ANIMALS?!?!?!? How to have pets as a student. Kind of.

Posted 9:14pm Sunday 27th April 2025 by Matilda Rumball-Smith

Kiwis own more pets per household than almost anyone else in the world, so it comes as a bit of a culture shock to leave that behind for studenthood. Many of us grew up with household pets who, unfortunately, remained in the household when we moved out. Without us realising, our final year of high Read more...

Flat Authoritarianism

Posted 11:43pm Sunday 13th April 2025 by Ellie Bennett

Flatting is a delicate balance of personalities, habits, and passive aggressiveness. For the first time, you get to experience life free from the watchful eye of parents or RAs – and that usually means 2-minute noodles for every second meal, putting off your washing to the last minute, and, Read more...

Editorial: Your Initiation “Tradition” Is Barely Consenting Age, Actually

Posted 10:42pm Saturday 10th August 2024 by Nina Brown

As students are beginning to turn their attention to where they’ll live next year and listings for Castle Street flats are cropping up, the subject of flat initiations is once again on people’s minds. Personally, it’s been in the back of my mind since last year, when I witnessed a Read more...

Debatable: Should You Date Your Flatmate?

Posted 11:29pm Saturday 10th August 2024 by Abby Bowmar

Debatable is a column written by the Otago University Debating Society. The Debating Society welcomes new members and meets at the Business School every Tuesday at 6pm. For: Abby Bowmar You enjoyed being single in first-year, when you were freshly eighteen and heating was free. But now Read more...

Students Not Convinced By Government’s ‘Pet-Bond’ Policy

Posted 10:28pm Friday 26th April 2024 by Gryffin Blockley

In a spate of new changes to renting legislation, the National coalition Government announced a new pet bond policy which claims that it will make rentals easier to find for pet owners. The pet bond of two weeks of rent aims to make landlords more accepting of the risk of letting a pet live at their Read more...

Do it your fucking self: How to Unfuck your Vacuum

Posted 4:52pm Tuesday 5th March 2024 by Sam Smith-Soppet

Picture this: you’ve been riding the bender-coaster that is Flo and O-Week, you roll out of your bed on the wrong side of midday, and in a rare sober moment for you (or any student), you realise that your flat is a tip. A bombsite, even. Sure, you rush around and do your laundry, but the Read more...

Goops, I did it again! An idiot’s guide to stain removal

Posted 4:11pm Monday 19th February 2024 by Lotto Ramsay

Happiness is fleeting, we all die, and nothing is truly permanent. Nothing, that is, except for stains that you don’t get out in time (fuck you especially, red wine). O week is full of shenanigans that can ruin your clothes, soft furnishings, and possibly your future. Luckily, Critic is no Read more...

Google Form Flat Quizzes: How Much Heat Can You Handle?

Posted 1:28pm Sunday 5th March 2023 by Critic

When tensions are highest in a flat, everyone agrees to the bad idea of doing an anonymous Google Form quiz. It’s a fact of life. However, like with all good things in life, you can choose the spiciness level of these questions. From complimentary props to sulk-inducing burns, here’s Read more...

Why Dunedin Boys Live in Shit Houses

Posted 2:50pm Monday 15th August 2022 by Anna Robertshawe

It’s a man’s world, and we’re all living in it. Unless, of course, you’re a Dunedin boy. Then there’s a chance you’re not living anywhere.  The flatting scene in Dunedin is one-of-a-kind. One could compare it to an episode of Survivor, where competing Read more...

All-Male Flat on their 15th Application

Posted 1:31pm Monday 15th August 2022 by Anna Robertshawe

All-male flatting groups are struggling to find a place to live next year. A few have blamed their bad luck on gender discrimination – with stereotypes continuing to haunt boys on the lookout for flats. “It’s the most demoralising thing: turning up to a flat viewing as a group Read more...