Archive

Breaking the STIgma

Posted 8:40pm Sunday 13th October 2024 by Jodie Evans

“Welcome to a dog shit dimension, where everyone is infected with something that they got from fucking.” Back in May, we attended Otago’s annual Capping Show, and much like every other year, Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs) were the punchlines of a handful of sketches and Read more...

Break-Ups: An Anthology

Posted 8:51am Sunday 6th October 2024 by Critic Staff

Love is cool and all, but chances are if you’ve been in love, you’ve also been through heartbreak. There’s no way around it: break-ups are shit. They can be respectful, and props to anyone who’s come out the other end with a friend instead of a blocked account and the ability Read more...

Sidelines to Sabers: A Sports Saga

Posted 5:44pm Saturday 28th September 2024 by Hunter Jolly

I’ve never really been a fan of Big Sport™. The conventional Kiwi kids’ rugby, cricket, soccer, tennis, and basketball never really piqued my interest, and besides Palmy’s love of canoe polo, New Zealand high schools don’t tend to offer a ton of other options. Parkour Read more...

Dylan Lloyd: Polytech & Parasport

Posted 5:20pm Saturday 28th September 2024 by Adam Stitely

There are not many who live, breathe, and work sports to the same extent as twenty-year-old Otago Polytechnic student Dylan Lloyd. Ever since Dylan got into his first Wheelchair Rugby chair at a Halberg Games event in 2019, he instantly knew that it was for him. He’s devoted his life to Read more...

Better Initiations & Flat Warmings: OUSA Exec Test Alternative Initiation Methods

Posted 8:30pm Sunday 22nd September 2024 by OUSA Exec

Initiations. The age-old tradition of the oldest university in Aotearoa – but also, not really. Students come and go, upholding the bastion of traditions in the name of the “true student experience” without realising they cycle out of the rotation faster than a cheap pair of Read more...

That’s just the rules of Wheminism - Opinion: Māori Wāhine deserve their flowers

Posted 4:23am Monday 16th September 2024 by Nā Heeni Koero Te Rerenoa, R.W.C, Jessie Witeri, Maria Davis-Tini, Hineira Tipene-Komene

Navigating tikanga Māori can be like navigating your waka through the waves – it’s dynamic, fluid, and never the same from one iwi to the next. The idea that tikanga (practices) is a fixed, rigid structure is laughable when, for centuries, Māori have adapted, evolved, and Read more...

The Limit Does Not Exist: Kura Kaupapa Māori and Beyond

Posted 4:16am Monday 16th September 2024 by Shakayla Andrews-Alapaki

Conventional education often shackles success to outdated standards and narrow frameworks, measuring achievement by grades or awards. The dynamic force of Kura Kaupapa Māori (KKM) throughout the motu redefines what it means to achieve greatness. Kura Kaupapa Māori are Māori language Read more...

Critic Te Ārohi’s Third Not-So-Annual Kebab Review

Posted 4:07pm Saturday 7th September 2024 by Critic Staff

2020 was a year of many firsts. The pandemic pushed the population to extremes – emotionally, yes, but also creatively, with many trying things they’d never thought to before. Sourdough starters were born, hair-cutting scissors were purchased, and Critic Te Ārohi published the Read more...

Revival: A History of The Drag Scene of Ōtepoti

Posted 7:39pm Sunday 25th August 2024 by Jordan Irvine

There’s been a drag revolution in Ōtepoti this year. The revitalised queer scene has been spearheaded by Ōtepoti Drag Directory founder Ann Arkii, who has firmly established herself as Dunedin’s queen of drag. Earlier this year, Ann Arkii was quoted in a Local Produce column Read more...

Beyond The Binary: A Conversation on How Heteronormativity Intersects With Sexual Harm

Posted 6:06pm Sunday 25th August 2024 by Giorgia Fletcher

Content Warning: Discussions of sexual violence, homophobia and transphobia Ever stopped to think about the 'norm' in heteronormativity? It's a concept so woven into our daily lives that we often overlook its subtle, but disturbing, influence. From the popularity of Love Island to Read more...

Opinion: It’s The Damn Phone

Posted 12:01am Sunday 11th August 2024 by Tom Bouls

Author's Note: Tempted to skip this article because excessive phone use has destroyed your attention span? Head straight to this link to find out how addicted to your phone you are for an upcoming study.  What do you think of when you hear ‘addiction’? Someone at a bus stop, Read more...

Menstruation in the Wild

Posted 11:45pm Saturday 10th August 2024 by Jodie Evans

In an ideal world, the great outdoors would be a gender-neutral space. Just you, an open trail, towering treetops, and the echoes of birdsong carried on a soft breeze. But the reality is often less idyllic. Women and AFAB (assigned female at birth) people are significantly underrepresented in Read more...

No Place to Practice: How can there be an Ōtepoti music scene if bands can’t practise?

Posted 2:35pm Sunday 4th August 2024 by Jonathan McCabe

Drum n’ Bass may be the music of today’s student streets, but Ōtepoti Dunedin has been a cultural capital for live music since the emergence of the Dunedin Sound. The critically acclaimed genre is associated with iconic ‘80s bands like The Chills, who cemented Ōtepoti as Read more...

Static Age: For the Love of Vintage

Posted 9:04pm Sunday 28th July 2024 by Phoebe Lea

The world is burning, Shein sweatshops are churning, your Glassons mesh top is falling apart at the seams; suddenly two months out of style, and the last thing you want (unlike your first-year self) is to show up to a party and see someone wearing the same fit. A grey Butter hoodie? For Pint Night? Read more...

Piupiu, Penguin Pelts & Papatūānuku

Posted 8:29pm Sunday 28th July 2024 by Nā Heeni Koero Te Rerenoa (Sky)

In a world driven by fast fashion and throwaway culture, it’s not every day that you encounter garments crafted from the skins of freshwater eels, yellow-eyed penguins, and fur seals. That is until you step into ‘Te Whare Pora: House of Learning’, a current exhibition at community Read more...

Grant Robertson: Homecoming

Posted 4:11pm Saturday 20th July 2024 by Iris Hehir

On August 31st, 1992, 20-year old student president Grant Robertson gave Critic Te Ārohi what was quite possibly his first ever interview. 31 years later, Grant returns to the Clocktower, this time as Vice Chancellor of the University of Otago. Critic sat down with Grant once again to discuss Read more...

Bitter Cold: The Winter Blues

Posted 3:50pm Saturday 20th July 2024 by Nina Brown

Dunedin winters are harsh on bills, the body and the brain. The days shorten, showers lengthen, limbs stiffen, and – in the worst cases – eyes deaden. For freshers cosied up in residential halls, it’s not so bad with free heating and regular hot meals. The bitter bite of winter you Read more...

Critic Census 2024

Posted 7:11pm Saturday 13th July 2024 by Iris Hehir

Back for its fourth year is the Critic Census, the annual data-crunching exercise conducted by the nosy parkers at Critic Te Ārohi. We asked 52 questions on just about everything, and 1005 of you shared the juicy details on study, sex, drugs, flatting, money, politics, relationships and more. Read more...

Madam President: Can She Read?

Posted 8:26pm Sunday 26th May 2024 by Nina Brown

Every celebrity has fallen victim to the rumour mill. Jamie Foxx died and was replaced by a clone; Harry Styles and Louis Tomlinson were boning during their One Direction days; Keanu Reeves is immortal; Khloé Kardashian is OJ Simpson’s daughter; Jennifer Lawrence faked her 2013 Oscars Read more...

Critic Scandals: An Inexhaustive (Updated) Account

Posted 8:00pm Sunday 26th May 2024 by Adam Stitely

Taking Dunedin Old to new heights, Critic Te Ārohi has been around for ninety-nine years. For almost all of them, we have pissed off some groups of people, from our very own Uni, landlords, to students and non-students alike; something news-breaking or outright offensive has definitely been Read more...

Spiked: An Invisible Crime

Posted 11:02pm Sunday 19th May 2024 by Jodie Evans

TW: Mentions of sexual assault and detailed depictions of drink spiking  At university, everyone seems to know someone who’s been spiked. The phenomenon hangs in the air at flat parties and lingers about the bathrooms of student bars, yet remains grossly stigmatised. Following Read more...

Frontiers of Scarfiedom: The Legacy of the Capping Cult

Posted 4:33pm Saturday 11th May 2024 by Nina Brown

Now in its 130th year, the Capping Show is a time capsule of the ever-evolving Otago University student culture. To recap Capping – and reuse a joke that Critic has made time and again in our 99 years writing about it – what began as a 19th century flash mob of sorts during graduation Read more...

Law v Students

Posted 8:19pm Sunday 5th May 2024 by Monty O’Rielly

Students often break the law. Common offences include drug use and distribution, disorderly conduct, theft, wilful damage to property, arson (à la couch burning), and pretty much every initiation that’s ended with a Proctor’s meeting. But when was the last time you thought of your Read more...

Castle Capitalism

Posted 10:24pm Friday 26th April 2024 by Angus Rees

It’s no secret that university students are short on money. Between tuition fees, the rising cost of living, and an academic workload that makes part-time work sparse, students are under a lot of financial pressure. But thanks to social media and consumer culture, a new 21st century job has Read more...

Te Araroa: An Unexpected Journey

Posted 8:02pm Sunday 21st April 2024 by Harriette Boucher

Te Araroa, though not officially one of Aotearoa’s 10 Great Walks, is arguably the greatest of them all. Translating to ‘The Long Pathway’, the trail spans 3000 km and traverses the entire length of the country, taking walkers through beaches, forests, country, and Read more...

The Great Critic Drug Review

Posted 2:08pm Sunday 14th April 2024 by Boba Ket

Disclaimer: The content provided in this article is not intended to encourage the use of illegal drugs or substance abuse. The information is based on personal experiences and subjective observations that are not applicable to everyone, and should not be used as a substitute for professional Read more...

Pitfalls of the Pill

Posted 11:03am Monday 8th April 2024 by Monty O’Rielly

Ah, the pill. That tiny, circular tab that’s readily handed out to fix a myriad of issues, whether that be mental health, preventing periods, curing acne or, you know, maybe even as a contraceptive. Since its release in the 1960s, the oral contraceptive pill has been treated as a miracle drug, Read more...

Best of Moaningful Confessions

Posted 4:15pm Saturday 23rd March 2024 by Critic

It’s only appropriate that the sex issue pays homage to everyone’s favourite sexscapade column: Moaningful Confessions. The column was born in 2020 out of the ashes of the seedy and often marginal Blind Date column. We’ve ranked the sauciest, most salacious, tit-lickin’, Read more...

From the Museum Lawn to the Octagon “Palestine Will Be Free!”

Posted 10:30am Monday 18th March 2024 by Iris Hehir

Disclaimer: The writer of this piece has attended Dunedin Justice for Palestine rallies in a protesting capacity. Content warning: This piece includes discussion of violence and mass death.  The world has watched in horror since October 7th last year as death, destruction, and devastation Read more...

Uni-intolerant: Why do hot girls have stomach issues?

Posted 2:55pm Sunday 10th March 2024 by Jodie Evans

For many starting their university careers, it’s with passionate optimism — the kind where you leave your dull hometown and escape into the big exciting world of adulthood (unrestricted alcohol consumption). But barely one week into what was supposed to be my very own coming-of-age Read more...

The Great Critic Hall Food Review

Posted 2:49pm Sunday 10th March 2024 by Critic

If you’re a first-year and noticed a baggy-eyed older student in your dining hall recently, chances are it was an undercover Critic Te Ārohi staff member nicking your food to review. Some would call it subterfuge, but we prefer the term “auditing”. Read on to see how your hall Read more...

Dollars and Scholars: Protest, Property Damage, and Student Activism at Otago Uni

Posted 5:23pm Saturday 2nd March 2024 by Zak Rudin

Disclaimer: Critic Te Ārohi does not condone property damage. Ah, the ‘90s. An era which saw the fall of the Soviet Union, the rise of the internet, way too much double denim, and a little thing called neoliberalism — responsible for causing the biggest and fastest privatisation Read more...

SIX60 v No 6: Hoani Matenga Hasn’t Forgotten His Roots

Posted 5:14pm Sunday 25th February 2024 by Iris Hehir

Few Kiwis will ever experience the pinnacles of success that Otago University alumni Hoani Matenga has. Ever since his first taste of representing his country for the Baby Blacks (NZ U19s) in 2006 as a second-year, Matenga’s rugby career has taken him on a journey most Weetbix card-collecting Read more...

Campus Watch, Watched

Posted 4:53pm Sunday 25th February 2024 by Nina Brown

Campus Watch are the aunts and uncles of North D. They giggle at the antics of youths, make bad jokes and elbow you until you laugh along, and don’t hesitate to tell you when you’re being a dick – aggressively so if you’re caught throwing bottles. Campus Watch is 40 strong, Read more...

Long Live the King

Posted 4:17pm Monday 19th February 2024 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 Read more...

Goops, I did it again! An idiot’s guide to stain removal

Posted 4:11pm Monday 19th February 2024 by Lotto Ramsay

Happiness is fleeting, we all die, and nothing is truly permanent. Nothing, that is, except for stains that you don’t get out in time (fuck you especially, red wine). O week is full of shenanigans that can ruin your clothes, soft furnishings, and possibly your future. Luckily, Critic is no Read more...

Highway to the Danger Zone

Posted 12:15pm Sunday 8th October 2023 by Fox Meyer

Thrill seekers are everywhere in Franz, to the point where bartenders used to “free-pour shots into open mouths like Cancun”, according to some guy I met in a spa pool. And to take care of those tourists, many students work in Franz over summers where they’ll invariably end up at Read more...

When The Party’s Over

Posted 10:56am Sunday 1st October 2023 by Iris Hehir

CW: This piece contains discusson of substance abuse, suicide and sexual assault.    Chances are the worst thing you’ve ever done was on the piss, and the worst you’ve ever felt about life was on a dusty Sunday morning.    “We always talk about Read more...

Putting the ‘Fuck’ in Whakapapa

Posted 10:08pm Sunday 24th September 2023 by Nā Skyla from Ngāti Hine

There’s a scene in Mean Girls where Karen Smith justifies getting with your cousin. And maybe she had a point. Yeah, it’s probably a pretty desperate move, but in some cases, it’s excusable. You didn’t hear it from me.    They say that forbidden fruit - or in Read more...

Table Manners: Dunedin’s Beer Pong Rules

Posted 12:13pm Monday 18th September 2023 by Nina Brown

You'd be hard pressed to find a flat that hasn't been witness to a fight over the rules of beer pong. Can you block a bounce shot? What happens when you hit the bitch cup? And what the fuck is a frozen chicken? Critic Te Ārohi asked (almost 50 questions), and 282 of you delivered. Read more...

Burning Rubber: Undie 500

Posted 12:00pm Monday 18th September 2023 by Lotto Ramsay

Though now synonymous with riot police, couch burnings and general depravity, the Undie 500 (read: “undie-five-hundie”) had humble beginnings – just ask Doris, the ‘67 Holden Special. The annual event was a tradition spanning from 1988-2009, with a history as long and messy Read more...

BIONICLE: The Craziest Use of Te Reo You’ve Never Heard of

Posted 12:16pm Monday 11th September 2023 by Fox Meyer

Once upon a time, the great being Mata Nui wandered the endless cosmos. But his evil brother, Makuta, plotted to destroy him. Makuta summoned hoards of monsters, but could not take the Great Spirit’s life. Instead, Makuta cast Mata Nui into an eternal slumber. His body came crashing down from Read more...

It’s In Our Roots

Posted 12:14pm Monday 11th September 2023 by Nā Skyla from Ngāti Hine

If you’ve ever done a course on Duolingo, you’ll probably have noticed that the French think shovels are feminine and cheese is masculine. Colonisers, amirite?) But te reo Māori doesn’t really place emphasis on masculine and feminine nouns, and instead garners much of its Read more...

Sub-Culture: The political leanings of our suburbs

Posted 8:27pm Sunday 3rd September 2023 by Hugh Askerud

Dunedin’s suburbs are teeming with culture – and we don’t just mean microbially. Unfortunately, most students don’t venture out of their bubble of safety until graduation comes, aside from an occasional hoon to St Clair or a mish out to a dealer. From the absurd rent prices Read more...

This Barbie is getting Deported!

Posted 11:05pm Sunday 20th August 2023 by Fox Meyer

I counted 323 individual Barbie dolls, including multiples in the same box and excluding all Kens because, well, they're just Kens. Of these 323, 209 were either unemployed or just on vacation, and were therefore refused residency by Immigration New Zealand. That includes all of the myriad Beach Read more...

Storming the Castle

Posted 10:49pm Sunday 20th August 2023 by Iris Hehir

For the first time ever, it seems that the infamous open street hosts that gave Castle its legend, its lure, its life, have become a thing of the past. Word on the street (or in this case, not on the street) is: Castle is dead.    While the second-years of 1990 sang Queen as they Read more...

Humans of the Cuts:

Posted 4:04pm Sunday 13th August 2023 by Critic

If you don’t care about the cuts you already aren’t reading this page. That’s not who this is for. This page is for people who care about the cuts who are friends with people who don’t care about the cuts - for whatever reason. Maybe their privilege shields them from concern. Read more...

LIT COMP

Posted 4:02pm Sunday 13th August 2023 by Critic

General Feedback:   Yeah, okay, wow. Lots of trauma out there. It felt like about 90% of the entries were either about love or trauma, and I get it: those come with intense emotions, and intense emotions are a great inspiration for writing. The tricky thing about writing about your Read more...

Wining and Dyning: I tried dyeing shirts with booze

Posted 5:50pm Wednesday 9th August 2023 by Lotto Ramsay

As long as psychedelics are in fashion, tie-dye is too. I’m all for the “DIY aesthetic”, but I’m a staunch advocate for actually doing it yourself. A cheeky tie-dye is a great way to give new life to an old garment, plus, dunking clothes into chemicals and watching the Read more...

Fashion Forecast: Historical Trends To Bring Back

Posted 1:55pm Monday 7th August 2023 by Lotto Ramsay

Fashion has always been cyclical. Typically, the overarching trends of each decade are a direct contrast to that decade or decades prior. Think of the boxy, baggy, top-heavy silhouettes of the ‘80s sandwiched between the more fitted and A-line shapes of the ‘70s and ‘90s. In Read more...