David Clark | Issue 1

Posted 1:48pm Sunday 28th February 2016

I enjoy life on campus, and all that goes with it.  I wouldn’t have spent so many years as a student here otherwise. Nor would I have returned to take up my previous job as the head of a residential College.  Otago University has been very good to me. One of the best bits about Read more...

David Clark | Issue 26

Posted 3:38pm Sunday 4th October 2015

Many of you will be preparing for exams. Good luck! After that come some fond farewells, summer and new challenges. Some of you will be flatting for the first time in the New Year. Some of you will be starting new courses. Some of you will be entering the job market. Whatever the change, I Read more...

David Clark | Issue 25

Posted 2:00pm Sunday 27th September 2015

Healthcare in New Zealand has been underfunded to the tune of $1.7 billion in recent years, according to independent economics advisory firm, Infometrics.  If you are studying health sciences, you may be directly affected by changes in our health system. The lack of funding and the loss of Read more...

David Clark | Issue 24

Posted 2:27pm Sunday 20th September 2015

The story of Louise Nicholas is familiar to many New Zealanders. Her battle with the police force over accounts of rape and abuse as a teenager in the 1980s was fought publicly. Since then, she has become a strong advocate for sexual violence prevention. My colleague Clare Curran, the MP for Read more...

David Clark | Issue 23

Posted 2:09pm Sunday 13th September 2015

I find it heart-breaking that New Zealand was so slow to welcome Syrian refugees escaping the biggest humanitarian crisis since WWII. Our existing refugee quota of 750 per annum has been in place for decades, and places us 87th in the world for generosity of welcome. When I was a schoolboy, Read more...

David Clark | Issue 22

Posted 3:10pm Sunday 6th September 2015

Student politics was lively when I was studying on campus. It was the early days of student loans and sentiment ran high. Memorably, one protestor threw himself under Education Minister Lockwood Smith’s car on a visit to the university. Grant Robertson — then OUSA president, now Labour Read more...

David Clark | Issue 21

Posted 2:16pm Sunday 30th August 2015

As more information has leaked about the highly secretive draft Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement, I’ve become more concerned about just what the government wants to sign us up for. Don’t get me wrong, Labour supports free trade. That’s why we signed a free trade agreement with Read more...

David Clark | Issue 20

Posted 2:38pm Sunday 16th August 2015

I was chuffed to receive an invitation to the University of Otago annual Law Revue a few weeks ago. For me, live entertainment with satire that nudges boundaries is an indispensable part of life on campus. It should be celebrated at every opportunity.  Along with its more grandiose Read more...

David Clark | Issue 19

Posted 2:43pm Sunday 9th August 2015

As a student, I ate a lot of instant noodles. Carbohydrates are cheap. In one flat, we budgeted two packs of spaghetti between four for a meal. Filling, but not too pricey. If we had lentils on top — instead of mince — we could afford a recognisable cut of meat the next night. Read more...

David Clark | Issue 18

Posted 3:17pm Sunday 2nd August 2015

One of my favourite artists — Ewan McDougall — recently showed me one of his newly completed oil-on-canvas paintings. The painting is entitled “Pretty Relaxed Akshully”. In it, a suited figure smoking a cigar reclines atop a sea of despairing faces. True to Ewan’s Read more...