St Daves Building Occupied In Student Strike For Education

Posted 11:45am Sunday 2nd August 2026

Hundreds of students marched through the University of Otago last Wednesday to protest the abolition of the Fees Free scheme. The campus-wide demonstration ended with the group occupying the St David’s building, protesting rising tertiary education costs and government funding cuts. According Read more...

Study Now, Debt… Forever?: Student Strike for Education

Posted 10:02am Sunday 26th July 2026

The countdown is on for the Student Strike for Education, set to kick off this Wednesday at 12pm on Union Lawn. The strike is being organised by Education Action Group 26 (EAG26), a student-led movement that emerged this year in the wake of last semester’s Fees Free protest. To find out what Read more...

The Social Politics of Vaping

Posted 9:19am Saturday 18th July 2026

Few objects in student culture possess the same social utility as the vape. Simultaneously a nicotine delivery device, conversation starter, social bargaining chip, flirtation mechanism, and communal ritual, the vape has quietly become one of the defining artefacts of contemporary youth interaction. Read more...

“Stay Petty”: The Subs and Cats Saga

Posted 2:48pm Sunday 3rd May 2026

The drama is bubbling over between two of Dunedin’s biggest players in student nightlife in a TikTok-based standoff. Suburbia (lovingly known to the fresher population as ‘Subs’) took to TikTok with a not-so-subtle jab at rival Catacombs (‘Cats’). Feathers were Read more...

Strait Talk: What’s Actually Going On in Hormuz?

Posted 1:24pm Sunday 26th April 2026

With TikTok explainers flying around and group chats spiralling, Critic Te Ārohi went straight to Professor Robert Patman to make sense of the escalating situation in the Strait of Hormuz. Patman, a Professor in the University of Otago’s Politics Department, specialises in international Read more...

Thursdays in Black: More Than Just a Black T-Shirt

Posted 4:05pm Saturday 11th April 2026

The concept behind Thursdays in Black (TiB) couldn’t be simpler: wear black on Thursdays. Through symbolically wearing black each week on campus, TiB Otago creates weekly visibility and raises awareness of those who have experienced or are experiencing sexual violence.  Despite winning Read more...

What’s Going On With Eduroam?

Posted 12:32pm Sunday 29th March 2026

This year, Critic Te Ārohi has noticed a spike in online grumbling about the University Wi-Fi, eduroam. Students have taken to forums (such as Castle26 and UoO Confessions – our favourite unofficial channels) in droves to air their grievances, which mostly boil down to this: the internet Read more...

Students, Lecturers and Tutors React to New LMS Aoroa

Posted 12:18pm Sunday 8th March 2026

In a move that has been met with both confusion and celebration, the University of Otago has officially started the roll out of Aoroa, its shiny new learning management system (LMS), powered by Brightspace. Despite being touted as a modern upgrade, Aoroa has already been critically received by Read more...

Spilling The Green Tea With Chlöe and Francisco

Posted 1:43pm Sunday 1st March 2026

Before making their case for the upcoming election, Green Party Co-Leader Chlöe Swarbrick and Dunedin electoral candidate Francisco Hernandez joined Critic Te Ārohi for a more intimate Q&A over at Pearl Diver. Chlöe didn’t eat the crusts of her potato pizza, but we’ll Read more...