Archive

Who is NZUSA and Should You Give a Fuck?

Posted 1:16am Friday 21st February 2020 by Fox Meyer

NZUSA is the New Zealand Union of Students’ Associations, and they have copped their fair share of shit over the years for being inaccessible, secretive, and - worst of all - sucking hard.  This year, however, President Isabella Lenihan-Ikin and co-Vice Presidents Matthew Schep and Sam Read more...

University Pays Staff Less If They Are Students

Posted 1:07am Friday 21st February 2020 by Wyatt Ryder

The University is paying staff members more than $2 less per hour if they are enrolled as a student. PhD student Kirsten Gibson discovered the wage discrepancy recently, when she applied for a Research Assistant position. Kirsten received her contract only to find that the pay scale had been Read more...

University Sinks Piss-sinking Ship

Posted 12:46am Friday 21st February 2020 by Bonnie Harrison

An advertisement that breached the University’s policy around promoting alcohol on campus has been taken down. The inaugural ‘Dusty Sundays’ gig, headlined by Aussie band Lime Cordiale, will be run by OUSA in association with alcohol brand Part Time Rangers. A big fuck-off Read more...

Academic Misconduct on the Rise

Posted 11:47pm Thursday 20th February 2020 by Erin Gourley

Either Otago students are getting worse at plagiarising or the University is getting better at detecting plagiarism. The Academic Misconduct Report 2019 identifies 86 instances of academic misconduct in 2019, which has more than doubled the 34 instances in 2018. The Report was released to Critic on Read more...

Greasy Beaver Sign Gets Dammed

Posted 11:07pm Thursday 20th February 2020 by Naomii Seah

The iconic flat “the Greasy Beaver Lodge” has had their flat name physically and spiritually confiscated by their Property Manager, Jenny Adamson. The flat sign was removed mid-December last year without tenant consultation. What followed was a wild tale of miscommunication, Read more...

Couch Burnings Heat Up 2019

Posted 10:57pm Thursday 20th February 2020 by Bonnie Harrison

Couch fires in North Dunedin have more than tripled in number from 2018 to 2019. After a decade-long gradual decline, recorded incidents spiked from 14 in 2018 to 48 in 2019. University Proctor Dave Scott, a man who has seen some shit, was not too put off by this rise. “In the bad old days, Read more...

Student Skips, Now With Bouncers

Posted 5:24pm Thursday 13th February 2020 by Sinead Gill

The University of Otago announced today that the 11 skips dotted about studentville on the 14th, 21st and 28th of February, will be supervised by Allied Security guards.   This supervision will be on a trial basis, with the aim of ensuring that only students are using these skips, and Read more...

University Scraps Proposal to Cut Marine Science Staff

Posted 4:01pm Wednesday 27th November 2019 by Charlie O’Mannin

The University of Otago has retracted its plan to cut 6-7 effective full-time staff members in the Marine Science staff department as part of a Management of Change process.   The announcement followed significant public opposition to the move, with a 6.5 thousand signature Read more...

250 Students and Staff Rally Against Marine Science Cuts

Posted 4:19pm Friday 25th October 2019 by Sinead Gill

Three weeks ago, the Pro-Vice Chancellor of Sciences, Richard Barker, proposed a management of change that would see a significant cut to the Department of Marine Science faculty. The proposal would reduce the department’s academic staff to 8.0 or 9.0 ETFS (equivalent full-time status). Read more...

Students Oppose Significant Cuts to Marine Sciences Department Proposed By University

Posted 9:28pm Wednesday 9th October 2019 by Sinead Gill

Students and staff are rallying against a “management of change” (MOC) proposal which would result in significant cuts to staff and papers in Otago’s Marine Sciences Department. An anonymous academic from the department told Critic they felt the cuts were ‘ironic’ Read more...

EDITORIAL: Goodbye

Posted 5:59pm Sunday 6th October 2019 by Charlie O’Mannin

Critic has been around for 94 years. Over that time we’ve changed dramatically in every way possible. We’ve gone from a journal to a newspaper to a magazine. We’ve been wildly successful and we’ve been mediocre and we’ve been absolute shit. I’ve worked at Read more...

Te Roopū Māori Elect a New Executive

Posted 5:13pm Sunday 6th October 2019 by Caroline Moratti

Te Roopū Māori (TRM), the Māori Students Association, has results for their Te Rito executive for 2020. Karamea Pewhairangi was elected as Tumuaki, Miria Te Pou as Kaitiaki Pūtea, Maia Tipene as Kaituhi, Tutawake Dickel-Smith as Communications, Iritana Bennett-Fakahua as Read more...

James gives OUSA the old Heath Ho: An Exit Interview

Posted 10:03pm Thursday 3rd October 2019 by Nina Minogue

OUSA President James Heath is departing OUSA after three years of executive bullshit. Critic’s intrepid reporter Nina Minogue sat down with the local sex symbol to talk about the year that has been and the years to come.    What’s your best memory of being Read more...

OPINION: We Should All Care About West Papua Because We Are All Pacific Islanders

Posted 10:01pm Thursday 3rd October 2019 by Otessa Tuisila

“I’m a Pacific Islander, and so are you.” New Zealand is an island that sits in the biggest ocean in the world, making you a Pacific Islander. If not ethnically, then geographically. On Monday 23 September, our Dunedin community came together to learn more about what is Read more...

Student Arrested For Shitposting

Posted 9:59pm Thursday 3rd October 2019 by Sinead Gill

Picture this: a student wakes up to a pounding on his front door. He is sluggish from a late night of powerpointing for a presentation later that day, but drags himself to the door. On the other side are three police officers who greet him with tasers. Hours later, he is officially arrested and Read more...

Radio One Not Sure if They’re Played in More Campus Spaces Since Swearing Ban

Posted 9:56pm Thursday 3rd October 2019 by Esme Hall

Radio One has not surveyed radio play-out on campus to establish whether more people are tuning in because there is less abrasive content, said Station Manager Sean Norling. “As for the abrasive/explicit content itself, this continues to be a work in progress, with most of the heavy lifting Read more...

“Legitimacy and Integrity” of OUSA Elections Compromised, Report Reveals

Posted 9:55pm Thursday 3rd October 2019 by Sinead Gill

Last week the post-election report of the OUSA Returning Officer Ben Baker, the independent arbitrator of OUSA elections, revealed how close students were to having a false representative announced on election night. Allegedly, on the final day of voting, one of the candidates and/or their Read more...

Lecturer Claims His Book About Censorship Was Censored

Posted 9:54pm Thursday 3rd October 2019 by Erin Gourley

Emeritus Professor of Psychology and Politics Jim Flynn caused a stir last week when he asserted that his book had been banned. His manuscript, In Defense of Free Speech: The University as Censor, was rejected by UK publishing house Emerald Press because it might infringe hate speech laws or provide Read more...

OUSA Welfare Officer Resigned, Cited Ableism and “Bullying”

Posted 9:51pm Thursday 3rd October 2019 by Sinead Gill

The 2019 Welfare Officer Kerrin Robertson-Scanlon has resigned, blaming the Exec for pushing her out after having her pay cut completely for not doing her work.  There will be no by-election to replace her. OUSA rules dictate that elections can only take place during normal semester time, Read more...

Property Managers Slap Bogus Cleaning Fees On Tenants

Posted 9:43pm Thursday 3rd October 2019 by Esme Hall

Throughout Critic’s reporting on tenancy issues this year, we have heard numerous stories of property managers slapping bogus cleaning fees on tenants. Alex* fought down a cleaning fee from $230 to around $60 this year. He said he “witnessed a pattern of unprofessional and Read more...