Editorial: Where did all the pages go?

Posted 1:51pm Sunday 1st March 2026 by Hanna Varrs

Last year, Gryffin and I were faced with one of the first tough decisions we’d need to make as Co-Editors. Critic is funded by OUSA, and due to the increasing cost pressures they face, Critic changing to a fortnightly publication was pretty much all but confirmed. We fought hard to make sure Read more...

Editorial: An Obituary to $4 Lunch (2021-2025)

Posted 3:12pm Sunday 22nd February 2026 by Hanna Varrs

It was the first day of Ori last week, and underneath the (short-lived) sun of a packed-tent city, our shit was rocked. After innocently opening an Instagram story from our friends OUSA Clubs & Socs, $4 Lunch had been unceremonially rebirthed as $5 Lunch. What seemed like the last bastion of Read more...

Editorial: Long Live Critic

Posted 2:54pm Monday 13th October 2025 by Nina Brown

There have been many versions of this editorial – my last. First was the list of evidence I’d compiled for the eventual case to be made that I’ve aged out of studenthood. It started at the first Critic drinks in O-Week when, rather than opting for Scrumpy (the best value for Read more...

Editorial: I Love Fat Bear Week

Posted 10:53pm Sunday 28th September 2025 by Nina Brown

It was Fat Bear Week last week. As the newly elected Exec for 2026 cheersed to a successful campaign period and the marvel that is Canva premium, I was reading the profiles of 11 chunky bears from bed with a tear in my eye – of gunk from the conjunctivitis I’d contracted, but you know. Read more...

Editorial: I’d Say We’re Pretty Lucky

Posted 5:40pm Sunday 21st September 2025 by Nina Brown

I don’t know about you, but these past couple of weeks have left me reeling. Both on campus, in wider Ōtepoti, in national and international news (I won’t linger on this one too long), it’s as if whoever runs the simulation has turned up the dial to “hard” and left Read more...

Editorial: Passion 4 Protest

Posted 2:15pm Monday 15th September 2025 by Heeni Koero Te Rerenoa (Sky)

During my studies, I've picked up on a throughline that isn’t always named outright: the role of wāhine Māori in the resurgence and survival of te reo Māori. From the emergence of Te Kōhanga Reo and the frontline of activism, to the dining rooms where karakia were Read more...

Editorial: A Challenge to the Uni’s Monopoly on Scones

Posted 10:38am Sunday 7th September 2025 by Nina Brown

I learned why the supermarket duopoly is making butter a luxury grocery item last week. Features Editor Hanna patiently explained to me how competition is important to ensure that prices meet demand, and why there being two major supermarkets in Aotearoa means prices inflate to the point of there Read more...

Editorial: I Want Essential Workers on My Zombie Apocalypse Team

Posted 3:21pm Sunday 24th August 2025 by Nina Brown

To cope with long distance, my undergrad friend group has subscribed to a monthly newsletter called Letterloop. Each month brings a fresh set of questions for everyone to answer. They range from the mundane (“how’s work going?”), to the serious (“what’s your biggest Read more...

Editorial: Praying at the Altar of Art

Posted 11:06pm Sunday 17th August 2025 by Nina Brown

I’m sick of talking about art in the context of how dire the current artistic landscape is. We get it; there’s no funding, AI is taking over the world, Bachelor of Arts graduates are somewhat screwed (I can say that, I am one), and Act’s arts spokesman took 20 minutes to think of a Read more...

Editorial: It’s All Political

Posted 9:09pm Sunday 10th August 2025 by Nina Brown

“It’s all political.” That’s what Chlöe Swarbrick told me when I said to her that we’d focus on the ‘Politics’ section of the Critic census in our interview. Two weeks later, the words were ringing in my ears as I edited the fashion issue. Fashion is Read more...