Archive

Forbidden Fruits Around Campus: What They Are and Where to Find Them

Posted 12:46am Sunday 14th March 2021 by Susana Jones

If you’re anything like me, you’re perpetually hungry, but you’re also a hopelessly broke student. You don’t have enough time to prepare anything to eat between meals, and are too broke to simply run to the local New World or dairy and grab something quick without it putting Read more...

The 20th Annual* Critic Fish and Chip Review

Posted 12:15am Sunday 14th March 2021 by Alex Leckie-Zaharic

*Disclaimer: Critic did not review Dunedin’s greatest fish and chips in 2020 because there was a lot going on.  Chip and fish. Fish and chip. It can be average as fuck or it can be the food of your dreams. That all depends on where you choose to go. Critic ordered two fish (of Read more...

Blood On Our Hands: Local climate activists taking on big corporations

Posted 11:42pm Saturday 13th March 2021 by Elliot Weir

It’s easy to think that the future is already fucked. Activists of New Zealand past have lived and died fighting for nuclear disarmament, environmental protections, and the return of stolen land to tangata whenua, fed up by the unjust world they saw around them. But we still face apocalyptic Read more...

Indoctrinating Myself With Life FM

Posted 9:57pm Saturday 6th March 2021 by Sean Gourley

FM Radio is like your mate’s parents who you didn’t realise are quite Christian until you started talking about strip clubs in front of them: easy to get along with until Jesus enters the picture. For a bit of a project in O Week, I forced myself to listen to our country’s most Read more...

Spitballing With Scientists: Identifying The Eating Disorder Genes

Posted 9:23pm Saturday 6th March 2021 by Asia Martusia King

Trigger warning: Disordered eating. Maybe you’re born with it. Maybe it’s anorexia nervosa, and you were also born with it. Did you know that alongside environmental influences, eating disorders are significantly predisposed by your genetics? I didn’t, but it sure would have Read more...

The Great Annual Flo and O Week Party Review

Posted 8:35pm Saturday 6th March 2021 by Elliot Weir

  Flo Week and O Week felt more like Slo Week this year. But that’s okay, because people change, and so do annually held fortnight-long parties.  The idea of Flo and O Week is that second and third years can revel in nightly parties free of freshers. However, this year's Read more...

Strength in Numbers: Looking After Your Mental Health as a Pasifika Student

Posted 3:58pm Tuesday 2nd March 2021 by Susana Jones

I remember walking in to Student Health as a fresher many moons ago, feeling crook as fuck in all ways possible, just needing some help. I looked around for a brown face or name. There were none in sight. My name, pronounced incorrectly, was called out by the Caucasian doctor, summoning me to their Read more...

Scary Stories to Tell in the Dorm: Investigating Campus Superstitions

Posted 2:21pm Tuesday 2nd March 2021 by Asia Martusia King

Otago University is the mysterious old crone of tertiary education. Many spooky stories lie within her walls. She squats in her rocking chair and cackles ominously, regaling dementia-ridden urban legends and superstitions to gossipy students who love a bit of tea. Superstitions are beliefs that Read more...

Fruits Of Our Labour: Is Seasonal Orchard Work All It’s Cracked Up To Be?

Posted 2:08pm Tuesday 2nd March 2021 by Annabelle Vaughan

With the borders at a close thanks to the ripper of a year that was 2020, orchards across New Zealand cried out for help. Many Otago students answered the call to be a “Harvest Hero” and embarked on their agricultural adventure. For some, it didn’t turn out to be the experience Read more...

Exclusive Interviews with the Cats of North Dunedin

Posted 4:35pm Sunday 4th October 2020 by Elliot Weir

Cats. The muse of many art forms, from 2011 internet memes to 2019 musicals that you really shouldn’t watch high. Unfortunately, most students have neither the time nor the home to house any pets so when we see one of the many cats wandering the streets of North Dunedin we take all the Read more...

The Ultimate Guide to Pulling an All Nighter

Posted 4:30pm Sunday 4th October 2020 by Annabelle Vaughan

With exams and end of year assignments rapidly approaching, it’s highly likely you are going to have to pull an all nighter or 12. Maybe you’ve had to pull one due to your terrible time management, or your ability to procrastinate literally any university related task, or maybe you have Read more...

Working in the Sun: Top Jobs to Get Cause Rent’s Still Due in January.

Posted 4:18pm Sunday 4th October 2020 by Jack Gilmore

Well guys, the time has come. University is drawing to a close, the weather’s getting warmer, Bunnings have put up the inflatable Santa. Summer is upon us. Everyone loves summer. You can go swimming in a lake, listen to Bat Fangs single “Boy of Summer”, have a long walk through the Read more...

Studying Yourself

Posted 9:50pm Thursday 24th September 2020 by Kaiya Cherrington

Content warning: mentions eating disorders, self-image, and body dysmorphia Sitting in a lecture hall, Alex* goes about their day like usual, with the expectation to learn about their body and how food can affect them. What Alex didn’t expect, is the unintentional resurgence of negative Read more...

#De-Gender Fashion

Posted 9:30pm Thursday 24th September 2020 by Naomii Seah

From women wearing men’s tailored suits in the 1920s, to the sequins and disco-glamour of the 70s, to the new forms of androgynous fashion in the noughties and beyond, queerness and fashion have a long and complex history. In 2020, that relationship is even more evident, with the influence of Read more...

Why is Town So Shit? An Investigation

Posted 4:56pm Sunday 20th September 2020 by Elliot Weir

It's no secret that Dunedin has flat parties good enough to make boomers get mad on the news. But when it comes to going into town, we’re a bit shit compared to anywhere else. With only a couple of clubs, long lines, minimal food options, and a student body that can't actually afford Read more...

The Mothras: a Review of OUSA’s Long Lost Film Festival

Posted 4:47pm Sunday 20th September 2020 by Annabelle Vaughan

Back in the good old days, OUSA held an annual student film festival called the Mothras. It was created by student Stephen Hall-Jones in ‘91 and lasted a whole two decades before being ruthlessly taken from us for being too expensive and timely to produce. R.I.P.  Originally sponsored by Read more...

How to Pretend you know E-Sports

Posted 9:42pm Thursday 17th September 2020 by Anon

As American Baseball All-Star Sean Doolittle said, “sports are like the reward of a functioning society”. We recognise the trials of athletes as an achievement for life being normal. Unfortunately, life is not normal right now. Now that traditional sports are no longer as massive as they Read more...

Learning Te Reo Māori as a Māori Student

Posted 10:48pm Thursday 10th September 2020 by Kaiya Cherrington

Te reo Māori is an official language of Aotearoa, but has only been recognised as such since 1987. For Māori, their language has always been the ‘official’ one. For Māori in the early 1900s, most notably before the World Wars, te reo was their first language. However Read more...

Post-Colonial Faith

Posted 10:36pm Thursday 10th September 2020 by Naomii Seah

“Māori theology is spiritual, but it’s also political.” Māori religion and theology has a long and complex history in Aotearoa New Zealand. Importantly, conversion of Māori to Christianity during the 1830s benefitted increasing Crown interest in land speculation: Read more...

Minorities in Medicine: Why Otago University’s proposed cap on medicine will break, not make, the future of our health workforce

Posted 10:34pm Thursday 10th September 2020 by Annabelle Vaughan

About two months ago, Critic published a story titled ‘A Seat at Our Table’ which shared the experiences of Māori students here at Otago University and the stigma surrounding alternative entry pathways. While the article and interviewees were met with plenty of support, there was no Read more...

The Faces Behind the Feed: The Stories Behind Dunedin’s Most Iconic Cafes

Posted 10:13pm Thursday 3rd September 2020 by Annabelle Vaughan

Dunedin loves its legendary cafes. They are meeting places, study spaces, a place for a catch up with friends, a gig, or a date. Our social lives, as well as our energy meters, revolve around these spaces. But there’s a high chance that we don’t know the stories behind these places, or Read more...

The Politics of Shared Flat Cooking

Posted 10:12pm Thursday 3rd September 2020 by Caroline Moratti

Shared flat cooking can sound like the best idea in the world. You get to save time, money and kitchen space, all whilst bonding with your flatties over a kitchen table and a square meal. What could be more charming? The reality though, can be far from the Brady Bunch lovefest you might be Read more...

What’s for Dinner?

Posted 9:57pm Thursday 3rd September 2020 by Fox Meyer

“Cooking is about controlling fire and water.” With two elements safely under his belt, our professional chef-for-a-day is halfway to becoming the Avatar. Critic extorted him for a free meal. I asked Tony Heptinstall (Senior Lecturer at the Polytech’s Food Design Institute) to Read more...

How to Make Your First Date Less Boring

Posted 9:18pm Thursday 27th August 2020 by Naomii Seah

Dating in Dunedin is hard. It’s even harder when the three options available for a date location are: a generic George St cafe, a bar, or their house at 3am. Without some real imagination, Dunedin is relentlessly boring - where else are you going to go? St Clair? The museum? While all decent Read more...

Best Places to Have Deep and Meaningfuls

Posted 9:16pm Thursday 27th August 2020 by Kaiya Cherrington

If you’re looking to change up your environment for unloading your emotional baggage on some friends and listening to their existential crises, then hitting up a lookout is an obvious solution. Whether it’s a dusty Sunday or a tearful Thursday, there’s nothing like a car therapy Read more...

Class of 2020: Graduates in the Midst of Covid-19

Posted 9:14pm Thursday 27th August 2020 by Annabelle Vaughan

Graduating is both scary and exciting. On one hand, it’s a major milestone signifying great achievements, hard work and the start of a new chapter. On the other, it’s a time filled with uncertainty and nervousness as we enter our first fancy grad jobs or gap years. But for the class of Read more...

The Cannabis Referendum: Why Young People Are Pro Legalisation

Posted 8:27pm Thursday 13th August 2020 by Jackson Burgess

The cannabis referendum - which is taking place next month, simultaneously with the general election - is about more than just whether or not you want to blaze up with your mates.  On 19 September, every voter will choose ‘yes’ or ‘no’ to the Cannabis Legalisation and Read more...

The Downfall of Drum and Bass: The Dunedin Musicians Who are Reinvigorating the Dunedin Sound

Posted 8:16pm Thursday 13th August 2020 by Annabelle Vaughan

There are many sounds which come to mind when one thinks of Dunedin. The sound of students screaming at flat parties, the wrath of an evil seagull on the hunt for his perfect French fry, the shattering of glass bottles, the static of a lecturer’s microphone, and perhaps most infamously, the Read more...

How to Pretend You Know Basketball

Posted 8:14pm Thursday 13th August 2020 by Anon

If an all-powerful alien entity approached Earth, and in a moment of mercy they allow us a chance to earn our intergalactic freedom via a game of our choice, that choice would undoubtedly be basketball. They’ve even made a fucking film about it, Space Jam, starring real aliens and the single Read more...

Why Go Dry?

Posted 12:31pm Sunday 9th August 2020 by Naomii Seah

“Drinking had taken a depressing toll on my mental health,” said Sushanth. It’s a familiar story. Drinking has become so normalised in Aotearoa that sinking a few beersies with the mates is often the default mode of socialising. Although there can be nothing wrong with Read more...

The Cheapest Drinks in the Octy: A Drunk Investigation

Posted 10:05pm Thursday 6th August 2020 by Kaiya Cherrington

Everyone knows the key to going into town is pre-loading. Without doing this, we would not only freeze to death, but be sober enough to realise that town is shit and we should be in bed. It’s also the cheapest option, and can be the best part of a night out. But regardless of how much you Read more...

Dunedin’s Pub Quizzes, Ranked

Posted 10:03pm Thursday 6th August 2020 by Fox Meyer

Considering a cheeky quiz night? Here’s what to expect from your local pubs. Dunedin has enough pub quizzes to have something for everyone. From hardcore quizzes to pissups with a side of trivia, there’s plenty to be found. The scores I’ve given are just a personal rating, so Read more...

How to Pretend you know Rugby

Posted 8:37pm Thursday 30th July 2020 by Anon

When I was a wee lad, we would jump in the car, head out to Grandad’s and watch rugby on his big telly. It was legendary. Yelling, jumping, Bluebird chips; from a young age I was hooked on the culture of this bizarre sport. As I got to uni, and started attending the Zoo (rest in paradise, Read more...

Ready, Set, Go: Red Cards in Dunedin

Posted 1:24pm Sunday 26th July 2020 by Caroline Moratti

A red card is a sacred institution, a legacy bestowed to us from our ancestors. Much like oral sex, it’s a delight, but only if you know what you’re doing. There are rules you must follow - both as giver and receiver - to ensure that everyone has a good time. No one likes too much teeth, Read more...

Last Man Standing

Posted 1:18pm Sunday 26th July 2020 by Fox Meyer

8 months, 2,800 kilometers and $25,000 in donations later, Otago alum Jono Hartland (of Scarfie Weather fame) is almost done with the Te Araroa trail. This man is walking the length of the entire country. Why? “At this point it’s about exposure - getting as many people to donate what Read more...

A Seat at Our Table

Posted 1:14pm Sunday 26th July 2020 by Annabelle Vaughan

Throughout my years at university, I have been relentlessly interrogated, ridiculed and challenged on one thing: my Māori heritage. Something which, despite it being no one else’s business, has been a consistent topic of conversation. A conversation which always leads to invasive Read more...

Wild Boi Pete Naik: Wildlife Photographer

Posted 7:59pm Thursday 16th July 2020 by Fox Meyer

Pete Naik has only sent a dick pic to customers once, and you can see it on page 3. The road leading up to that moment started in Dunedin, and following an unconventional path, it also ended in Dunedin. The same day that he snapped the picture of that pink penis, NZ began to close its borders to Read more...

Ihumātao: A Year On

Posted 7:56pm Thursday 16th July 2020 by Kaiya Cherrington

"Toitu te whenua, ake ake ake" we chanted. It’s July 26, 2019, and 300 people gathered in front of the Otago Museum reserve. We marched down the main street, collecting newcomers as we did. We circled around the Octagon. The Octagon is where marches usually end but, this time, we Read more...

Which Water Around Campus Is Tastiest?

Posted 7:53pm Thursday 16th July 2020 by Critic

During a dusty darty one afternoon, I drank from the Leith river. It left me bedridden for a week with a fever and a cold sweat. Every flush of the toilet was literally flushing down what miniscule amounts of energy and happiness I had left. Student health diagnosed me with ‘ruining your Read more...

How to Celebrate Matariki and Simultaneously Fix Your Whole Life

Posted 1:22pm Sunday 12th July 2020 by Kaiya Cherrington

Matariki, or Puanga for some iwi, is the integral time in the Māori Lunar calendar when a cluster of nine stars become visible in our sky during Winter, signifying the New Year. This year, Matariki is observed from 13 – 20 July. Matariki was an important time for Māori ancestors Read more...

Horsin’ Around: Ketamine on Campus

Posted 1:19pm Sunday 12th July 2020 by Asia Martusia King

In March, I got a Google invite from the University of Otago. 2pm – 4pm. KETAMINE. Ketamine is an anaesthetic, known for its usage on horses as a tranquilliser. It also gets you fucked up and therefore is illegal for recreational use. Ketamine can be found on campus, but only if you Read more...

Girls Who Game

Posted 1:13pm Sunday 12th July 2020 by Naomii Seah

Women have hobbies. That seems like an obvious statement, but in some ways, it’s radical. Since the dawn of time, women have been persecuted for enjoying the same things that men enjoy—whether it’s comic books, certain TV shows, or gaming. For some unknown reason, the thought of Read more...

Ranking Our Childhood TV Presenters Based on How Much I Want to Fight Them

Posted 1:47am Friday 3rd July 2020 by Henessey Griffiths

Children’s television in the early 2000’s was such a vibe. Whether it be waking up every Sunday to try call the What Now Telly-Op’s to get some free gunge, or trying to get your spot on Sticky Stars Duets; high quality shows like What Now, Sticky TV, Studio 2 and the Erin Simpson Read more...

Student Organisers on Black Lives Matter

Posted 1:24am Friday 3rd July 2020 by Naomii Seah

“People are here because they want to see change,” said TJ, one of the organizers of the Dunedin Black LivesMatter march on June 14. It was the beginning of level two. Hundreds of Dunedites flooded the streets, wearing masks and brandishing pickets. The crowd moved down George Street Read more...

Venues are Struggling, and We Should Care More About It

Posted 11:23pm Thursday 21st May 2020 by Henessey Griffiths

Going to gigs is about more than live music. It includes a smorgasbord of various things that come together to form the gig experience: the other punters, the vibe, the IPAs available. The voyage that musicians have been on, from stage to livestream, has been reasonably well documented. But what Read more...

Radio One Deep Dive: Unapologetically Loud, Live and Local

Posted 10:30pm Thursday 21st May 2020 by Sinead Gill

Sean Norling is the station manager at Radio One. If you’ve never met him in person, chances are you wouldn’t recognise him in passing. His vibe is lowkey. He doesn’t like his photo being taken. When Critic met him in his office, it was like he felt pained to be interviewed: Read more...

Māori Experiences In Aotearoa’s Music Industry

Posted 7:26pm Thursday 21st May 2020 by Kaiya Cherrington

Māori mainstream music had a breakthrough in 1984 with ‘Poi E’ by Patea Māori Club, reviving te reo Māori songs within a country that popularised little beforehand. Notably, Prince Tui Teka was another early Māori artist who performed songs in te reo Māori Read more...

How to Develop a Nicotine Addiction

Posted 1:06am Friday 15th May 2020 by Naomii Seah

When I was 18, I smoked my first cigarette. I was roaring drunk, on the balcony of an Auckland club, and I remember feeling so cool—rebellious, even. The morning after, however, I began to feel super guilty. My dad had smoked cigarettes his whole life, and he lost a kidney for it. I remember Read more...

Long Live the King

Posted 11:58pm Thursday 14th May 2020 by Fox Meyer

According to over 150 Critic readers, these are the definitive King’s Cup rules for Otago students: 2: You, with 93.6%. Nominate a drink. 3: Me, with 93.6%.  You must drink. 4: Whores, with 61.8%.  People identifying as female must drink. 5: House Rules, with Read more...

Period Suppression: The Hidden Benefit of Contraception

Posted 4:19pm Thursday 14th May 2020 by Naomii Seah

The first time I got my period, I was nine. I didn’t know what a period was, and I didn’t know why people were making such a huge deal out of it. It didn’t hurt much, it was just alarming. I was sure that it wasn’t normal to bleed out of your vagina, and I was sure adults Read more...