David Clark | Issue 13

Posted 2:07pm Sunday 25th May 2014

The fact that I inhaled as a student has been canvassed previously by this magazine. As Barack Obama famously quipped, “that was the point.” I should also say that I am glad to have supported the ban on synthetic cannabinoids recently put through Parliament. On account of the miserable tales Read more...

David Clark | Issue 12

Posted 4:32pm Sunday 18th May 2014

I recall my student winters well. Particularly memorable was my Crown Street flat where the sun set at 2:30pm – with ice still on the windows. I spent nights in my Swanndri and sleeping bag, huddled in front of the small log-burner in the “lounge.” I suspect these are conditions many of you Read more...

David Clark | Issue 11

Posted 3:11pm Sunday 11th May 2014

Over the course of the last five years, New Zealanders have had more exposure to New Zealand Sign Language (NZSL) than in any other time in recent memory. During the aftermath of the Christchurch earthquakes, interpreter Jeremy Borland became a staple of the daily press conferences. He stood Read more...

David Clark | Issue 10

Posted 4:20pm Sunday 4th May 2014

Dunedin delivers in the cultural sphere. It always has. Think Robbie Burns. Think New Zealand’s first University. James K Baxter. iD Fashion. The Dunedin Sound. Six60. I think of the Dunedin books I stumbled across at University, like Dennis McEldowney’s Full of the Warm South or Archibald Read more...

David Clark | Issue 09

Posted 1:58pm Sunday 27th April 2014

Not so long ago, Dunedin’s homeless were regarded as an idiosyncrasy, known by name to students, and looked out for. Now they are becoming too numerous to care about – or so it seems. People don’t stop to speak with the homeless. Instead of an idiosyncrasy, their ubiquity is turning them into an Read more...

David Clark | Issue 08

Posted 4:31pm Sunday 13th April 2014

“Sex is fun; religion is funnier.” Some in my theology class took offence. The theology professor who issued the statement was one of my more entertaining ones. It was him who used to call me “mister tippy-tappy.” Apparently some in the class didn’t think it appropriate to laugh about either Read more...

David Clark | Issue 07

Posted 4:50pm Sunday 6th April 2014

I’m glad to see Critic has already sounded the alarm about the Government’s proposed changes aimed at removing student membership from university councils. It makes me angry to think that students will be excluded from decision-making at the highest levels. A growing body of evidence proves Read more...

David Clark | Issue 06

Posted 7:01pm Sunday 30th March 2014

Big trends shape all of our futures. The Industrial Revolution and the communications revolution have changed our world in ways past generations could not imagine. Like other trends, increasing globalisation has both good and bad sides. When I think about New Zealand’s future, there are Read more...

David Clark | Issue 05

Posted 5:30pm Sunday 23rd March 2014

If you’ve been around a while, you’ll know Invermay is the name of a world-class agricultural research facility in Mosgiel that often partners with the University of Otago. It is part of AgResearch, the largest Crown Research Institute owned by the New Zealand Government. Recently the Read more...

David Clark | Issue 04

Posted 2:59pm Sunday 16th March 2014

You may know someone who works at the Dunedin Community Law Centre in Filleul Street. One of 24 nationwide, the Dunedin Community Law Centre was established in 1980. Close to 200 people volunteer there – many of them law students at our University. As the local electorate MP, I frequently Read more...