Columns

Booze Review: Speight’s Hazy Pale Ale

This article does not start with a sip, but with a journey. Of course, by journey I mean driving from my boozeless flat in the North East Valley to Rattray Street to pick up a rarer drop than most conjured up by those mad bastards under the Triple Star: Speight’s Hazy Pale Ale. Speight’s is really New Zealand’s version of Stonehenge: a national institution, a constant, an immovable object against the unstoppable force...

Debatable: Is it socially acceptable to drink glasses of milk?

For It was a bit of a shock to learn that drinking the occasional glass of milk was a controversial act. I’m an adamant milk slurper, so you’d better believe that after a hard day of mahi, I like to come home and guzzle down a pint or two of it. What’s not to love? It’s full of top notch nutritional goodies including proteins, antioxidants, vitamins, calcium, healthy fats, etc. Not to mention it tastes bangin’...

Editorial: Census Was a Trip

Welcome back to campus! While many of you had a well-deserved rest and shroom-induced epiphanies, I tripped in a labyrinth of census data, was sent down corridors of correlations and came out the other end both enlightened and far too familiar with your lives. The Critic census was birthed in 2021 as a random collection of student data that then-Editor Erin joked about selling to the highest bidder. They learned that students at the time...

Local Produce: Powder Chutes

From fans to friends. A local rock band from Wanaka ended 2024 on Spark Arena’s stage playing with Grammy-nominated act Highly Suspect. 2025 saw the band interrupt their usual rotation of gigs with a nationwide tour promoting their self-titled album, Powder Chutes. Shredding through chords and slopes, the band named after a narrow gully of snow takes on Re:Ori 25. Powder Chutes headlines Tuesday night at U-Bar, supported by Ammonita,...

OUSA Exec: The Glorious and Half-Serious Revolution

The last couple of months have been rough. Not “there’s no seats in the link” rough. More like “I tried to rebuild the student movement with a whiteboard and a lack of sleep” rough. Please don’t misinterpret this, I love my job. There’s no greater privilege or pleasure than being your President. But I can’t pretend that it hasn’t been hard. Somewhere between trying to return OUSA to...

Mi Goreng Graduate: Spaghetti Bolognese

Welcome to Semester Two! I hope you had a great break and are braced for a wintery start to the second half of the year. We have an absolute classic this week: the humble spaghetti bolognese. I know what you’re thinking: “Pfft please! I know how to make spag bowl.” But when I tell you that you don’t make it this good, you gotta believe me. Simple is best, and with a little special ingredient you’ve got the best spag...

Pisces This week you’ll find the thing you so desperately need to fill that hole in your heart. You’ve felt a little ‘out of sorts’ lately and crave stability; this will come from the most unexpected of places. Mistake to Avoid:...

Moaningful Confessions: “Caught, Clawed, and Chlorinated”

Have something juicy to tell us? Send your salacious stories to moaningful@critic.co.nz. Submissions remain...

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