Opinion: It’s The Damn Phone

Posted 12:01am Sunday 11th August 2024

Author's Note: Tempted to skip this article because excessive phone use has destroyed your attention span? Head straight to this link to find out how addicted to your phone you are for an upcoming study.  What do you think of when you hear ‘addiction’? Someone at a bus stop, Read more...

Students Protest University’s Silence on Palestine

Posted 3:41pm Sunday 4th August 2024

A crowd of 100 student protesters marched from Union Lawn to the Clocktower on Tuesday, 30 July, to protest the University of Otago's continued silence on Palestine. Otago Students for Justice in Palestine (OSJP) are demanding the University declare Palestine an “independent and sovereign Read more...

Static Age: For the Love of Vintage

Posted 9:04pm Sunday 28th July 2024

The world is burning, Shein sweatshops are churning, your Glassons mesh top is falling apart at the seams; suddenly two months out of style, and the last thing you want (unlike your first-year self) is to show up to a party and see someone wearing the same fit. A grey Butter hoodie? For Pint Night? Read more...

Grant Robertson: Homecoming

Posted 4:11pm Saturday 20th July 2024

On August 31st, 1992, 20-year old student president Grant Robertson gave Critic Te Ārohi what was quite possibly his first ever interview. 31 years later, Grant returns to the Clocktower, this time as Vice Chancellor of the University of Otago. Critic sat down with Grant once again to discuss Read more...

Critic Census 2024

Posted 7:11pm Saturday 13th July 2024

Back for its fourth year is the Critic Census, the annual data-crunching exercise conducted by the nosy parkers at Critic Te Ārohi. We asked 52 questions on just about everything, and 1005 of you shared the juicy details on study, sex, drugs, flatting, money, politics, relationships and more. Read more...

Opinion: Why We Need the “Sheatha”

Posted 3:42pm Saturday 11th May 2024

With the approach of the 130th Capping Show ‘Beezie’, it got the team at Critic Te Ārohi thinking. Every time we reference the stereotypical Otago student, we reach for the term “breatha”. And for good reason: they’re an easy mark with a well-established culture, Read more...

Law v Students

Posted 8:19pm Sunday 5th May 2024

Students often break the law. Common offences include drug use and distribution, disorderly conduct, theft, wilful damage to property, arson (à la couch burning), and pretty much every initiation that’s ended with a Proctor’s meeting. But when was the last time you thought of your Read more...

Castle Capitalism

Posted 10:24pm Friday 26th April 2024

It’s no secret that university students are short on money. Between tuition fees, the rising cost of living, and an academic workload that makes part-time work sparse, students are under a lot of financial pressure. But thanks to social media and consumer culture, a new 21st century job has Read more...

Unicol Fresher Wins Big from Online Gambling (Twice)

Posted 2:17pm Sunday 14th April 2024

A Unicol fresher has won big money from online gambling. Known around campus as Elvis*, he won $27k in total; taking his gambling virginity in a weekend that can only be described as one for the books. Elvis tells Critic that it all began the summer before Uni, when he was drinking with some Read more...

Dancing in the Rain: Baseline Reviewed

Posted 9:54pm Friday 5th April 2024

It’s important to Critic Te Ārohi that our reviews are authentic. To review hall food, we needed to assume the identities of freshers. And to review Baseline, we also had to assume the appropriate state of a festival-goer: dressed a lil’ slutty and with enough vodka Red Bulls in our Read more...