Archive

Your Wellness Instagram Is Just Yassified Colonialism, Actually.

Posted 11:51am Monday 11th September 2023 by Annabelle Parata Vaughan

I think we can all probably agree that the golden age of social media is officially over. We’re no longer posting wholesome and heartfelt statuses on Facebook or being unapologetically cringe on Instagram while simultaneously running a successful One Direction Twitter fan account. Instead, Read more...

Literary Legends: A Peek Inside 2023’s New Zealand Young Writers Festival

Posted 9:02pm Sunday 3rd September 2023 by Annabelle Parata Vaughan

From the 21st to the 24th of September, Ōtepoti is lucky enough to be hosting the New Zealand Young Writers Festival. Produced by Dunedin Fringe Festival, the event is a free, four-day celebration of our creative community across all literary forms: poetry, fiction, zines, journalism, podcasts, Read more...

Pussy, Power and the Patriarchy

Posted 8:45pm Sunday 3rd September 2023 by Nā Skyla from Ngāti Hine

Being a boss bitch comes with an asterisk. Even that term, boss bitch, still carries the word “bitch” in it, as if women can’t be in charge without being insufferable. But despite all the resistance, many have forced their way to the top. Like a modern Elle Woods, pushing on in Read more...

Self-guided art tour/pub crawl

Posted 3:51pm Sunday 13th August 2023 by Critic

Want to go see some art but also want to make it a red card? Here are some pre-planned stops on an art gallery pub crawl. Just remember: no touching the galleries, even after ten pints. And no, you couldn’t have made that yourself.    Start at Ironic Bar and Cafe before heading Read more...

Rouge:

Posted 2:17pm Monday 7th August 2023 by Zak Rudin

Disclaimer: OUSA does not endorse dumpster diving as it can have serious legal ramifications.     Joey, a local fashion dumpster diver, told Critic Te Ārohi dumpster fashion “is fast fashion”. As in, you’ve gotta be fast: “I don’t want to get Read more...

The American College Jumper. Why?

Posted 1:51pm Monday 7th August 2023 by myia Pearce

I doubt many Americans are walking around their college campuses with Otago University jumpers.    You don’t need to visit Michigan to rock U of M gear. You don’t need to know how to pronounce “Worcester'' to look like an alumni, and the only reason I can Read more...

OPINION: Everyone dresses queer now and it’s fucking with my gaydar

Posted 1:43pm Monday 7th August 2023 by Amelia Blockley

Gaydar is a magical thing. It gives us queer folk the ability to pick up on little hints and clues that can guide our flirtatious approach, and since the 1940s and 1950s fashion has been one of the best ways to sense someone’s queerness. Docs, work wear, chunky rings, and suits were some of Read more...

The Search for Conehenge

Posted 1:45pm Monday 31st July 2023 by Hugh Askerud

Ahhh, the simple art of cone theft. Over the years many have loaded a number of descriptions onto this noble craft: thrilling, devious, psychotic even, but pointless? Many have dared to make this bold assertion, calling cone theft ludicrous for the fact that the art has no purpose. And…to Read more...

Degrees and How They Smell: A walkthrough of the academic perfume aisle

Posted 1:43pm Monday 31st July 2023 by Rose mills

Computer science: The worst. Just the worst. Have you been to the comp sci labs in the science building? They absolutely reek. They never shower because they don't want to get their electronics wet. Yuck.   Natural sciences: Distinct aroma of mud, weed, and septum piercing. Strangely Read more...

Chlöe Swarbrick: On Harm Reduction, Landlords, and (still) being the Youngest in Parliament

Posted 4:34pm Monday 24th July 2023 by Annabelle Parata Vaughan

Whether you love her or hate her, over the past few years, it’s been hard to ignore Chlöe Swarbrick. The 29-year-old Green Party Member and Auckland Central MP was elected to office at 23, making her the youngest politician to enter parliament since Marilyn Waring in 1975. In 2023 Read more...

Fresh Stress Relief

Posted 4:27pm Monday 24th July 2023 by Fox Meyer

It’s that time of year again - it’s ten degrees colder than when you first began to complain about the winter chill, your fingers continue to grow stiff on your laptop keyboard, it’s difficult to get out of bed in the morning, and the motivation you thought would return after the Read more...

OPINION: Gaslighting is totally normal, actually. (a response)

Posted 4:21pm Monday 24th July 2023 by Lotto Ramsay

Gaslighting is totally normal, and I can’t believe you didn’t know that. Assuming you’re a loyal Critic reader, I’m sure you know all about gaslighting by now. We can’t seem to publish an issue without mentioning the word, and we even ran a feature earlier this year Read more...

How to Take Your Landlord to Court

Posted 9:58pm Tuesday 18th July 2023 by Zak Rudin

Dunedin’s rental rates are rising faster than any other university town in the country, but the quality of the homes is not exactly a sterling standard. Since people come and go every year, it can be easy for a property owner to neglect a home for years on end, always promising to do work for Read more...

Prime Minister Chris Hipkins: On the Tertiary Sector, Student Life, and Protesting

Posted 9:44pm Tuesday 18th July 2023 by Annabelle Parata Vaughan

Prime Minister Chris Hipkins represents one thing: hope. At least, hope for rangas and hope for people from The Hutt that, despite the circumstances they were born into, they too can achieve their dreams. While he now has the biggest job in the country, it wasn’t long ago that Chippy was just Read more...

Opinion: Nepotism: It’s okay if it’s tradition!

Posted 5:58pm Monday 29th May 2023 by Nā Skyla from Ngāti Hine

Exam season may be daunting but, remember, if old mate Charlie can succeed the throne at the overripe age of 74 and still not know his allocated lines, then you can walk off that B+ with your head held high. Despite the archaic, dormant vibe that the British monarchy insists on maintaining in the Read more...

South Otago Pubs Ranked by How Scared I Am to be In Them

Posted 5:52pm Monday 29th May 2023 by Hugh Askerud

Last month I cut my hair short. No longer was I the long-haired lad who sat reading Proust in the summer sun. Instead, I endeavoured to become the beer-guzzling, duck-shooting, rugby-loving, Southern man which my rugged short hair prescribed me to be. Yet how is it possible to make such a rapid Read more...

Opinion: Dear Straight Men: Gay Girls Leaving Gay Events Don’t Want to Fuck You

Posted 6:00pm Thursday 25th May 2023 by Becca Thorby

With Dunedin Pride month firmly at our backs, a memory that stands out to me was Woof! and Dunedin Pride’s club night ‘Wetness’ on March 19. The dress code was the very elaborate “moist / thirst-trap / tropical summer / poolside swimwear / evening-wear skin / cabana cocktail Read more...

Drum and Bass: How it took root in Dunedin

Posted 4:05pm Sunday 21st May 2023 by Anna Robertshawe

In the 1800s, they brought gorse from the UK. Now it’s everywhere. In the 2000s, another import took root in Dunedin’s soil: Drum and Bass. Whether you love to hate it or hate to love it, you can’t deny the fact that drum and bass is at the heart of Dunedin music culture. Read more...

Banned Shirts: Why Not Knowing the Band is an Act of Feminism

Posted 3:49pm Sunday 21st May 2023 by Jamiema Lorimer

Nirvana. The Beatles. Pink Floyd. Bands that mean absolutely nothing to the girlies. Or do they? In this essay, I will outline why basic bitches wearing band shirts is actually a feminist act of sticking it to the man. Self-proclaimed music bros, Anthony Fantano subscribers, and guys who tune Read more...

QUIZ: Which Dunedin Venue Are You?

Posted 3:26pm Sunday 21st May 2023 by Annabelle Parata Vaughan

Your latest Tinder match hits you with the dreaded question: “What kind of music are you into?” What half-truth will make you seem more interesting? Jazz, but like, real jazz. Have you seen Whiplash? I’m actually in a surf rock band, that’s probably my go-to Read more...