Archive
Outgoing Presidential Address
Posted 8:25pm Sunday 13th October 2024 by Keegan Wells
Tēnā koutou, Wow! What a year! We laughed, we cried, we paddled the flooded Leith, we got a new plinth, and had a lot of $4 lunch along the way. In one of my final acts of dictatorship, I am stealing these two pages of Critic Te Ārohi. I have lived many different Read more...
Choose Your Own Adventure: Exam Procrastination Edition
Posted 7:39pm Sunday 13th October 2024 by Nicky Patterson
1. The end of the year has rolled around once again and there’s nothing you’d rather be doing right now than studying for your 60% exam. But before you do, what’s the harm in just taking a little preemptive brain break? As you look around from your freshly obtained perch in Read more...
The Game of Life, But It’s Just Your Summer 24/25
Posted 6:28pm Sunday 13th October 2024 by Molly Smith-Soppet
Answer these questions and we’ll tell you what you will spend your summer doing. 1. What is the best Campus Shop pie? Mince & Cheese Steak & Cheese Butter Chicken Pepper Steak Veggie Korma Spinach & Feta Roll 2. What is your go-to music genre for Read more...
The Game of Love
Posted 7:29pm Sunday 6th October 2024 by Molly Smith-Soppet
Everything I Know About (Platonic) Love
Posted 7:16pm Sunday 6th October 2024 by Ellie Bennett
I came to university thinking I’d find The One. I was obsessed with the idea that I’d lock eyes with someone across the lecture theatre and be swept into this great, all-consuming romance; that I’d leave here after three years with not only a degree, but a soulmate. That’s Read more...
Homo-geneous
Posted 9:27am Sunday 6th October 2024 by Monty O’Rielly
I don’t even let Georgie get a word out. “It happened again.” They blink, trying to catch up with what I said. “What happened again?” “It. It happened again.” Georgie sighs, “You really have to be more clear.” “She had been fucking Read more...
The Official Dunner Lover Test
Posted 8:31am Sunday 6th October 2024 by Nina Brown
Find out where you rate on the scale from loveless hermit to hopeless romantic. In the pursuit of a crush or during a courtship, have you ever… Used dating apps? Deleted dating apps for them? Stalked their mum's Facebook for pictures of them? Gone through their tagged Read more...
Opinion: She’s Not Your Manic Pixie Dream Girl(friend), She Has ADHD
Posted 11:16am Saturday 5th October 2024 by Jodie Evans
The manic pixie dream girl doesn’t do small talk, only enigmatic discussions about the universe and its infinite possibilities. She stargazes from abandoned rooftops, sings out loud in the supermarket, and writes poetry on bathroom stalls. Her love language is dancing barefoot in the rain. She Read more...
More Gum Than a Wrigley’s Factory: Southern Sounds Reviewed
Posted 5:38pm Saturday 28th September 2024 by Hanna Varrs
Start to finish, baby. Critic Te Ārohi set off to review Southern Sounds from 2pm to 10pm – the full ride. This review was collated from a series of voice memos, videos, photos, and interviews with the few punters we convinced to speak to us. “Buckle up Dunners,” Read more...
Will It Frisbee: A Critic Te Ārohi Experiment
Posted 4:38pm Saturday 28th September 2024 by Sam Smith-Soppet
Abstract Ever found yourself zoning out staring at an object, wondering how far you could throw it? Yeah, that. Welcome to Critic Does Sport: Frisbee Edition. Introduction We assembled the Uni’s best and brightest (your bona fide ranga reporter and our only friend who can throw Read more...
Run Club Tinder
Posted 4:34pm Saturday 28th September 2024 by Jodie Evans
If your Instagram feed is full of Lulu-clad twenty-somethings dashing around Dunedin’s streets at the crack of fucking dawn, you’re not the only one. Run clubs are cropping up everywhere. Hailed by loyalists as an energising route to meeting others in the running community, there are now Read more...
Flat Fungi: Peziza? Do you mean pizza?
Posted 8:22pm Sunday 22nd September 2024 by Imogen Harris
A second-year 6-man Dundas flat has made the alarming discovery of a large rubbery mushroom sprouting from their carpet. What is it? Is it delicious or poisonous? Friend or foe? And what does it mean for the state of their flat? Critic Te Ārohi consults a Botany student to find Read more...
The Great Annual Critic Bar Review
Posted 8:18pm Sunday 22nd September 2024 by Nina Brown
Critic Te Ārohi once again pitted local bars against each other in our annual review. We chose sixteen heavy-hitters and put them to a vote in four rounds of polls on Critic’s Instagram story – democracy at its finest. After a nail-biting semi-final between last year’s champ Read more...
OUSA Student Support: Asking for a Friend
Posted 8:15pm Sunday 22nd September 2024 by OUSA Student Support
Student life isn’t always easy. For OUSA Mental Health and Well-being Week, Student Support answers your questions with advice on everything from how to deal with loneliness to giving a woman an orgasm. You can find OUSA Student Support at 262 Leith Walk behind the purple door for Read more...
Ngā Wai-hono-i-te-pō and the Kīngitanga Movement
Posted 4:26am Monday 16th September 2024 by Molly Smith-Soppet
Shockwaves reverberated through the motu on Friday, August 30th, as Aotearoa learned of the passing of Kīngi Tūheitia Pōtatou Te Wherowhero VII, the Māori King. Less than a week later, the Kīngitanga named its new leader: Te Arikinui Kuīni Ngā Read more...
The Plastics: “So if you’re Māori, why are you white?”
Posted 4:06am Monday 16th September 2024 by Jack Ruddenklau
White Māori. Fake Māori. Plastic Māori. If you’re Māori, chances are you’ve heard these labels thrown around at some point – whether it’s a poke at your pale skin, your lack of fluency in te reo Māori, or even an aversion to kaimoana. You may have Read more...
Opinion: What the Fuck Happens Post Panic Masters?
Posted 5:20pm Saturday 7th September 2024 by Madeline O’Leary
For the first 24 years of my life, school was the centre of my universe. First it was primary, then settling (somewhat) into high school, working hard to get into uni, and being set free upon Dunedin as a fresh-faced 18-year-old. Well, as free as St Marg’s allowed anyway. My entire life had Read more...
New Zealand Young Writers Fest: Nau Mai, Haere Mai
Posted 5:16pm Saturday 7th September 2024 by Jamiema Lorimer
Young writers from across Aotearoa, of all writing forms and backgrounds, are coming together in Ōtepoti this weekend for the New Zealand Young Writers Festival. With accessibility at the core of the festival’s kaupapa, all events are free to attend. These events showcase talent and Read more...
Ethical Gossiping: A guide to keeping it clean and not too mean
Posted 4:57pm Saturday 7th September 2024 by Molly Smith-Soppet
Gossip gets a bad rap. It’s often seen as hurtful, harmful and unnecessary. And sure, sometimes a simple “Did you hear…” turns a flatmate into your new campus opp or sends a relationship to its early grave. But not all gossip was created equal and there’s a right and Read more...
Queer Eye for the Gym (Non)Guy: A Beginner’s Guide to the Gym
Posted 7:30pm Sunday 25th August 2024 by Madeline O’Leary
The gym used to fucking terrify me as a gender non-conforming AFAB (assigned female at birth) and proudly masc lesbian. The weights room is every aspect of heteronormative, patriarchal society funnelled into one space: sweaty men, an open space where you can be perceived from every angle, and even Read more...
Opinion: Just Call Me a Slur
Posted 7:04pm Sunday 25th August 2024 by Monty O’Rielly
Content warning: This article discusses queerphobia, including slur calling, microaggressions, and misgendering. If you’re not in a headspace to read this, that’s fine! Read some of the other great articles this week, we understand :) Just about every queer person will have this Read more...
What Queer Stereotype Are You?
Posted 6:32pm Sunday 25th August 2024 by Gryffin Powell
Grab your carabiners and flex those limp wrists! In honour of the Queer Issue, Critic Te Ārohi can look through its crystal ball and determine which mish-mash of gay stereotypes you are. For each question you’ll get a stereotype. Put it together at the end to get your unique Read more...
The Rise and Revitalization of Gay Pop, and why it matters so much
Posted 6:21pm Sunday 25th August 2024 by Madeline O’Leary
Chappell Roan, lesbian icon and pop’s newest darling, said in a recent The Jimmy Fallon show appearance that the inspiration behind her debut album The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess (coincidentally the inspiration of our cover) was that “I just wanted to make something I could Read more...
Opinion: In Defence of BookTok
Posted 5:45pm Saturday 17th August 2024 by Ellie Bennett
As an English major, I am entirely qualified to be the type of person who shits on other people for what they choose to read; to be the type of person who sees BookTok as encouraging ‘the wrong kind of reading’. But I don’t. My decision to major in English stemmed from a love of Read more...
i wrote a diss poem about drunk freshers
Posted 5:24pm Saturday 17th August 2024 by Matilda Rumball-Smith
to the fresher in subs, i’ve forgotten your name. there’s a certain predictability to thursday night bottom shelf wine sprays the room pink crushed cans bloom metallica fresher frenzy emerges clockwork with each drink the savagery of subs makes horrible Read more...
Critic Te Ārohi’s Guide to Arts and Crafts
Posted 5:09pm Saturday 17th August 2024 by Molly Smith-Soppet
Are you sick of your weekends and evenings being filled with despair and boredom? A new hobby or fun flat activity is a good way to build connections with others and yourself. Take this quiz and find out which Critic-approved activities you and your friends should get amongst. Turns out getting your Read more...
Ōtepoti Self-Guided Art Tour
Posted 12:41pm Monday 12th August 2024 by Critic
1. 30 Octagon Hours: 10am – 5pm Daily One of New Zealand’s four major metropolitan art galleries, DPAG was NZ’s first gallery opened in 1884. They house a massive collection of Kiwi artworks, and have many current exhibitions on display. 2. Read more...
Flipped Off: Fighting Internet Addiction with a Nokia Phone
Posted 11:23pm Saturday 10th August 2024 by Madeline O’Leary
Screen addiction. Information overload. Brain rot. Terms that, if you’ve spent any time online, you’re probably familiar with. And, if you’re like me, terms that are probably pretty applicable. It’s not unusual for me to spend upwards of ten hours on my phone per day. Read more...
An Ode to the Frontal Lobe
Posted 11:14pm Saturday 10th August 2024 by Jodie Evans
Twenty-five. A quarter of a century. That age when all your mates stop binge drinking every weekend, and take up running half marathons and crocheting instead. When you begin to feel out of place in the Pint Night line, but are officially safe from Leonardo DiCaprio. And now, according to TikTok, Read more...
Ōtepoti Venue Guide
Posted 3:49pm Sunday 4th August 2024 by Jordan Irvine
Many a night, students turn to the tried and true options of a good time. You either end up at Subs (again) or stay at home watching 123Movies because you don’t have Disney+ (again). Sure, these are the staples of a Saturday night for a reason, but going to live music gigs can be just as fun, Read more...
If You Love Them, Make Them a Playlist
Posted 3:35pm Sunday 4th August 2024 by Ellie Bennett
In first-year, music defined just about everything I experienced – the joy, the heartbreak, the crippling hangovers that had me confined to bed all day chugging electrolytes. Two years later, not much has changed (though I’ve learnt to handle my alcohol better). There’s a song Read more...
Does Ōtepoti Have Pride in its Gender Queer Musicians?
Posted 2:28pm Sunday 4th August 2024 by Jordan Irvine
The Dunedin music scene has been vibrant since the early 1980s. Vibrant, but not diverse. Until the past couple of years, most bands and solo artists have been cis men playing post punk and surf rock. This has led to a lot of gigs in Dunedin full of cis men, either on the bill or in the crowd. So Read more...
The Official Critic Te Ārohi Sex Playlist
Posted 2:21pm Sunday 4th August 2024 by Critic
CRITIC’S BEST SONGS TO HAVE SEX TO: Confidence – Ocean Alley Careless Whisper – George Michael Hungry Eyes – Eric Carmen Just The Two of Us (feat. Bill Withers) – Grover Washington, Jr. Fly Me To the Moon – Frank Sinatra Kiss Me – Read more...
Quiz: What’s Your Fashion Aesthetic?
Posted 8:53pm Sunday 28th July 2024 by Molly Smith-Soppet
1. Sitting in a lecture, your mind begins to wander. What are you thinking about? When your next Afterpay payment is due Planning your New Year’s trip If Madeleine McCann’s family did it Whether your degree will get you a job or you’ll be an overqualified Read more...
Camp on Campus
Posted 7:29pm Sunday 28th July 2024 by Jonathan McCabe
The Link is the students' red carpet. For many, the best part of the day is the ten minutes between lectures as you spy students strutting from class to class. We see you. The Critic paparazzi were at large last week, sent on recon to fill us in with the latest and the greatest trends on campus. Read more...
Club Couture: All Docs, No Crocs
Posted 5:30pm Sunday 28th July 2024 by Jordan Irvine
Upon hearing that Critic staff member Sam Soppett was denied from clubs for wearing jandals and had to spend the rest of his night drinking at The Craic (could be worse), I wanted to push the boundaries of Dunedin town’s unspoken dress code. What are the limits, and why? But more importantly: Read more...
10 Ways to Keep Warm this Winter
Posted 4:38pm Saturday 20th July 2024 by Sam Smith-Soppet
The Winter Breatha’s version of a dick-measuring contest is trading war stories of how much the cold weather has fucked us over. But like your dad likes to remind you when showing any discomfort (AKA sign of weakness), “Don’t give me problems, give me answers.” Your mates are Read more...
OUSSC’s Winter Survival Guide
Posted 4:33pm Saturday 20th July 2024 by Otago University Snow Sports Club
Winter is objectively shit in Dunedin. Flats are cold and damp, and icy roads and footpaths do their best to take you out on your walk to the library. Finding your olive oil frozen solid in the flat pantry or the $100 power bill from your flatmate's heaters hardly sparks joy. In a season with Read more...
Pride and Pōhara: Māori cuisine or glorified struggle meals?
Posted 4:23pm Saturday 20th July 2024 by Nā Heeni Koero Te Rerenoa (Sky)
Let’s cut the crap. Aotearoa New Zealand loves to brag about ‘authentic’ Māori cuisine like hāngī, boil-up, fried bread, and steamed pudding. But the uncomfortable truth is: these aren’t traditional, authentic Māori dishes. They’re struggle meals Read more...
The 23rd Annual Critic Fish & Chip Review
Posted 6:11pm Saturday 13th July 2024 by Hugh Askerud
Winter has come, and the fish and chip gods demand justice! If fish and chips are a summer food, then why do they have all the key components of a hearty winter feed? Potatoes, grease, convenience, shame. Perfect for cold days, or cold journalists in dire need of their yearly sacrifice – this Read more...
TV GUIDE: Developmental Years Edition
Posted 8:33pm Sunday 26th May 2024 by Madeline O’Leary
Back when Netflix was just a mail-order DVD service, TV of the 2000s was less about consumer choice, and more about what mass media could be rubbed against your developing retinas. Picture this. It’s 2007, you’re home sick from school and desperate for entertainment. Windows Read more...
Legitness Jean Fitness
Posted 8:14pm Sunday 26th May 2024 by Jodie Evans
It’s academic weapon season, a time of the year when productivity is key. Everyone’s life is scheduled to the minute in a meticulously planned spreadsheet to the point where a slight deviation is mania-inducing. Like a Te Araroa walker drilling holes in their toothbrush to lighten the Read more...
Campus Blind Items
Posted 7:48pm Sunday 26th May 2024 by Critic
Disclaimer: These blind items have not been verified, and all tea is rumored/alleged ☕ #1 When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, this flighty professor decided he wasn’t so keen on shacking up with his younger postgraduate girlfriend. With only hours before the lockdown rules were enforced, Read more...
Te Rōpū Māori: Te Rito 2024
Posted 11:12pm Sunday 19th May 2024 by Te Rōpū Māori
IZZY - KAIHĀPAI Kia ora koutou, ko Izzy Rewiri-Wharerau tōku ingoa, he uri ahau nō Ngāpuhi me Ngāti Awa. My role within Te Rito 2024 is Kaihāpai, which is the financial liaison of our rōpu. I was raised in Tūrangi, a small town in the central North Read more...
Split-Screen Slideshows
Posted 11:05pm Sunday 19th May 2024 by Monty O’Rielly
As a reformed TikTok addict (getting in as much as 12 hours a day), I know how difficult it can be to concentrate on lectures after years of having our attention spans fried. Sometimes putting lectures on 2x speed just doesn’t cut it, and our malnourished Zoomer attention spans yearn for even Read more...
The Critic Te Ārohi Guide to Second Hand Stores
Posted 10:43pm Sunday 19th May 2024 by Phoebe Lea
Whether you're a fellow thrifter fresh to Dunedin or a third-year who never leaves North D, this is the guide for you. Critic sent our bona-fide fashionista Phoebe to scour the streets, sift through the racks, and explore every nook and cranny to bring you the inside scoop on the best op shops Read more...
Faux-mosexual: Types of guys who trigger your gaydar on a night out
Posted 10:13pm Sunday 19th May 2024 by Jonathan McCabe
It’s slim pickings for a queer man in 2024. The line between straight and queer is increasingly blurred in a sea of tote bags, good fashion, and “bro time” – it’s hard to discern between a potential connection, and a guy who’s merely Metrosexual (but the Read more...
Critic Vs. Writer’s Block
Posted 4:00pm Saturday 11th May 2024 by Critic
It’s that time of year again: the born-and-bred Southlanders are starting to put on layers, all plans are “soft plans”, and everyone’s trying to get their shit together so badly that they’re ending up constipated. Exams are on the horizon, assignments are piling up and Read more...
Technically Legal: Weird Laws You May Not Have Heard Of
Posted 3:47pm Saturday 11th May 2024 by Adam Stitely
Otago students generally have a pretty laxed view on obeying Big Brother. After spending a few years living in North Dunedin, following the intricacies of the less serious side of the law starts to seem like more of a recommendation than an enforced hard line. Some laws, however, are downright Read more...
Opinion: Why We Need the “Sheatha”
Posted 3:42pm Saturday 11th May 2024 by Sam Garry
With the approach of the 130th Capping Show ‘Beezie’, it got the team at Critic Te Ārohi thinking. Every time we reference the stereotypical Otago student, we reach for the term “breatha”. And for good reason: they’re an easy mark with a well-established culture, Read more...