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Wednesday, July 02, 2025

Opinion | Columns

Florida Alligator
OPINION  |  COLUMNS

Failure to pass resolution against burning angers senator

In Student Senate Tuesday night, the Student Alliance brought forth a resolution to condemn the Quran burning event by the Dove World Outreach Center scheduled for Sept. 11. The event is already being protested by many outraged students and has been met with vehement opposition from local and national media groups. The fact that the traditionally open and tolerant city of Gainesville will be the site of such an egregious event is a blight on our community and everyone who lives within it.


Florida Alligator
OPINION  |  COLUMNS

Most practical freshman advice yet

For the past two months, y'all have been subjected to a never-ending parade of "freshman advice" columns where writers muster up all the meaningless humanitarian niceties and spew them on print in their best imitation of Dr. Phil, devoid of anything entertaining or soul-rotting.


Florida Alligator
OPINION  |  COLUMNS

Stop abusing Facebook statuses

Picture in your mind the most wonderful, pristine girl in the world. She cooks, rips your friends when they’re being complete tools, and is down for making any place her personal bedroom. For about 75 percent of you, the image of Vince’s porn-star girlfriend from Entourage pops up. Go with it. For girls, just picture Don Draper covered in flowers and Nicholas Sparks novels.


Florida Alligator
OPINION  |  COLUMNS

Take advantage of time in Gainesville

Welcome to UF. You are now a student at the flagship academic institution of the state of Florida. With a University of Florida degree, you have endless career opportunities and a promising shot at some of the nation’s top graduate programs.


Florida Alligator
OPINION  |  COLUMNS

Limiting freedoms is justifiable at times

Freedom is an addictive thing, isn’t it? Each time we get a little bit more freedom to do anything, regardless of the positive or negative impacts, we cling to it like a mother clinging to her newly born baby. It is our baby. It is our everything. But why is this so? Why do we find it so difficult to let go of any kind of freedom? I would put my hard-earned Monopoly money on the reason being a human tendency, to grasp onto anything that enables us to express ourselves. Since expression can be quasi-defined as life, the opportunity to live to one’s fullest potential, which I believe is infinite, can be equated as freedom.


Florida Alligator
OPINION  |  COLUMNS

Paint the roses whatever color you like

We have about 80 years to live, and about one-third of that we spend unconscious. And I don’t mean because of an accumulation of hard nights at Midtown. Throw in work, education, eating, daily household and personal hygiene chores, and the roughly five years everyone spends in a line of some sort just waiting for something like a red light to turn green.


Florida Alligator
OPINION  |  COLUMNS

Arizona’s law is reasonable

Simply being an American citizen comes with a grab bag of freedoms and benefits. Social Security, education, welfare and President Obama’s soon-to-be-implemented comprehensive health care system are only some of the fruits of our nation’s wealth - a wealth built on the social and ethnic diversity that defines America. While this diversity is our nation’s greatest strength, we cannot allow unrestrained access to America’s limited bounty. I am writing in regards to SB1070, the Arizona law causing so much uproar – the one that allows police officers to detain suspected illegal immigrants unless they are carrying immigration documents. I’ve heard the words “un-American,” “fascist,” “xenophobic” and “racist” all used to describe this legislation and its supporters, and I have never been more worried for the future of America.


Florida Alligator
OPINION  |  COLUMNS

Media hurt gulf towns the most

About two weeks ago, I took a trip to Cedar Key with my Counseling in Community Settings class and our professor, Dr. West-Olatunji. Cedar Key is a small town located on the Gulf Coast, about 50 miles southwest of Gainesville. Known for its aqua-farming, it is a big name in the clamming industry. The purpose of our trip was to talk to members of the Cedar Key community in order to gain a better understanding of how the oil spill has impacted their lives. As future counselors, we also wanted to learn how our profession could better serve the needs of communities impacted by the oil spill.


Florida Alligator
OPINION  |  COLUMNS

America’s creativity enables greatness

America heralds the banner of innovation because of the country's aptitude for creativity. Individual creativity is an essential part of the American spirit and is embodied in our country's founding documents. A government produces the most from its citizens when it allows each of them to define and pursue their own success. Using a system of limited regulation, a government should be one that allows for society to enhance its prospects by working up freely from below, instead of being determined from the top.



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