OPINION: Please Don't Get Pets in Lockdown

Posted 3:29pm Sunday 5th September 2021 by Asia Martusia King

Mamma mia, here we go again. Some people thrive in lockdown. If you are anything like me (condolences) you get lonely and sad instead. You begin to think, wouldn’t it be nice to adopt a gorgeous fuzzy son/daughter? You’d have the benefits of pet therapy. You’d be giving an animal a Read more...

OPINION: It's Time We Woke Up

Posted 4:44pm Monday 19th April 2021 by Kate Pitches

Yeah, we fucked up. Our planet’s trashed.  It’s 4am. We’re all in denial stumbling around in the dark. The drinks have worn off but we’re pretending they haven’t so that we don’t have to face reality yet.  I was at the climate strike last weekend Read more...

OPINION: VSM is the Worst

Posted 4:30pm Friday 19th July 2019 by Bonnie Harrison

The Otago University Students’ Association exists purely because Harlene Hayne saw a poor little piglet, primed for slaughter, and decided they were too special to be turned into pork mince. The story of OUSA is essentially Charlotte’s Web. Our student union was conceived and born in Read more...

OPINION: Stop knocking on my front door

Posted 11:38pm Thursday 4th July 2019 by Mary Hawkes

Get off my fucking lawn. I can’t believe I actually have to say that. It’s way too soon to be looking for flats, and I don’t want to talk to you, so the roaming groups of star-eyed undergrads wandering around the inaccessible hilly back ends of nowhere need to stop hammering on Read more...

OPINION: It’s Disappointing Knox Hasn’t Changed

Posted 10:02pm Thursday 28th March 2019 by Georgi Hampton

The report of Critic’s Knox investigation was a difficult read for me. I was a resident of Knox College from 2007 to 2008. I have good memories of my time there, and met some wonderful individuals I still consider friends today. However, the collective culture of Knox when I lived there was Read more...

Opinion: Kicking up a Fuss About a Change in Petrol Excise Tax Is a Waste of Time

Posted 8:15pm Thursday 12th April 2018 by Ben Hay-Smith

Anyone who is calling out the current Labour government for lying and turning back on their pre-election promise of “no new taxes” until 2020 is either: An idiot. Arguing semantics to make a minor issue seem larger than it is. When the Labour party promised in the lead-up to Read more...

Opinion: Are We Making Excuses for Inappropriate Behaviour?

Posted 6:31pm Thursday 8th March 2018 by Esme Hall

The first time I met Professor Mark Henaghan he put his arm around me and kissed me on the cheek. I was 17 years old in my first week of University and he was the Dean of the Law School. It was a University event so the official photographer probably has photos of me looking very Read more...

OUSA Prez: Does the University Really Care About Student Opinion?

Posted 6:26pm Thursday 8th March 2018 by

I don’t know about you, but I don’t see the point in end of semester evaluations of your paper and lecturer if nothing ever gets done about it. Everyone seems to tell you it will be used to improve next year’s class, but does it really? Finishing the feedback cycle isn’t just Read more...

Opinion: National Made the Boring Choice

Posted 5:51pm Saturday 3rd March 2018 by Swaine Chan

As Labour’s poll numbers rocket up to 48%, National has elected Simon Bridges as their new Leader, in an attempt to resuscitate both their polling and their chances for the next election. Sadly, moderate candidate Amy Adams missed out. Adams doesn’t put herself up high just because Read more...

Opinion: OUSA Needs the Alternative Vote

Posted 9:50am Saturday 30th September 2017 by Joel MacManus

The OUSA Referendum, held between 9 and 11 October, will include a question about whether we should change the way we vote for future OUSA elections; giving students the chance to keep the current voting system, First Past the Post (FPP), or the Alternative Vote (STV), also known as Preferential Read more...