pm Friday 19th August 2022 by Denzel Chung

Full disclosure: Denzel is a member of Simplicity, who funded and sponsored Money Made Simple. A mysterious money-management book, sponsored by a KiwiSaver provider, is being given away with every purchase at the University Bookshop (UBS). Critic Te Ārohi decided to investigate, primarily Read more...

Conservation Heroes Buy 40 Boxes of Purple Gs

Posted 3:02pm Friday 19th August 2022 by Fox Meyer

This week, we got a Snapchat of some local conservationists supporting the endangered Purple Goanna. We reached out to these intrepid environmentalists to see what inspired them to make such big sacrifices for such little reptiles.  When we asked Rico, Angus and Ben how many boxes of Purple Read more...

Researchers Want YOUR Poop!

Posted 3:01pm Friday 19th August 2022 by Fox Meyer

On Wednesday, 10 August, a mass email was sent out by Dr. Dominic Agyei in the Food Science Department. It was asking students for their poop. The email was objectively hilarious, opening with the line: “We scratched our heads for a while but could not think of a nicer way to say it than Read more...

First Joint Māori-Pasifika Leadership Hui Held

Posted 1:41pm Monday 15th August 2022 by Fox Meyer

Last weekend, Te Rōpū Māori and the Otago Pacific Island Students’ Association joined forces to tautoko the tauira leaders of tomorrow. The kaupapa (event), the first student-led initiative of its kind at Otago, was attended by over 100 tauira (students) and various guest Read more...

Protest Against Noise Complaints Receives Noise Complaint

Posted 1:39pm Monday 15th August 2022 by Zak Rudin

Around 150 people occupied the Octagon on Sunday August 7 to support Dunedin's iconic Crown Hotel and oppose Dunedin City Council (DCC) regulations which they say have been threatening Dunedin’s live music scene. Ironically, they were even slapped with a noise complaint for their Read more...

Memorial Service Held to Remember Hiroshima

Posted 1:37pm Monday 15th August 2022 by Zak Rudin

A sombre group of around 30 people gathered at the Museum Reserve Peacepole on Saturday August 6, to mark 77 years since the atomic bombing of Hiroshima. Ashley Macmillan from the Department of Peace and Conflict Studies said it was a “gathering to remember the atrocity and call for it never Read more...

Academic Who Withdrew From Sustainability Panel Speaks Out

Posted 1:33pm Monday 15th August 2022 by Denzel Chung

Last week, Critic Te Ārohi reported on the criticism faced by an Otago Uni panel discussion about “Inequality in Aotearoa” which featured an all-Pākehā group of panellists. Ahorangi Tūhono (Associate Professor) Alex MacMillan, who was due to participate in a separate Read more...

Aussie Skateboarder First in World To Hill-Bomb Baldwin

Posted 1:32pm Monday 15th August 2022 by Keegan Wells

On August 1, Zak Mills-Goodwin became the first ever person to bomb Baldwin Street on a skateboard. He thinks he managed to hit speeds of 70km/h, but didn’t want to confirm anything on the record since speed limits can still be broken on skateboards.  Zak, an Australian, has been doing Read more...

All-Male Flat on their 15th Application

Posted 1:31pm Monday 15th August 2022 by Anna Robertshawe

All-male flatting groups are struggling to find a place to live next year. A few have blamed their bad luck on gender discrimination – with stereotypes continuing to haunt boys on the lookout for flats. “It’s the most demoralising thing: turning up to a flat viewing as a group Read more...

Otago Daily Times Runs Paid Articles From Chinese Government

Posted 1:25pm Monday 15th August 2022 by Denzel Chung

On July 28, the Otago Daily Times ran a sponsored article from a media outlet controlled by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), and have since published at least three more. The original article, titled “Chinese-built modern railway leads to brighter future for Kenya,” has nothing to Read more...

$4 Lunch Goes AWOL For A Week, Students Destitute

Posted 7:04pm Friday 5th August 2022 by Nina Brown

OUSA’s beloved $4 lunch fell victim to Aotearoa’s latest Covid wave, forcing it to shut for a week. It left a trail of starving, impoverished students in its wake. Critic Te Arohi went out to check on the destitute, lunch-less masses, left with nothing to sustain them but the salt from Read more...

Students Hoard Minion Daddies

Posted 7:03pm Friday 5th August 2022 by Fox Meyer

Last week, Critic Te Arohi was sent a Snapchat of a student’s room. It was covered wall-to-wall with the Minion Daddy centrefold from our sex issue. Interior design experts Josh and K stopped by to explain their life choices. Josh and K are both first years at Aquinas. K had just moved into Read more...

Peeking Behind the Med Revue Curtain

Posted 7:01pm Friday 5th August 2022 by Zak Rudin

The annual Med Revue took place last weekend, drawing med and non-med students alike for three nights of theatrical antics. “Charlie and the Doctor Factory” gave students their money's worth with three hours of skits and choreographed song and dance. And as a bonus, most of the jokes Read more...

Student Wants YOU! (To Vote, For Him)

Posted 7:00pm Friday 5th August 2022 by Denzel Chung

Otago Uni student Jett Groshinski is the first student to put his hand up for this year’s local body elections. He’s gunning for a spot on the Dunedin City Council (DCC), and is aiming for a chance to wear the Mayoral chains, too.  The PPE (Philosophy/Politics/Economics) and Read more...

Students Upset over Lack of Recordings

Posted 6:58pm Friday 5th August 2022 by Fox Meyer

Lecture recordings are not mandatory at the University of Otago. A debate sparked in COSC204 provides an example of the problems this can create. Associate Professor Andrew Trotman’s decision not to publish recorded lectures led to a lengthy series of emails with his COSC204 students Read more...

International Students Stuck Between A Complex and a Hard Place

Posted 6:56pm Friday 5th August 2022 by Keegan Wells

Nine American international students have been put into an Airbnb “complex” up on Heriot Row, paying US$2,000 more for the semester than what they were originally offered – and not even getting a Kiwihost for the privilege.  These nine students were put into this Read more...

“Inequality in Aotearoa” Discussion Panel Purely Pākehā

Posted 6:53pm Friday 5th August 2022 by Denzel Chung

An Otago Uni panel discussion about “Inequality in Aotearoa” has copped criticism for featuring an all-Pākehā group of panellists. The panel has since been delayed, to give Otago Uni time to “ensure our panel features a diverse range of knowledge and Read more...

Free Speech Debate Looking for Student Voices

Posted 1:51pm Sunday 31st July 2022 by Fox Meyer

Your student president has pulled out of a “free speech panel” hosted by the Free Speech Union (FSU) on 17 August, citing “pressing work and study commitments”. The FSU has previously faced controversy for promoting and platforming views critics say are “extremist, Read more...

OUSA Exec Breach Own Policy

Posted 1:50pm Sunday 31st July 2022 by Fox Meyer

The Student Executive board for OUSA have breached their own accountability policy, according to minutes from the 14 July meeting this year.  All Exec members are required to submit weekly breakdowns of what they’ve been up to, to provide a record of their work and also to prove that Read more...

MĀOR110 Enrolments Up 52%, While Health Sci Numbers Fall

Posted 1:47pm Sunday 31st July 2022 by Leo Lublow-Catty

The Strategy, Analytics and Reporting office (SAR) at Otago Uni have released this year’s enrolment growth statistics, revealing the fastest-growing and fastest-shrinking first-year papers in the 2021-22 period. The paper with the biggest percentage increase in enrolment was EAOS111, Read more...

Burger Plant Changes Ownership

Posted 1:21pm Sunday 31st July 2022 by Zak Rudin

Burger Plant, the vegan burger joint on Fatty Lane, has just changed owners. Critic Te Arohi spoke with Tom, the previous owner and a culinary arts Polytech student, to get to the meat of the issue. What is now Burger Plant began with a little setup at the Farmers Market in 2019: “$600 Read more...

Super Sick Students Surf Stormy Stream

Posted 1:18pm Sunday 31st July 2022 by Keegan Wells

While students across North D were busy hunkering down during last week’s storm, two looked at the waves of the Leith and saw something else: a mid-winter surfing opportunity. They promptly chucked their wetsuits on, rented Unipol boards, and hit the eddy just near the Clyde St bridge on last Read more...

Apartment Development Concerns Musos

Posted 1:17pm Sunday 31st July 2022 by Denzel Chung

Around 60 supporters of Dunedin’s music community gathered for a hui to support the Crown Hotel, amidst fears that the renowned music venue could be threatened by a new apartment building next door. The group are hoping that a protest on Sunday 7th of August could help raise further awareness Read more...

Ultimate Frisbee Club Ultimately Unhappy with Unipol

Posted 1:14pm Sunday 31st July 2022 by Keegan Wells

A new Unipol system which replaces most court bookings with a free-for-all “drop-in-and-play” system has been questioned by Otago Uni’s Ultimate [Frisbee] Club (OUUC), who say that it has been disruptive to training and “makes it hard for small developing sports to grow, Read more...

OUSA Doesn’t Support Fair Pay Agreements

Posted 1:12pm Sunday 31st July 2022 by Denzel Chung

OUSA has criticised the Government’s proposed new Fair Pay Agreements, with their submission on the Bill currently before Parliament calling it a “fundamentally flawed… [and] restrictive model”. This stands in contrast to other student submissions on the Bill, which have Read more...

New Covid Wave Raises Mask Questions

Posted 1:10pm Sunday 31st July 2022 by Zak Rudin

With another semester comes another wave of Covid, and students and staff are once again in the firing line. Despite years of grim Zoom calls making many staff and students desperate for in-person learning, for some, the risk of getting Covid still outweighs the benefits of being on campus. This Read more...

Med Students (Even More) Stressed by Ballot Delays

Posted 1:08pm Sunday 31st July 2022 by Nina Brown

Concerns have been raised by some medical students over the “unnecessary uncertainty” caused by this year's drawn-out Medical School ballot process. Attempts to address an unusually large third-year cohort heading off in 2023 for placement resulted in a lengthy consultation over Read more...

North D Flats Receive an Unwanted Interior Makeover

Posted 1:05pm Sunday 31st July 2022 by Keegan Wells

Several Castle St flats have been broken into recently. Unlike most break-ins, nothing was taken: instead, they’ve received an unwanted interior design makeover, with a face being spray painted on the inside. The culprit is still at large. On the Saturday night of Re-O Week, the residents Read more...

All Buses Stay Half-Price as Services Slashed By 30%

Posted 6:02pm Monday 25th July 2022 by Elliot Weir

Bus fares in Ōtepoti Dunedin will remain at a dollar until January 31 next year, thanks to the Government extending their half-price public transport scheme. A more urgent problem is emerging, however: a driver shortage that is leading to sweeping service cancellations, causing grief for Read more...

StudyLink Wait Times up 37%

Posted 6:01pm Monday 25th July 2022 by Ruby Werry

If you feel like StudyLink wait times are longer than usual this year, you’re on the money. StudyLink claims that average wait times sit at around 20 minutes (up 5 minutes from last year) – but students have been reporting far longer ordeals. Phone calls are already a bit of a mission Read more...

Blame Putin for RTD Shortage

Posted 5:56pm Monday 25th July 2022 by Ruby Werry

If you’ve noticed getting your hands on Diesels or Billy Mavs has been harder recently, you’re not alone, and you’re not wrong. International shortages of bourbon have been causing prices to spike. While the spirit is adored by middle-aged men and those who are middle-aged men at Read more...