It was the first day of Ori last week, and underneath the (short-lived) sun of a packed-tent city, our shit was rocked. After innocently opening an Instagram story from our friends OUSA Clubs & Socs, $4 Lunch had been unceremonially rebirthed as $5 Lunch.
What seemed like the last bastion of inflation had devastatingly come to an end. It was a good run, with the $4 Lunch era lasting right around half a decade. According to the Reserve Bank’s inflation calendar, $4 worth of food at the start of 2021 would be worth approximately $5.04 today due to inflation. So while the extra dollar sucks to spend (especially if you’ve had to buy butter recently), it’s not like it was a decision made out of the need for profits or greed.
OUSA puts in the hard yards to make sure all their students have access to an incredible range of services. There’s few other places around the motu where you can get a free brekkie, $5 lunches and dinners, free support, a full calendar of events and recreation programmes, and award winning student media! The point is, it’s okay to be disappointed, but don’t hate the players, hate the game – the systemic issues that make your bank account balance a jumpscare when you see it.
This initial disappointment reminded us of a common feeling many tauira experience at the beginning of the Uni year. For our seasoned students, coming back to campus and seeing change in the air feels jarring and makes you reminisce about the ‘good old days’. Once your mates start to leave, shops down George Street shutter and you feel too old for Pint Night; it’s easy to just want to go back to those simpler times.
Likewise, if you’re only joining us this year (welcome! How’s the fresher flu going?), you may hear more seasoned students complain about those good old days again. People always like to mention how Castle is dead, student pubs are gone and the Ōtepoti music scene will never rival its prime Dunedin Sound era. But we need to remember, we are living through our own ‘good old days’ right now. In a couple years, the rose-tinted glasses will appear, and suddenly you’ll be nostalgic for your old flat that used to be colder indoors than outside. Once we’re past our prime, chances are we will be going on to someone random about how good our Uni days were. Plus, odds are that those same students who lived through these good old days were doing the exact same thing - wanting to experience a student life from a bygone era.
Critic Te Ārohi isn’t immune to this change either. As returners will see, things look a little different around here. It’s a new year (heck, actually a new century for us): we're sporting a new logo, fresh look, and a changed print structure. Every other week we will be printing a smaller Critic with 16 pages - but still crammed with puzzles to complain about, news to gossip over, horoscopes to live your life by and the culture articles that are loyally read by our readers to procrastinate. In this issue, Harry’s block-by-block review of George Street and Hanna and Jesse’s deep-dive into the Highlander’s storied history gave us Critic’s own chance to reminisce about the changes to student life over these past few weeks.
So whether you’re a North D veteran feeling like you barely recognise the glass-strewn streets of your neighbourhood anymore, or a fresher grappling with the massive change that comes with starting Uni - take every opportunity right now to make memories you will reminisce about.
You can strive to make being a student the best experience it can possibly be, while appreciating every host you attend, lazing around with your flatties or going on those random late-night side quests. Just remember, change may be inevitable, but you are living through a period of time where you get to try new opportunities, fuck around and find out.
Your few years at Ōtākou Whakaihu Waka will go by in the blink of an eye. Cheap OUSA lunches will always be by your side, fuelling your online shopping spree during lectures - just don’t let the years waste away while you yearn for those ‘good old days’