“Legitimacy and Integrity” of OUSA Elections Compromised, Report Reveals

Posted 9:55pm Thursday 3rd October 2019

Last week the post-election report of the OUSA Returning Officer Ben Baker, the independent arbitrator of OUSA elections, revealed how close students were to having a false representative announced on election night. Allegedly, on the final day of voting, one of the candidates and/or their Read more...

OUSA Welfare Officer Resigned, Cited Ableism and “Bullying”

Posted 9:51pm Thursday 3rd October 2019

The 2019 Welfare Officer Kerrin Robertson-Scanlon has resigned, blaming the Exec for pushing her out after having her pay cut completely for not doing her work.  There will be no by-election to replace her. OUSA rules dictate that elections can only take place during normal semester time, Read more...

All The Time We Scooped the ODT This Year

Posted 9:25pm Thursday 3rd October 2019

Critic: 19 February - OUSA to Introduce Drug Testing for O-Week ODT: 19 February - OUSA introduces drug checking for O-Week   Critic: 21 February - OUSA Ran Drug Testing for O-Week ODT: 26 February - 60 O-Week drug tests carried out   Critic: 14 March - Drug Testing Finds a Read more...

Opinion: The OUSA Exec Will Never Be Truly Held Accountable

Posted 11:26pm Sunday 29th September 2019

Before May 2018, the OUSA Exec only got paid for the hours they actually worked, as a measure to hold them to account. This is no longer the case, and it’s causing problems. Back then, every year was broken into quarters, and the Exec would only be paid at the end of each quarter in a lump Read more...

Dunedin’s Student Night Shifters

Posted 10:53pm Thursday 26th September 2019

Ever wondered what life was like on the other side of a row of tequila shots? Critic talked to the people that see the ugliest sides of all of our nights on the town. The following people have had their names changed so they don’t get @ed, but they are all current students and probably best Read more...

45 Administrators Have Moved Department Since Implementation of Support Services Review

Posted 10:46pm Thursday 26th September 2019

According to an Official Information Act request made by Critic, 45 administrators have been internally moved from one department to another within the University of Otago in just one year. Last year, the University completed a Support Services Review (SSR) and completely shook up how they Read more...

Queer-Friendly Gig Round 2 Goes Off Without A Hitch

Posted 10:44pm Thursday 26th September 2019

Attendees “had a great time” at OUSA’s most recent Queen of Hearts queer-friendly gig at Starters bar. The first Queen of Hearts gig at Starters was hosted in late July and received flak from attendees, who cited “malicious” and “homophobic” harassment Read more...

OUSA Welfare Officer Refuses To Resign

Posted 10:40pm Thursday 26th September 2019

OUSA Welfare Officer Kerrin Robertson-Scanlan has been stripped of her duties and 20-hour a week pay, but will keep her title unless she resigns, which she has so far refused to do. Last Tuesday, the OUSA Exec formally rejected Kerrin’s third quarterly report for being Read more...

OPINION: Why Don’t More Women Run For OUSA Leadership?

Posted 4:43pm Saturday 21st September 2019

This year Otago’s student union had no female presidential candidates. Empowering women and people of colour to run for any OUSA position is an annual talking point for the Executive, typically brought up in the weeks leading up to nominations or, in the 2019 Exec’s case, not brought up Read more...

OPINION: Archway Shop Shut For No Reason And I Am Mad

Posted 4:37pm Saturday 21st September 2019

It turns out the University do not actually have a plan for the Archway Shop space. A few weeks ago Critic covered the closing of the Archway Stationery Shop in the Link. The University’s closed a useful store with one particularly friendly employee and replaced it with some cash-grab. At Read more...