Archive

4 Modern Dating Situations And How To Deal With Them

Posted 11:51am Sunday 4th October 2026 by Jesse Valpy

Dating isn’t easy, especially at university. Everything’s changed since our parents were courting each other via carrier pigeon, so we’ve put together some advice applicable to today’s dating scene. This isn’t one-size-fits-all, but it’s a starting point.  Read more...

Help! I’m In A Homoerotic Friendship!

Posted 11:50am Sunday 4th October 2026 by Critic

Relationships are not a concrete concept, but rather something much more fluid. This may very well be one of the biggest lessons I have learnt since moving out of home and going to university. ‘Boyfriend and girlfriend’ is not a rigid term, it turns out. The more people you meet and form Read more...

What’s Your Number?

Posted 2:12pm Sunday 27th September 2026 by Haritha Surendran Nair

Hector* clocks in at 7, Tonya* at 10, Dominica* at 16 and Augusto*? A solid 41. Get your mind out of the gutter, folks – I’m not talking about that number. I’m talking about a number that – through no fault of your own – can change your life, make or break your dream Read more...

Your Body, On Drugs: What's Actually Happening in There?

Posted 2:09pm Sunday 27th September 2026 by Molly Smith-Soppet

Today is a very special day. Today, we are riding the Magic School Bus into our friend Sally. Sally is having a very normal night for an Otago student. There’s alcohol in her stomach, caffeine keeping her eyes open and nicotine being passed around. As the evening progresses, things are Read more...

Flatting Rights 101: What They Don’t Tell You

Posted 11:48am Sunday 20th September 2026 by Pieta Campbell, Jackson Larner, Ivy Turner and Jack Vivian

Have you had some dodgy experiences in your time flatting? Do you wanna know if your landlord is a GC or just taking advantage of the fact you're a student? Are all flats meant to smell musty and have drains that don't actually drain? Take this quiz to test out your flatting knowledge, Read more...

Critic Te Ārohi’s Guide to BYO Wine Pairings

Posted 11:37am Sunday 20th September 2026 by Critic Staff

There comes a time in every student's life when you must stop choosing wine based solely on what's cheapest, has the cutest bottle, or contains the most alcohol. Not every time, obviously – we’re not made of money. But perhaps for one glorious evening, while sitting in a BYO and Read more...

Tipihaere in Tōkyō

Posted 12:29pm Sunday 13th September 2026 by Brady Simeon

There is something slightly unsettling about turning 21. Everyone makes such a fuss about it that you start wondering whether you’re supposed to feel different when the number changes. Spoiler: it doesn’t. I’d spent enough time imagining the usual party: a big venue, an even bigger Read more...

GRWM: Pounamu Palette

Posted 12:27pm Sunday 13th September 2026 by Jessie-Jade Witeri (Ngāti Whakāue, Te Whakatōhea, Ngāti Ranginui, Ngāti Whanaunga)

Imagine the South Island launching its own eyeshadow palette. Crack open the compact, and you’ll find smoky forest greens, creamy blue sheens, leafy olives, and icy shimmers that easily double as highlight. Except this collection isn’t sitting beneath the fluorescent lights at Mecca; it Read more...

Find Your Feel-Good Fit

Posted 12:23pm Sunday 13th September 2026 by Te Āwhina Brundell

Let’s be real: exams are around the corner, and as a working student doing my master’s and juggling everything in between, I know how quickly hauora can slip down the priority list. And when life gets this busy, it’s hard not to look to the endless wellness advice filling our feeds Read more...

Are You Bound For Burnout?

Posted 12:21pm Sunday 13th September 2026 by Te Awhirēinga Heperi

Uni life can be a lot, but the end of the semester is drawing near – and so are those assessments and exams. Are you keeping your hauora in check, or are you one deadline away from a meltdown? Take the quiz, check in with yourself, and see where you’re at. Your alarm goes off at 8am. Read more...

We’re All Friendless Losers

Posted 11:45am Sunday 6th September 2026 by Saraia Allais

Every morning I wake up and check in on my friends.  One’s in New York making a protein smoothie. Another's in LA getting her biweekly spray tan. A third is in London telling me how their ex traumatized them. None of these people know who I am.  I’m spending my time Read more...

The Brunch Theory

Posted 11:26am Sunday 6th September 2026 by Imogen Perry

Relationships are out. Brunch is in. Everyone knows it. But what about those brave soldiers trapped somewhere in the in-between, balancing the orgasmic elation of overpriced breakfast foods, with the heavy burden of commitment, co-dependence and having regular sex with the same person? Don’t Read more...

5 Thing I Think the Man Had a Hand In

Posted 1:19pm Sunday 23rd August 2026 by Saraia Allais

For legal purposes, I reject the term “conspiracy theorist”. It makes people think about ol’ Uncle Jack sitting on his front porch in a tinfoil hat with a rifle across his lap. That’s not me. I am a well-educated, highly suspicious, and arguably brave Read more...

Home

Posted 11:32am Sunday 23rd August 2026 by Molly Smith-Soppet

I have spent five years ruminating on the idea of home. On where it is, what it is, and what it means to me, and to those around me. I was lucky. I grew up in a happy family who lived in the same house from when I was six months old until I left for uni, so I had never really needed to question Read more...

Red Card Inspo

Posted 9:58am Sunday 16th August 2026 by Stella Weston

This one is specifically for the 26.1% of the 2026 Critic Census respondents who, when asked if they’d participated in a red card in the last year, responded “What’s a red card?”  Disgusting.  The red card is a cornerstone of the mythical institution that is Read more...

How To De-AI-ify Your Life

Posted 9:53am Sunday 16th August 2026 by Hanna Varrs

AI tools are pretty much everywhere, and Big Tech has done a stellar job in normalising their incorporation into just about every digital product we use.  What I will say is that I am not anti-AI in any blanket statement sense. I do believe that there are applications of AI that will do Read more...

Which Shrek Character Are You?

Posted 3:44pm Saturday 8th August 2026 by Saraia Allais

With Shrek 5’s teaser trailer finally out, it was only a matter of time before Critic Te Ārohi asked the important questions. Are you an emotionally stunted ogre? A professional yapper? Or just Lord Farquaad with a student loan? There's only one way to find out.  1. Read more...

Potion Recipes

Posted 3:36pm Saturday 8th August 2026 by Stella Weston

Sometimes no amount of logical thinking, communication, or personal growth can save you. Sometimes you need something a bit stronger: a little divine intervention, a sprinkle of fairy dust, and true manifestation. After years of research (and several misfortunate magical accidents), Critic Te Read more...

We Cursed the ODT Via Etsy Witch

Posted 3:34pm Saturday 8th August 2026 by Critic

There comes a point in every publication's life where conventional dispute resolution has run its course. In Critic Te Ārohi’s case, it happened one hundred and one years in. You can write a letter to the editor. You can request a correction. You can complain privately in the Read more...

40 Ways to Start a Conversation

Posted 11:27am Sunday 2nd August 2026 by Molly Smith-Soppet

As many of you will have experienced recently, tutorials have just started back up. And with the return of tuts comes one of university’s most painful traditions: the dreaded ice breaker. It always starts the same way. “Tell us your name, where you’re from, and what you did over Read more...