Archive

OPINION: I Hate that the Uni Wasted 42k on Some Promo Screens

Posted 7:14pm Sunday 15th September 2019 by Nina Minogue

Over the last few weeks the Uni installed a massive nine panel screen in the Link that cost $42,000. It plays exclusively ads for the Uni – you know, that place you already go. I have a conspiracy. The University is slowly but surely turning the Link into a massive man-cave. Think about it, Read more...

EDITORIAL: The OUSA Presidency is Anyone's Game

Posted 6:50pm Sunday 15th September 2019 by Charlie O’Mannin

This week is the Otago University Students’ Association student elections. For those that don’t really give a fuck (fair), OUSA is the student union that represents you, entertains you, and fights for you. OUSA runs O-Week, Starters Bar, Student Support, and Clubs and Socs, as well as Read more...

Critic Breaks Down the OUSA Presidential Debate

Posted 12:58am Friday 13th September 2019 by Erin Gourley

Are Jack, Will and Sam the characters from a boring nursery rhyme? No, they’re the OUSA presidential candidates for 2020. It was repeatedly brought up that Jack Manning, Will Moffett, and Sam Purchas were “stale, pale, and male” during the daytime presidential forum - mostly by the Read more...

Critic Watches Student Politicians Fight Each Other

Posted 12:56am Friday 13th September 2019 by Critic

At last week’s forum debates, almost 20 students fought each other for the honour of fighting for you as your OUSA representatives. Critic was there through all of them, through the awkward roasts and the boring empty speeches. This year saw an unprecedented number of positions go Read more...

Otago Medical Students Association Denies that Electoral Fraud Influenced Election

Posted 11:32pm Thursday 12th September 2019 by Charlie O’Mannin

The Otago University Medical Students Association (OUMSA) has said that a “very small percentage” of students exploiting a loophole in the system to vote twice in the recent MOUSA elections “were not counted towards the final results of the position” and that even if they had Read more...

DCC Mayoral Forum Makes Critic Lose Faith In Democracy

Posted 6:08pm Sunday 8th September 2019 by Critic

Critic’s winners of the DCC Mayoral Forum, hosted by OUSA and the University, are Mandy Mayhem-Bullock and Aaron Hawkins, with an incredibly honourable mention to Bob Barlin. But, to be honest, hearing fourteen people talk for about five minutes each doesn’t give a great idea about who Read more...

‘Near-Misses’ Provoked Walk Your Wheels Campaign, Rather than Actual Injuries

Posted 1:01am Friday 6th September 2019 by Esme Hall

The University has said that “near-misses” provoked its ban on skateboards, bikes and scooters on campus, the “Walk Your Wheels” campaign, rather than actual injuries. An Official Information Act request to the University of Otago revealed that there have only been two Read more...

Great Peanut Purge at Residential Colleges

Posted 1:00am Friday 6th September 2019 by James Joblin

Peanuts have been taken off the menu at University-managed residential colleges to protect students with severe nut allergies. As of 2 September, residential college kitchens are no longer serving peanut products, except Toroa and Abbey colleges, which do not currently house students with peanut Read more...

OUSA To Lobby For Independent Investigator on Sexual Violence at Unis and Polytechs

Posted 12:55am Friday 6th September 2019 by Esme Hall

The OUSA Exec wants an independent body to investigate sexual violence against students and staff, rather than incidents being handled by universities and polytechnics internally. In their meeting over the break, the OUSA Exec agreed to start lobbying the University of Otago, the New Zealand Read more...

More CCTV rolling out on Castle

Posted 12:53am Friday 6th September 2019 by Sinead Gill

A blind spot in the CCTV network in studentville has been identified, and Campus Watch are rubbing their hungry hands together in glee – more cameras are coming to Castle Street. Specifically on the corner of Castle and Duke Street, and the corner of Castle and Dundas street. In a letter Read more...

Harlene Tells High Schoolers to Piss Off

Posted 12:50am Friday 6th September 2019 by Nina Minogue

Before this year’s O-Week, Vice-Chancellor Harlene Hayne sent a letter to all Dunedin secondary schools asking them to encourage their students to stay away from university parties. The letter was a response to Campus Watch reporting an alarming rise in uninvited high school students Read more...

How Much Are Breathas Paying For Flats? A Critic Investigation

Posted 12:47am Friday 6th September 2019 by Sinead Gill

Some truths are eternal when it comes to being a University of Otago student. You’re going to gain 20 kilos in your first year, only old people call us Scarfies, and living in a ‘notorious’ flat on Castle street is going to be expensive as fuck. But why is that? Not the 20 kilos Read more...

The Tea So Far: 2020 OUSA Executive Candidates

Posted 12:45am Friday 6th September 2019 by Esme Hall

Critic will reserve a full judgement until the forums this week, but here is what you need to know about the returners and insiders of OUSA who are running. All the Presidential candidates are men (gross): Will Moffett, Jack Manning, and Sam Purchas. All we could find out about Will online, from Read more...

More Tenants Come Forward With Landlords Trying to Rent Boarding Houses on Illegal Contracts

Posted 12:43am Friday 6th September 2019 by Erin Gourley

The problem of landlords trying to rent boarding houses on fixed-term leases is widespread, with three tenants telling Critic that they realised they were living in a boarding house after reading our boarding house article last week. One tenant told us that she lived in a boarding house in 2018 Read more...

Second Year Law Exam Timetable Mix-Up Creates 24 Hours of Panic

Posted 12:42am Friday 6th September 2019 by Erin Gourley

Second-year law students were shocked to find all of their exams scheduled within one week when the exam timetable was released on the Tuesday of the break. “A lot of people lost their shit,” said one second-year student. The mix-up was quickly resolved after a barrage of complaints Read more...

OUSA To Solve Climate Change

Posted 12:40am Friday 6th September 2019 by Sinead Gill

OUSA have stepped their pussies up and are not just encouraging students to ditch class, but TELLING them to not go to class and go to Union Lawn on the 27th of September, 11:30am, for climate change. They’re doing it as a part of the School Strike 4 Climate campaign, which sees high Read more...

Guest Editorial: Don't Just Learn Māori this Week, Learn It Every Week.

Posted 10:22pm Thursday 5th September 2019 by Taylor Terekia

Kia ora e te whānau! (Hey fam) It's your one and only Tumuakz or Tumuaki, not to be confused with Tumauki (iykyk) of Te Roopū Māori. It's that one week of the year people seem to remember te reo Māori is a national language. You'll find Māori language Read more...

Library Opening Hours Extended

Posted 12:06am Friday 30th August 2019 by Esme Hall

The University Central Library will trial being open from 6am to 12pm seven days a week in the lead up to exams. The change in hours, which were previously 7am to 11pm, comes after OUSA President James Heath and Education Officer Will Dreyer negotiated with the Library Executive. “The Read more...

Clubs Vote Against Having to Attend Boring OUSA Meetings at a Boring OUSA Meeting

Posted 12:05am Friday 30th August 2019 by Charlie O’Mannin

In what has been described as both a resounding victory and a crushing defeat for boring OUSA meetings, 88% of people at a boring OUSA meeting voted against forcing representatives from OUSA Clubs and Societies to attend boring OUSA meetings. The rejected proposal was to have OUSA grants funding Read more...

DCC Candidates Commit to Student Pledges

Posted 11:53pm Thursday 29th August 2019 by Erin Gourley

OUSA have released the seven local body election pledges they will ask candidates to sign. “Take that, Lee Vandervis,” said Bonnie Harrison, OUSA’s Finance Officer, as they announced the pledges. The OUSA pledges for DCC candidates are, in summary: To reinstate a one Read more...