If you've had enough of this on-again-off-again weather, rest assured that Spring Break is now officially one month away. So while you spend your time in class today calculating just how many beers your tax rebate will buy on some sunny beach in Mexico - or just how many will get you through Valentine's Day - join us for this week's edition of…
Darts & Laurels
First up, we give a wouldn't-going-after-divorce-make-more-sense DART to the Florida4Marriage campaign for pushing the Marriage Protection Amendment onto the November ballot. The group obtained enough signatures last week by collecting 92,000 petitions in 13 days, and contends that same-sex marriages expose children to a an untested social experiment. John Stemberger, state chairman of the campaign, said, "What our people did was simply remarkable … This is real proof for grassroots momentum for marriage as the union of one man and one woman in Florida." We beg to differ, Mr. Stemberger. It just proves that there are more ignorant bigots in this state than we thought.
Next up, an extra pointy keeping-costs-low-won't-keep-quality-high DART goes to the Florida Prepaid College program for joining the state legislature in a lawsuit to keep the Board of Governors from raising tuition at state universities. State Senate President Ken Pruitt was pleased with the Prepaid board's decision, explaining that tuition hikes will "shut the door" to the dream of college to students. Well, nothing will shut those doors faster than not having enough money to keep them open.
Our next dart just proves that we get what we pay for when we cut corners in education. The have-you-been-living-under-a-rock-for-the-past-week DART goes to the Florida voters who showed up at polling places Tuesday to cast their vote for the presidential primaries. Elections offices across the state received hundreds of calls from voters wanting to know where they could vote. A spokesperson for the Palm Beach County election supervisor said the offices there received more than 100 calls in two days. One Orlando man even arrived at his regular polling place and demanded to vote. So not only do Floridians not vote correctly, now they aren't even sure which day they are expected to mess up the election.
At least some strong voices at UF are taking the steps to ensure elections on campus go smoothly this year. In what will probably be one of the few positive things we have to say about Student Government elections this semester, we proudly offer a thanks-for-bringing-more-logic-to-the-process LAUREL to Tommy Jardon, president of Students for Online Voting. Jardon contested the weak claims of UF Supreme Court Chief Justice Brian Aungst Tuesday, who said online voting would allow student organizations to illegally direct students' votes. Jardon said if the GatorLink login system is secure enough for students to pay tuition, it should be secure enough for SG elections. He went on to say if the court denies the online voting amendment, he will appeal the decision, and we'll be behind him all the way.
As Gainesville gets greener, we present the final joining-the-noble-fight-to-stop-waste LAUREL to local supermarkets. Chains like Publix and locally owned establishments like Sunflower Health Foods have been giving customers the option to purchase reusable bags to cut down on use of plastic. Since Americans use about 100 billion plastic shopping bags every year, many of which end up as garbage landfills, we applaud any step responsible retailers taking in the green direction.
