Opinion | Columns - The Independent Florida Alligator

OPINION | COLUMNS

Who's influencing Americans: politicians or comedians?

June 2, 2014

It seems as though everyone wants to be influential. And why not? Our society consecrates those select few who can claim to hold influence. Time magazine publishes an annual list of influencers. The online edition of Forbes continues to feature articles that inform the common man on how to spread his influence around the workplace. Those influencers in the public eye take to the speaking circuit to cash in on their success.

OPINION | COLUMNS

'Settler colonialism' column misleading

June 2, 2014

I recently read a rather unsettling column in the Alligator placing significant blame on Israel for a situation that does not lie in its own hands.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Prepare for climate change and the worst-case scenario

May 28, 2014

When a meteorologist warns Floridians of an impending hurricane and the catastrophic damage that could result from such a storm, most people heed the warnings and batten down the hatches. Recently, scientists discovered that a massive ice sheet in Antarctica melted past the point of return, and in the coming decades could seriously threaten coastal cities, especially those in Florida.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Florida women seek governor’s veto

May 28, 2014

Our legislature is attacking women’s rights in Florida. House Bill 1047/Senate Bill 918, which vaguely claims to revise circumstances under which a pregnancy in the third trimester may be terminated, permits doctors to place the potential life of a fetus above the life of a woman.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Political correctness hinders truth seeking

May 26, 2014

The latest bout of collegiate outrage that has captured the nation’s attention surprisingly does not come from an offensive themed fraternity party, or an undergraduate bellowing “Don’t tase me, bro” during a political speech. No, the country is taking notice that institutions of higher education are sacrificing free speech and free expression on the grounds of political correctness.

OPINION | COLUMNS

‘Nice guy’ syndrome gone deadly: Examining the UCSB shooting

May 26, 2014

On Friday night, a gunman killed seven people, including himself, when he opened fire on a small community near University of California, Santa Barbara. The gunman, believed to be 22-year-old Elliot Rodger, had posted a seven-minute video to YouTube the night before, detailing his plans and motives.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Settler colonialism is alive in Israel

May 26, 2014

When you hear the words “settler colonialism,” you might think of it as something that went away in the 20th century, but look no further than the often touted “only democracy in the Middle East:” The state of Israel that was established 66 years ago. While this is often described as a moment of liberation for the Jewish people after facing a thousand years of European anti-Semitism, which we saw the worst of in the Shoah (Holocaust), for Palestinians 1948 represents a traumatic event that they describe as al-Nakba, or “catastrophe” in Arabic.

OPINION | COLUMNS

New players offer hope for GOP in 2016

May 21, 2014

Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky wants to stir up dialogue — a word that has been forgotten in our hyper-partisan, deadlocked political climate.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Leave the guns, take the burrito: Chipotle asks gun owners to not come in

May 21, 2014

In recent years, an eruption of mass shootings at schools, malls, movie theaters and other places of business have plagued our great country. These senseless attacks instilled a certain level of fear among the American people, who have every reason to be on heightened alert when in public places. That’s why it is so disturbing that a pro-gun group at Chipotle Mexican Grill locations in Texas decided that the best side dish for a delicious burrito is an AR-15 assault rifle.

OPINION | COLUMNS

The dress code dilemma: Your boner isn’t my problem

May 19, 2014

College introduced me to some great things: keg parties, Midnight Cookies and a lack of dress code I had previously never enjoyed.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Popular political television shows fuel conservative ideals

May 19, 2014

Gone are the days of NBC’s hit political drama “The West Wing,” and President Josiah Bartlet’s fictional administration is but a distant memory. Although Bartlet was a democratic commander in chief, viewers of all political persuasions gravitated toward the fair-minded and principled president. America finally had its utopian chief executive, albeit one from a scripted primetime drama.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Stop with Benghazi: Impeach Obama

May 14, 2014

After spending years attacking President Barack Obama and the Democrats for the Affordable Care Act, Republicans watched in horror as 8 million Americans signed up for health insurance coverage through the exchanges set up by the law. The Republicans’ chief line of attack for the election came undone at the news that the number of uninsured Americans plummeted.

OPINION | COLUMNS

For students, action must follow idealism for future vocation

May 12, 2014

Most of us will never have a great career.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Like, just stop: good speech does matter

May 12, 2014

The “L” word. It’s that four-letter word that some people hardly use, some people always use, and some people cringe when they hear it spoken out loud.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Sweat, tears and tacos: The editor’s story

Apr. 22, 2014

It’s freshman year, and I’m walking along University Avenue, worrying that I’m too sweaty to go into the Alligator’s open house. My resume is in a purple folder stuffed with clips from my high school newspaper. I don’t know what AP Style is.

OPINION | COLUMNS

I’m confused, and it’s the newspaper’s fault

Apr. 22, 2014

There have been plenty of times in the past four years I’ve woken up confused.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Online editor asks: How did I get here, and how is everything over already?

Apr. 22, 2014

Freshman-year me thought it was so cool that UF had a student-run newspaper.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Embrace conflict, stories: Managing editor says fond farewell to the Alligator, college

Apr. 22, 2014

I’ll probably never forget the Fourth of July last year: I was stuck on a pontoon boat under a bridge in a lightning storm.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Journalist spreads xenophobic message

Apr. 22, 2014

You know those relatives who have too much to drink at family gatherings and end up making jokes that aren’t actually funny and end up offending people? Well, think of CNN journalist Jeanne Moos as your drunken aunt giving a toast at your wedding — except she is completely sober, unrelated to you and addressing a national audience rather than a couple hundred friends and family. And instead of hurting the feelings of you, your spouse and a few others, she mocks an entire culture that is 800 years old.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Zulkar Khan's final remarks: A call for honesty

Apr. 21, 2014

On Wednesday, The New York Times ran a front-page story detailing how Florida State University and Tallahassee Police had left multiple rape allegations, including the one against star quarterback Jameis Winston, uninvestigated.