A Conversation with Justin Pemberton

Posted 1:01pm Thursday 17th October 2019

This new film of yours is a historical look at capitalism, and it’s an adaptation of a nearly 700 page economics text that deals with a piles of statistics, and a tonne of macroeconomic theory. Is it a film for nerds? No, not at all. There’s no way the film would be able to mirror the Read more...

Big Hits 2: Critic Goes to Half a Leauge Football Game in Wellington

Posted 11:12pm Thursday 29th August 2019

I arrived at Wakefield Park at five minutes to halftime. It was forty minutes past eight on a Thursday evening and I was running late for no good reason. Aside from me, there were two other spectators: Bryn and Tintin, both ex-Otago students. I mentioned I was writing an article for Critic to Read more...

Rory And His Forest Garden

Posted 5:55pm Thursday 11th July 2019

On the North End of George Street, in an orange brick house bedecked with vines and separated from the street by a row of feijoa bushes, lives Rory and his forest garden. The George Street Orchard has been ex-Otago student Rory’s pet project for the past ten years. He invites me to try a Read more...

Kaka Vs. Kea: Dunedin Botanic Gardens Edition

Posted 5:53pm Thursday 11th July 2019

There are three, and only three, reasons that a student might visit this fair city’s botanic gardens. Firstly, drinking in a tree in an attempt to mimic an introduced marsupial. Secondly, trashing the fountains in the Mediterranean Garden by partying on the eve of a national tragedy. The third Read more...

University’s ‘Walk Your Wheels’ Campaign Labelled Ableist

Posted 9:39pm Thursday 23rd May 2019

A student with a physical disability is saying that the wheeled transport ban on campus is more than just an inconvenience for skateboarders; it does not consider the needs of students for whom walking around campus is not an option. Disability Services said students will be able to apply for an Read more...

I Went To A Men’s Rights Summit And They Tried To Recruit Me

Posted 11:39pm Thursday 16th May 2019

Why would anyone go to a men’s summit, in an age of online self help videos and feminism, let alone bother to host one? Critic decided it would be fun to try and find out what happens at these meetings, but as it turns out there was very little fun to be had. What follows is the gruelling true Read more...

Big Hits: Critic Tackles Super Rugby

Posted 9:00pm Thursday 9th May 2019

Fucking bagpipes. We walk past an ominous circle of tartan, practising on the tarmac like something out of Children of Men. “Jump in,” Amber the contracted PR person for the fast food restaurant says. Okay. We hop on the back of a modified golf buggy shaped like a chicken bucket. It Read more...

Going Hard: The Rowing Club’s Paralympian Programme

Posted 7:09pm Thursday 2nd May 2019

Down at the waterfront, where the University Rowing Club has monopolised the OUSA aquatic centre, every Monday evening an elite group of athletes push themselves to their limits and go beyond. “Special Olympics are more about doing it, rather than the result,” Glen, the manager of the Read more...

Straight Out the Oven Cooked: King REX

Posted 9:09pm Thursday 25th April 2019

The first time I saw King REX play live was at Inch Bar. The thing about Inch Bar is that I haven’t been to many good gigs there. Most of my memories of the venue are of sitting around, bored out of my mind, as greying men pluck away at ukuleles haphazardly and beat congas halfheartedly. King Read more...

Students to Watch | Zoë Hayes and Anna Hendry – Rape Crisis

Posted 2:13am Friday 5th April 2019

Zoë Hayes and Anna Hendry both wear a lot of hats. They both maintain a busy workload as they work towards their respective Masters degrees. They also work at Rape Crisis. Anna’s role is that of financial administrator. She’s studying full time towards her Master in Applied Read more...