Starters Employees Get Wage Subsidy

Posted 2:44pm Sunday 26th September 2021

Employees of Starters Bar (RIP) have received a government-funded wage subsidy for the lockdown period, despite the fact that the bar never actually re-opened. OUSA CEO Debbie Downs said that because OUSA “fully expected [Starters] to be reopening post lockdown,” the staff were still Read more...

Melbourne Rocked by Earthquake Amidst Protests

Posted 2:40pm Sunday 26th September 2021

A magnitude 5.9 earthquake struck Melbourne on Wednesday around noon, the largest quake in seismically-quiet Victoria for 50 years. The earthquake came amidst increasingly tense collisions between riot police and ‘unions’ protesting the State’s Covid policies. Jono, a PhD Read more...

Initiation Spills Onto Street

Posted 2:36pm Sunday 26th September 2021

An initiation at the Leith Street complex turned into a pitifully-sized brawl during the sunset hours of Thursday 23 September. People abandoned their balcony and rooftop seats when the fights broke up, and spilled out into the streets when the music stopped. Three highschoolers watched the Read more...

Covid Dissuades Potential Postgrads

Posted 3:47pm Monday 20th September 2021

Earlier this year, we wrote about a surge in postgraduate enrolment rates due to something we called a “panic Masters”. This year, still unsure of what the future holds, some students have expressed that they’d rather stay away from further study than enrol in it just to feel like Read more...

Big Storm Cuts Off West Coast’s Cellular Connection

Posted 3:29pm Monday 20th September 2021

Most of the West Coast lost connection to wifi and cellular coverage last week, though nobody elsewhere seemed to notice. Sunday’s crazy storm destroyed part of the fibre optic network on the Coast, cutting residents from Haast to Whataroa off from the rest of the country. This is the Read more...

Push to Fight Meningococcal Disease in Aotearoa

Posted 3:01pm Monday 20th September 2021

The Meningitis Foundation wants every school leaver to be vaccinated against meningitis, not just those going into residential halls. “Meningococcal disease” is a mouthful, but the numbers speak for themselves. New Zealand has 24 times the rate of meningococcal disease than the USA. Read more...

No Grade Bump This Time Round

Posted 2:57pm Monday 20th September 2021

There will be no universal grade bump for Otago students due to lockdown. Assignments due between 18 to 27 August will be given an extra five marks, and markers have been urged to consider passing students with a final mark of 47 to 49 percent. Professor Pat Cragg, the University’s Academic Read more...

Geology Department gets $8.6 Million to look at Mud

Posted 1:48pm Monday 20th September 2021

Otago’s Geology Department just secured $8.6 million to study carbon sequestration in Fiordland. The funding, which will run for five years, was secured by a multidisciplinary team led by Associate Professor Chris Moy and Honorary Professor Gary Wilson. Professor Claudine Stirling, also in Read more...

Fonterra-funded Science Says “Our Byproducts Probably Won’t Give You Cancer”

Posted 1:33am Saturday 11th September 2021

Two Otago scientists have criticised the optimistic results of a nitrates study co-funded by Fonterra and MBIE. The original study concluded that it is “highly unlikely” that the presence of nitrate contaminants could increase your risk of cancer. Nitrates have been linked to cancer Read more...

Flat Parties May Require Sign-Ins

Posted 1:03am Saturday 11th September 2021

New Level 2 guidelines mean you’ll have to take attendance at flat parties. Hon Chris Hipkins said last week that any places where “people gather consistently and in large numbers” must abide by attendance-keeping rules. This means scanning in, signing in, or whatever other method Read more...