The Otago University Students\u2019 Association (OUSA) publication has chronicled, provoked and entertained across a century of student life, becoming both a fixture of campus culture and a frequent source of controversy.<\/p>\n
The first edition appeared on April 2, 1925, promising to give voice to criticism and debate \u201cwithin the four walls of Otago University\u201d.<\/p>\n
Its jaunty editorial captured the humour and swagger of the era, poking fun at student archetypes while laying down the magazine\u2019s intention to question authority.<\/p>\n
Over the decades, Critic has been at the centre of student politics, social change and national headlines. <\/p>\n
In 1952, it ran an article on alleged United States germ warfare in Korea, sparking debate and a refusal by the Otago Daily Times to print it.<\/p>\n
Critic staff from yesteryear, under the leadership of editor Jim Mora. Photo \/ Supplied<\/p>\n
In 2005, an edition tackling date rape was referred to the Chief Censor and banned, one of the rare occasions a New Zealand publication has faced such action.<\/p>\n
The magazine has also been a launchpad for future public figures. <\/p>\n
Former editors and contributors include broadcaster Jim Mora, commentator Chris Trotter, human rights activist Paul Oestreicher, and former Green MP Holly Walker. <\/p>\n
Geoffrey Cox, editor in 1930, later became an acclaimed war correspondent and knighted journalist.<\/p>\n
Originally published in a newspaper format, Critic shifted to a magazine style in 2001 and adopted its current A4 format the following year. <\/p>\n
Its bold design work has drawn international recognition, with covers in 2011 featured alongside Time and Vogue on the design site Coverjunkie.<\/p>\n
The cover of the first Critic, printed a century ago. Photo \/ Supplied<\/p>\n
In recent years, the magazine has broken major campus stories, from exposing illegal searches by the university proctor, to investigating white supremacist activity, toxic drinking culture, and hazing practices at student colleges. <\/p>\n
The reporting has regularly earned top honours at the Aotearoa Student Press Association awards.<\/p>\n
To mark its centenary, the University of Otago mounted an exhibition, ISSUES! 100 Years of Critic, at its Hocken and Special Collections libraries earlier this year, displaying covers, memorabilia and landmark issues. <\/p>\n
Current editor Nina Brown started as a volunteer contributor in 2022 while in her third year of a Bachelor of Arts studying global studies.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019d always been a fan, even since before I came to Otago University. My sister would send me articles, and it hooked me into Otago University student culture,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Current editor Nina Brown celebrating Critic’s 100th. Photo \/ Supplied<\/p>\n
Brown became news editor in 2023, and has now served two years as editor.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve always said to people that if you want to actually know what Otago University is like, look at Critic, rather than the brochures that you get those open days.\u201d<\/p>\n
Brown emphasised that a key part of the role is maintaining editorial independence, pointing to an editorial independence charter that formalises the agreement with OUSA: while the association funds Critic and acknowledges it is not operationally independent, it respects the publication\u2019s role in reporting on and holding the executive accountable.<\/p>\n
That has included contentious reporting. <\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s been an ongoing saga of certain executive members and certain student groups who would like OUSA to adopt a BDS [Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions] policy \u2026 that\u2019s caused a lot of disagreement within the executive…. There\u2019s a whole series of events that the Critic has been in the room for the entire time reporting that I wouldn\u2019t say is painting them in the best light, but we\u2019ve taken that really seriously.”<\/p>\n
One of the biggest student GMs at OUSA was about the BDS policy. Photo \/ Supplied<\/p>\n
Beyond politics, the magazine continues to balance serious reporting with irreverent content. <\/p>\n
\u201cWhat we also want to do is give people something that they can just like pick up on a Monday morning from the stand and flick through and just have some like lighthearted entertainment or have an argument about whether or not it\u2019s acceptable to pee in the shower or to steal your flatmate\u2019s food if they\u2019ve left it in the fridge for like over a week,\u201d Brown says. <\/p>\n
\u201cA lot of journalists who I\u2019ve spoken to have credited student media for being like their starter. And I don\u2019t know, you look at the state of media in New Zealand at the moment, I just think it\u2019s so important.\u201d<\/p>\n
University of Otago vice-chancellor Grant Robertson said Critic has been central to the student experience throughout its century of publication.<\/p>\n
University of Otago vice-chancellor Grant Robertson. Photo \/ Ben Tomsett<\/p>\n
\u201cCritic has played a central role in campus life for the last 100 years. More than 80% of our students come from somewhere else to study in Dunedin, and Critic reflects that sense of shared experience. It has been controversial, topical, irreverent, informative and challenging. All the things a good student newspaper should be.\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Robertson said a memorable instance of Critic came from his time as president of OUSA, when an issue was produced overnight after a major protest in September 1993.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe staff worked through the night to produce a special issue that documented the protest from several different perspectives and photos from throughout the day. It was an extraordinary effort that marked just how connected Critic was and is to what students are doing.\u201d<\/p>\n
That role, he said, continues to be a balance between provocation and representation, and encouraged the next generation of editors and writers to hold fast to the magazine\u2019s mission. <\/p>\n
\u201cTo be true to the mission of reflecting student life, and being a voice for [mainly] young people who are finding themselves and the things that they care about. Be real and authentic, and you can not go wrong.\u201d<\/p>\n
Former Critic editor Joel McManus, who led the magazine in 2018, said controversy was part of the publication\u2019s DNA – and during his tenure, it arrived in the form of two of the most talked-about issues in recent memory: the \u201cmenstruation issue\u201d and the \u201cbong scandal\u201d.<\/p>\n
2018 Editor Joel MacManus interviewed amidst a protest following his report on then proctor Dave Scott confiscating a student’s bong. Photo \/ Supplied<\/p>\n
McManus recalled that the menstruation issue began with a proposal from the Women\u2019s+ Club during a period awareness campaign on campus. <\/p>\n
The result was an edition with stories ranging from students\u2019 personal experiences to investigations into the university\u2019s provision of period products. <\/p>\n
For the cover, McManus asked artist Saskia Rushton-Green to \u201cjust go for it\u2026 don\u2019t be afraid to be graphic\u201d.<\/p>\n
The final artwork was a pixelated image of a person menstruating – an image that was, he said, less confronting than originally imagined.<\/p>\n
When the magazine hit stands, however, it quickly disappeared. <\/p>\n
\u201cI remember posting a thing on Facebook being like, all of our magazines have disappeared. We don\u2019t know what\u2019s happened here\u2026 and it wasn\u2019t actually until the next day that the university put out a statement, saying that Campus Watch had decided to get rid of the magazines because they felt it was too graphic.\u201d<\/p>\n
The decision backfired. Activist students plastered the cover across campus, organised a march on the clocktower, and drew national and international attention. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt just sort of obviously blew up nationwide, even international. I did interviews for BBC and CNN\u2026 anyone who had got a copy of the magazine, it was suddenly like the most prized thing on campus… Hell of a time.\u201d<\/p>\n
Later that year, Critic broke another national story when the university proctor was found confiscating bongs from student flats. <\/p>\n
\u201cThat kicked off again. That was a scoop that I got through a guy that I knew… That obviously blew up into another big national story.\u201d<\/p>\n
Interviewing then-Prime Minister Chris Hipkins in 2023. Photo \/ Supplied<\/p>\n
The fallout was even bigger than the menstruation edition, with an estimated 1000 students marching in protest.<\/p>\n
Both episodes, McManus said, underscored Critic\u2019s place as a magazine that could amplify student voices while sparking wider debate.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was a case of we took a serious issue, a credible issue, but did it in a very Critic way where we wanted to be like, \u2018Okay, well what can we do that would be a little bit more, a little bit edgier than what other media might do\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ben Tomsett is a multimedia journalist based in Dunedin. He joined the Herald in 2023.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Otago University Students\u2019 Association (OUSA) publication has chronicled, provoked and entertained across a century of student life,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":7414,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[3548,9638,9632,9642,9005,9635,6788,9639,2740,9637,9641,4974,3556,111,43,139,69,1118,9629,9634,9633,9644,8139,9643,9636,9631,9640,1528,9630,1316,6730,1530],"class_list":["post-7413","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-new-zealand","tag-3548","tag-bongs","tag-celebrates","tag-confiscation","tag-critic","tag-dave","tag-dunedin","tag-flat","tag-former","tag-glass","tag-idea","tag-magazine","tag-national","tag-new-zealand","tag-news","tag-newzealand","tag-nz","tag-of","tag-otago","tag-proctor","tag-publication","tag-scandal","tag-scott","tag-spark","tag-spotted","tag-student","tag-table","tag-university","tag-universitys","tag-when","tag-would","tag-years"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7413","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7413"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7413\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7414"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7413"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7413"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7413"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}