Did anyone ever tell you that you’re not supposed to talk about religion and politics?
Well if you’re interested in those topics, and you have opinions, you can forget about that rule.
The Alligator wants you!
For those who are new to UF, the Alligator publishes five days a week during the Fall and Spring semesters.
This means we need students to help us fill up our opinions pages with well-thought-out analysis and commentary about current events.
If you have a good sense of humor, we’re also open to the occasional humor columnist.
We’re looking for strong writers who want to share their views on issues ranging from campus events to local, state or national politics.
We will have between six and eight positions to fill for the Fall semester, depending on how many applications we receive.
If you’re interested in becoming a weekly columnist, you will need to submit a resume, a brief cover letter explaining why you think you’re a good fit for our opinions pages and a short explanation of your political persuasion, i.e. conservative, liberal, libertarian, socialist, etc.
Please keep in mind that “Republican” and “Democrat” are not political ideologies.
If you have been published before or keep a blog, please send us three examples of your finest work.
If you have not been published before, you can send us two writing samples about different topics. These samples should be between 500 and 600 words in length.
Columns should take a stand, be clear and be about things that might interest students. On the other hand, try to write about original topics.
If you’ve read about an issue in six or seven columns in The New York Times, you’ll probably be beating a dead horse. But you may not be if you provide a new perspective.
If you apply and do not make the cut for the Fall semester, we still strongly encourage you to submit material. We will be accepting guest columns and letters to the editor throughout the Fall semester.
The more familiar we become with your work, the better your chances at getting chosen for a columnist position in the future.
Guest columns should be between 500 and 600 words and need to include your name, year, major and the school you attend. If you reference statistics, facts or figures, we need sources and citations.
Feel free to write response columns to our weekly columnists or come up with your own topic.
Letters to the editor should be between 150 and 200 words and need to include your name and any other relevant information, i.e. major, organizations you belong to, etc.
All materials for columnist applications should be sent as an attachment to opinions@alligator.org by Aug. 15.
