Long Live the King

Posted 4:17pm Monday 19th February 2024

According to over 150 Critic readers, these are the definitive King’s Cup rules for Otago students: 2: You, with 93.6%. Nominate a drink. 3: Me, with 93.6%.  You must drink. 4: Whores, with 61.8%.  People identifying as female must Read more...

Nut Up or Shut Up: Why Halls Should Go Vegetarian

Posted 4:00pm Monday 19th February 2024

The way halls work right now, with opt-in veggies but obligate meats, is completely backwards. I don’t care if you keep eating meat in your day-to-day life. It’s kinda cringe, but ultimately, the emissions from one private jet flight outweigh any of your dietary choices. So I can live Read more...

Duck-Biting Story Threatens Otago’s Reputation, Says Newspaper that Wrote the Story

Posted 9:54am Saturday 2nd December 2023

The ODT has highlighted how Otago University’s reputation was damaged by a story broken in early October about students biting the legs off live ducks. This story was broken, of course, by the ODT themselves, who remain the only organisation privy to any sort of evidence that this ever Read more...

C'mon, John, Just Donate to the Pūteketeke

Posted 11:04am Thursday 16th November 2023

Is a bird in the hand really worth two on a billboard? John Oliver doesn’t care, because he’s got more money than you.   John Oliver joked on his show that there’s nothing more American than influencing elections, and that may well be true (I, myself, have indulged). Read more...

We Can't Find the Duck-Biters

Posted 1:34pm Wednesday 25th October 2023

Critic has been unable to find any evidence of an alleged duck-biting initiation.  Following the ODT’s story on October 6, we got in touch with a bunch of recently-initiated first-years, and a few hosting second-years. None had witnessed anything involving a live duck, but all were Read more...

Castle Street (mostly) Denounces Animal Abuse

Posted 6:31pm Saturday 14th October 2023

As Dunedin flat initiations have come under fire, students on the rowdiest street in town have rushed to their defence. They say the leading story, about allegedly being forced to bite the feet off a live duck, is “not what we’re about at all”. Critic Te Ārohi spoke to one Read more...

OUSA Condemns “Vigilante” Action after Duck Initiation

Posted 12:53pm Monday 9th October 2023

A post on the Dunedin News Facebook page calling for the names and addresses of students involved in an alleged initiation has stirred up online vigilante action. OUSA has denounced the initiation activities - if true - and has also denounced any wannabe justice seekers. Public backlash to the Read more...

Editorial: Is this a Dunedin Initiation or a CIA Blacksite Torture Method?

Posted 1:18pm Sunday 8th October 2023

Flat initiations are 20 years old at best. You know what else is 20 years old? Enhanced interrogation techniques designed by CIA crackpots in the wake of 9/11. They like to go out, abduct suspected terrorists and then torture them for weeks in secret locations on foreign soil. The tactics used (the Read more...

Editorial: Is this a Dunedin Initiation or a CIA Blacksite Torture Method?

Posted 1:13pm Sunday 8th October 2023

Flat initiations are 20 years old at best. You know what else is 20 years old? Enhanced interrogation techniques designed by CIA crackpots in the wake of 9/11. They like to go out, abduct suspected terrorists and then torture them for weeks in secret locations on foreign soil. The tactics used (the Read more...

Highway to the Danger Zone

Posted 12:15pm Sunday 8th October 2023

Thrill seekers are everywhere in Franz, to the point where bartenders used to “free-pour shots into open mouths like Cancun”, according to some guy I met in a spa pool. And to take care of those tourists, many students work in Franz over summers where they’ll invariably end up at Read more...