How to Decode Politicians: My (opinionated) 6-step guide to understanding their bullshit
"Speech is power: speech is to persuade, to convert, to compel." — Ralph Waldo Emerson The Merriam Webster dictionary defines a politician as “a person experienced in the art or science of government. Especially: one actively engaged in conducting the business of a government.” I think that definition is almost as ideologically vague as the politicians it describes. Art? Conducting business? It makes politics...A New Zealand Celebrity Hit Me Up On Tinder At 19
Critic Te Ārohi can verify that this celebrity is indeed a household name in Aotearoa. We’ve seen the messages, listened to voice memos, and seen the verified account linked to everything. We just don’t want to get in legal trouble by naming this guy. When I was 19, my flatmates and I would sometimes pass our spare time by playing a cult favourite game – Tinder. One night, I came across an incredibly well-known...“Misunderstanding” Results In University Removing OSJP Posters
Critic Te Ārohi recently received a tip from a café worker at St David Café, who was allegedly asked to remove posters put up by Otago Students for Justice In Palestine (OSJP) on the 22nd of April. The employee told Critic that café workers were asked to remove the posters, having been told by “someone above” that the posters “incited violence”. The poster, titled “Otago Uni In Bed...Leary’s Theory for Better Mental Health Services
Ingrid Leary, Labour MP of Taieri since 2020, and Labour Spokesperson for Mental Health, recently sat down for her first-ever interview with Critic Te Ārohi. Young people consistently have ranked the mental health crisis and climate change as their top concerns for the future, so Ingrid wants to address that in her mahi in Parliament. Ingrid emphasised that with the upcoming general election, it’s important for young people to know...Leith Street Residents at Gloriavale
Gravel rattles underneath tyres, fog reaches out from hills Pulling us in, wrapping around Grey path yawns further, a vehicle rattles across cattle-grate Solemn eyes and fixed faces, children in back, adults in front We fidget, and watch, they watch, and disappear Back into the fog, as quick as we saw them A bead of sweat rolls down the driver’s forehead Had he turned the air-con off? The road halts, and space opens wide The...North D in Thirty Years: What Will Our Flats Look Like?
The North Dunedin Spatial Plan Project aims to ensure that there is enough housing for students in North D for the next thirty...
Unions Rally For May Day
Union flags filled Union Hall last Friday (lol), as around 150 workers, students, and organisers gathered to mark May Day (also known as International Workers’ Day). The hui brought together a wide cross-section of unions — from nurses and...
Editorial: It’s All In Your Head
Hi everyone, Welcome to Issue 11. We literally have two issues left for the semester, which I think is genuinely insane. How time flies! I’m pleased to say that this issue seems to...
OUSA Exec: Fergus Parks
How do you do, fellow youths? OUSA’s post-graduate representative (resident UNC) here, using up ink on a column you don't read. And you know what? Good on ya! Exercise that free will, read me or don't. You think I care? Well… maybe a...
From the Pātaka - Issue 11
You can tell what time of year it is by what people are carrying. Shoes in one hand, laptop in the other, everything else tucked in where it fits, moving from one place to the next without really...
Local Produce: Emily Esplin
Emily Esplin (she/they) is an emerging Ōtepoti artist carving out a sound that feels raw, honest, and distinctly their own. Her music sits somewhere between vulnerability and distortion, a space where soft introspection collides with an ever-growing rock...
Letters: Issue 11 2026
Dear Critic, I’m sorry but seriously what the fuck is wrong with people in central library this year?? Why are the suicide pods absolutely filthy like how hard is it to clean up after yourself? And all the fucking freshers talking so loudly...
Booze Review: Fiji Dry
It’s monsoon season, so it’s time to get wet. Actually, never mind – this isn’t Moaningful Confessions, that's on the next page. This week, Swig60 set sail (not to that island) and somehow ended up stranded with a box of Fiji Dry...
Horoscopes: Issue 11 2026
Gemini As a potent full moon takes its effect on you this week, you're going to feel drawn to address the hidden cravings you've been pushing to the back of your mind. Acknowledge these desires before the energy causes disruption in your...
Moaningful Confessions: Mummy's Boy
It all started on a warm summer’s night in Australia. It was Hottest 100 day – a national treasure over the ditch. It was the last big effort before uni started up again, and celebration...
