As fun and exciting as this week has been, like all weeks, it must come to an end. As many of our columnists wrote about, this week was a time for new beginnings: New classes, new friends and new experiences are but a few of the joys that lie in the semester ahead. With that said, it’s time for this semester’s inaugural edition of…
Darts & Laurels
As we’ve recounted within these very pages, UF President Kent Fuchs has had an incredibly busy week. Last Friday, he joined thousands of baby Gators to welcome them to UF, charming students and parents alike with a hilarious video of himself engaged in various UF traditions around campus. On Sunday, despite a gloomy sky and some rain, he made it out to join students in Ben Hill Griffin Stadium for the second annual Rally in the Swamp.
Not one to rest on his laurels (see what we did there?), President Fuchs was then interviewed by WCJB-TV to discuss his goals for his first Fall semester here in Gainesville. He wrapped up his week in spectacular fashion by taking over the UF Snapchat.
It is genuinely gratifying to see a university president take so much interest in the day-to-day lives of students. So often, it becomes easy for administration to sit in their offices, detached from the weird, wonderful things that occur on a daily basis here at UF. As thanks for being the most affable, pleasant president a university could ask for, we give UF President Fuchs a well-deserved LAUREL.
In contrast to the likable qualities of President Fuchs, we have the Florida House and Senate. Back in July, the Florida Supreme Court ordered the state legislature to overhaul its redistricting plans in advance of next year’s elections. In a 5-2 decision, the court ruled that their plans demonstrated an "unconstitutional intent to favor the Republican Party and its incumbents." Well, no surprises there.
Last Friday, following a failed "attempt" by Republican legislative leaders to agree on how to best redraw district boundaries, legislators threw up their hands and left empty handed. After in-fighting and prioritizing personal interests over that of their constituents, it should be no surprise that Florida politicians get an unshapely, gerrymandered DART.
On Sunday, AMC premiered its newest program, "Fear the Walking Dead," a spinoff of the most successful cable program of all time, "The Walking Dead." Yes.
"Fear the Walking Dead" follows a dysfunctional family (sound familiar?) in Los Angeles, California, occupying the same fictional universe already established by its parent show. Except this time… the zombie outbreak hasn’t reached epidemic proportions yet. This slight shift in premise is as weak a narrative grab as they come.
We here at the Alligator office don’t mind spinoffs. In its first season, AMC’s very own "Better Call Saul" proved to be a worthy side story to "Breaking Bad." However, Saul Goodman had already proven to be a rich character worthy of examination on his parent show. So far, there is nothing on "Fear the Walking Dead" to suggest that the aforementioned shift in timeframe is compelling enough to justify a whole new program. For being fearful of taking risks on new premises, we give AMC executives a staggering, decomposed DART.
Finally, indie-rock extraordinaire Dan Bejar released a new album this week under his Destroyer moniker. The album, "Poison Season," successfully juggles the sounds of Springsteen and Steely Dan, offering straightforward rock anthems and moody, horn-centric lounge numbers in equal measure.
For being the cantankerous, pretentious avant-garde musician the world needs, we give Dan Bejar a LAUREL.
