Feuds are unwinding in the student community after the OUSA executive released ‘The Exec Times’, an Instagram news bulletin literally doing the job Critic Te Ārohi is designed to. The first edition dropped on May 2nd – on a Thursday, no less! – introduced to students with the phrase, “Want to know what your exec has been up to lately?” If that was what the Exec Times was really about, it should have been filled with betrayal…
To get to the heart of the debate (cos the exec had broken ours), Critic Te Ārohi firmly knocked on the door of the Exec bullpen and spoke with Administrative Vice President Emily Williams and President Keegan Wells. Keegan said that the idea had “been cooking since 1927” – a cheeky reference to Critic Te Ārohi’s creation in 1925, a magazine created literally to report on the actions of the OUSA executive and hold them accountable for their actions.
Although the scope of Critic Te Ārohi has expanded significantly since its birth, it still fundamentally acts as a way of keeping students informed on the actions of the OUSA exec. Now, it seems OUSA is turning its back on the magazine, deciding that after 99 years, they don’t like to be held accountable for their actions.
Speaking to the inception of the Exec Times, a quivering Emily told Critic, “I actually didn’t tell anyone. I just did it. I run the Instagram.” Emily argued that “no one said” that the Exec Times was anything like Critic before, “I thought, ‘Oh that’s crazy’. I didn’t consider that at all.” Whatever you say, Emily.
Addressing the issue head on, Emily stated, “The Critic is student focused, and I’m exec focused, and we’ve had a lot of feedback from people who don’t know what the exec does. So it’s like, let me fill that gap.” Facts, though. OUSA’s engagement has been steadily slipping since membership of student associations became voluntary in 2011, creating a dystopic realm of apathy in which this year’s OUSA president – nay, dictator – ran unopposed, breaking a 133 year precedent of arduous democratic elections.
Speaking to the feud, Keegan stated, “It’s well within her rights to make posts” providing sassy side-eye as she did. She went on to state that she was “very grateful for the work Critic has done so far […] it does not go unnoticed from our side.”
The first Exec Times reported on their Anzac Day service, Hyde Street’s success, and meetings etc, – we didn’t read any further out of spite. The bulletin can be found on the exec’s Instagram page, where they intend to post “more funny stuff, more photos of Keegan,” according to Emily. Settling the beef, Emily professed, “We love the Critic!” before reporting that the next issue of the Exec Times would be out “in a few days probably.”