Archive

Campus Banksy Calls Out ‘Old Boys' Club’ Exec

Posted 12:46pm Tuesday 17th June 2025 by Nina Brown

In the wake of news that Political Rep Jett Groshinski will be running for council and continuing in his role despite a conflict of interest, anti-OUSA Exec propaganda posters have popped up on notice boards around campus calling for Jett to resign. As of writing, Jett tells Critic he has no plans Read more...

Council-Gunning Political Rep’s Conflict of Interest

Posted 3:50pm Tuesday 3rd June 2025 by Nina Brown

With a cheesy ODT photoshoot and a big wide grin, on Wednesday, May 21st OUSA’s Political Representative Jett Groshinski announced his Labour-endorsed bid to stand for Local Body Elections (LBE). Over the course of two (rather tense) Exec meetings, they have collectively decided on a conflict Read more...

Online Gambling Platform Illegally Promotes Through Students

Posted 5:54pm Sunday 25th May 2025 by Sam Smith-Soppet

Online gambling monolith, Rainbet, has come into the spotlight for their advertising strategy in New Zealand, dishing out the cash for Gen Z influencers to promote gambling to their peers – some right here in Dunedin. The catch: it’s not exactly legal. Rainbet has been using student Read more...

Campus Creeps (and what to do about them)

Posted 5:52pm Sunday 25th May 2025 by Gryffin Blockley

A student has approached Critic Te Ārohi with an uncomfortable situation that took place in the Staff Club café, involving a “creepy” encounter with an older man who could not take a hint.  Anita* originally reached out to Critic with a letter to the Editor after an Read more...

Rachel Brooking’s Stance for Students

Posted 5:29pm Sunday 25th May 2025 by Hanna Varrs

Politics are at the forefront of people’s minds in a local body election year – most of all your local politicians, such as Dunedin MP Rachel Brooking. For many students, Dunedin living is a temporary situation, nestled in North D for three years before jetting back to Te Read more...

The Great Cup Snatch: Takeaway Cups Gone from Campus Cafés

Posted 5:23pm Sunday 25th May 2025 by Jonathan McCabe

Uni-owned cafés were rocked by a surprise email on the 7th of May, being served with the ice-cold news that iced drinks could no longer be served in biodegradable plastic takeaway cups. In a huge loss for people who actually go to class, students will no longer be able to carry around their Read more...

Breaking In, Throwing Up

Posted 5:21pm Sunday 25th May 2025 by Molly Smith-Soppet

A Roslyn flat got more than they bargained for on a quiet Friday night when a drunk student broke into their home, took off his shoes, and vomited into a flatmate's hamper – all while apologising profusely. Daniel, a recent PhD grad (yes, Doctor Daniel) had been asleep in bed when he Read more...

Mould-Mapping North D

Posted 4:52pm Sunday 25th May 2025 by Hunter Jolly

Last week, the Tenancy Compliance and Investigation Team (TCIT) did the rounds of North-D flats. The government-run team sieged (door-knocked) flats to check that they are complying with the Residential Tenancies Act 1986. In other words, to check whether students have been slumming it in Read more...

Political (In)Action Committee?

Posted 10:52pm Sunday 18th May 2025 by Gryffin Blockley

Amnesty Youth Otago (AYO) and the Politics Students Association (POLSA) have expressed concern to Critic Te Ārohi over OUSA’s new Political Action Committee (PAC), citing worries about inclusion and representation. PAC is supposedly a committee formed to assist Political Rep Jett Read more...

Marine Science Students Refunded After Unfair Paper Charges Revealed

Posted 10:49pm Sunday 18th May 2025 by Gryffin Blockley

In great news for Mako Mermaid fans-turned-students, MARI403 students have been refunded the $267.89 more they were paying for the exact same paper as ECOL411 students. This comes after Critic reported on the disparity last week, thanks to a tip-off from ECOL411 student and OUSA Academic Rep Stella Read more...

Exec SLASHES 82% of Referendum Questions

Posted 10:43pm Sunday 18th May 2025 by Nina Brown

After begging students to submit questions for the biannual OUSA referendum, the Exec has slashed the final list of 103 questions to just 19. Students will soon be invited to flex their democratic muscles and vote a hearty “yes”, disapproving “no” or an apathetic “I Read more...

The Heavy Breathers Are Back, Baby

Posted 10:40pm Sunday 18th May 2025 by Tilly Rumball-Smith

In 2023, a group of 33 third-year boys, calling themselves the ‘Heavy Breathers’, raised 100k to support men’s mental health. The Breathers ran the Emerson’s Dunedin Marathon, donating their proceeds to mental health charity Spark That Chat. And for 2025, they’re back. Read more...

Capping Show Review: The Good, The Bad, and The Nazi Jokes

Posted 10:38pm Sunday 18th May 2025 by Hanna Varrs, Molly Smith Soppet, Iris Hehir & Ellie Bennett

Warning: Semi-spoilers for Capping Show included.  Critic Te Ārohi braved the rain and headed along to the opening of this year’s Capping Show, dressed to the nines (in our old hall merch – opening night was fresher-themed) and ready for a hilarious night.  The Read more...

The Saltiest Pretzel Stick CONSPIRACY

Posted 10:33pm Sunday 18th May 2025 by Zoe Eckhoff

Ahh the pretzel stick. A delicacy for 5-year-olds with the finest taste. A lunchbox snack that your friends would always ask for a share of. A crispy, salted delight in stick form; it’s genius. Well, if you were looking for another reason to hate capitalism, this is it. The beloved pretzel Read more...

Op-Ed: Otago Community holding Congress to adopt the Otago Declaration on Palestine

Posted 3:38pm Sunday 11th May 2025 by Staff for Palestine

On Thursday 15th May at 12pm staff, students and alumni from the University of Otago community are coming together to adopt a Declaration that supports Palestinian rights and adopts BDS (Boycott, Divest, Sanction). All staff, students and alumni are invited to join us as we come together to stand Read more...

Radio One’s Racket for NZ Music Month

Posted 3:28pm Sunday 11th May 2025 by Hanna Varrs

The month of May is upon us, and as is Music Month across the motu – a time of year that has its roots firmly intertwined with student media. That’s a lot of M’s.  The pioneers of Music Month are our radio stations, which consistently lift the bar in promoting Aotearoa Read more...

A Tale of Twin, Differently Priced Papers

Posted 3:26pm Sunday 11th May 2025 by Gryffin Blockley

It’s a tale of two papers: ECOL411 (Reading Ecology) and MARI403 (Critical Thinking for Environmental Scientists). Both papers are more similar than they may seem at first: same course coordinator, assessments and taught together at the same time, in the same room. So what’s the Read more...

Unattended Pot Teaches Lesson in Fire Safety

Posted 3:24pm Sunday 11th May 2025 by Cailin Williams

Waking up to a group of hot, sweaty men in uniform does not sound like something one might be opposed to, though the high chance of suffocation from smoke inhalation may change your mind. Second-year Dundas-dweller Zara experienced something that can only be found in a plot of a Colleen Hoover book Read more...

Ōtepoti’s Largest Trans-Rights Protest

Posted 3:07pm Sunday 11th May 2025 by Gryffin Blockley

Hundreds gathered in the Octagon on the 3rd of May in a loud, proud, and unrelenting show of solidarity against New Zealand First’s proposed gender definition bill. It was reportedly Ōtepoti’s largest ever trans-rights protest, with rainbow umbrellas against drizzly weather giving a Read more...

Uni To Maintain Institutionally Neutral, Adopt Ethical Policy

Posted 3:04pm Sunday 11th May 2025 by Nina Brown

The long-awaited results of a University working group on institutional neutrality are out. The University of Otago announced last week that they will be accepting the recommendations of the group’s 25 page report to adopt a statement on institutional neutrality (dubbed “vague and Read more...