Critic reporters preparing for an evening at Forsyth Barr Stadium's Zoo stand ahead of a Highlanders game. Photo / Supplied
When former University of Otago proctor Dave Scott spotted two glass bongs on a Dunedin flat table, he had no idea his confiscation would spark a national scandal.
What followed was a 1000-strong protest, a public apology, and headlines across the nation - kicked off by a word-of-mouth tip-off to the then-editor of the student magazine, Critic Te Ārohi.
That episode, now part of the magazine’s storied history, is emblematic of its century of provocation.
New Zealand’s oldest student publication this year marks a century since its first issue rolled off the press in 1925.
The Otago University Students’ 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.
The first edition appeared on April 2, 1925, promising to give voice to criticism and debate “within the four walls of Otago University”.
Its jaunty editorial captured the humour and swagger of the era, poking fun at student archetypes while laying down the magazine’s intention to question authority.
Over the decades, Critic has been at the centre of student politics, social change and national headlines.
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.
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.
The magazine has also been a launchpad for future public figures.
Former editors and contributors include broadcaster Jim Mora, commentator Chris Trotter, human rights activist Paul Oestreicher, and former Green MP Holly Walker.
Geoffrey Cox, editor in 1930, later became an acclaimed war correspondent and knighted journalist.
Originally published in a newspaper format, Critic shifted to a magazine style in 2001 and adopted its current A4 format the following year.
Its bold design work has drawn international recognition, with covers in 2011 featured alongside Time and Vogue on the design site Coverjunkie.
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.
The reporting has regularly earned top honours at the Aotearoa Student Press Association awards.
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.
Current editor Nina Brown started as a volunteer contributor in 2022 while in her third year of a Bachelor of Arts studying global studies.
“I’d 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,” she said.
Brown became news editor in 2023, and has now served two years as editor.
“I’ve 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.”
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’s role in reporting on and holding the executive accountable.
That has included contentious reporting.
“There’s been an ongoing saga of certain executive members and certain student groups who would like OUSA to adopt a BDS [Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions] policy … that’s caused a lot of disagreement within the executive.... There’s a whole series of events that the Critic has been in the room for the entire time reporting that I wouldn’t say is painting them in the best light, but we’ve taken that really seriously."
Beyond politics, the magazine continues to balance serious reporting with irreverent content.
“What 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’s acceptable to pee in the shower or to steal your flatmate’s food if they’ve left it in the fridge for like over a week,” Brown says.
“A lot of journalists who I’ve spoken to have credited student media for being like their starter. And I don’t know, you look at the state of media in New Zealand at the moment, I just think it’s so important.”
University of Otago vice-chancellor Grant Robertson said Critic has been central to the student experience throughout its century of publication.
“Critic 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.” he said.
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.
“The 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.”
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’s mission.
“To 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.”
Former Critic editor Joel McManus, who led the magazine in 2018, said controversy was part of the publication’s DNA - and during his tenure, it arrived in the form of two of the most talked-about issues in recent memory: the “menstruation issue” and the “bong scandal”.
McManus recalled that the menstruation issue began with a proposal from the Women’s+ Club during a period awareness campaign on campus.
The result was an edition with stories ranging from students’ personal experiences to investigations into the university’s provision of period products.
For the cover, McManus asked artist Saskia Rushton-Green to “just go for it… don’t be afraid to be graphic”.
The final artwork was a pixelated image of a person menstruating - an image that was, he said, less confronting than originally imagined.
When the magazine hit stands, however, it quickly disappeared.
“I remember posting a thing on Facebook being like, all of our magazines have disappeared. We don’t know what’s happened here… and it wasn’t 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.”
The decision backfired. Activist students plastered the cover across campus, organised a march on the clocktower, and drew national and international attention.
“It just sort of obviously blew up nationwide, even international. I did interviews for BBC and CNN… anyone who had got a copy of the magazine, it was suddenly like the most prized thing on campus... Hell of a time.”
Later that year, Critic broke another national story when the university proctor was found confiscating bongs from student flats.
“That 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.”
The fallout was even bigger than the menstruation edition, with an estimated 1000 students marching in protest.
Both episodes, McManus said, underscored Critic’s place as a magazine that could amplify student voices while sparking wider debate.
“It 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, ‘Okay, well what can we do that would be a little bit more, a little bit edgier than what other media might do’.”
Ben Tomsett is a multimedia journalist based in Dunedin. He joined the Herald in 2023.