Opinion | Columns - The Independent Florida Alligator

OPINION | COLUMNS

Smoking ban encroaches on rights

By Carter Lyles | June 28, 2010

There is something very unsettling in the way modern society is beginning to parallel the fictional worlds presented by writers such as Orwell, Huxley and Rand. From the disturbing similarities between contemporary texting language and Orwell’s Newspeak to the health care battles that still continue to rage in Congress, it is undeniable that, at some point in the last 50 years, the line between fact and fiction began to blur.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Obama fumbles response to gulf spill

By Bryan Griffin | June 16, 2010

The recent Gulf oil spill has become more than a tragedy, and the Obama administration has more than botched the response. This crisis illuminates the administration’s lack of leadership. Unfortunately for Americans, we see a president too tangled in a web of bureaucracy, ego and inexperience to appropriately handle the situation. It was well-worded in a recent column by Mark Steyn: “He has grand plans for ‘the environment’ - all of it, wherever it may be. Why should the great eco-Gulliver be ensnared by some Lilliputian oil spill lapping ‘round his boots?”

OPINION | COLUMNS

Democracy failed when Board of Trustees approved fees

By Brittany Fox | June 14, 2010

The Board of Trustees did its job. Instructed by President Machen to (as quoted in the Alligator) “wrassle” with the new student fees, the board did just that. What is “wrassle,” you say?

OPINION | COLUMNS

Conservative arguments made in Griffin’s column not true

By Frederic Spieler | June 9, 2010

Bryan Griffin’s article “Individual action key to conservation” seems to strongly evoke his Republican role model, Bobby Jindal, the governor of Louisiana, and his limp response to President Obama’s State of the Union address. In his piece, he manages to convey such base ideas as “Liberals bad” and “Regulation bad.” OK, so you can’t blame him for paraphrasing the GOP manifesto. But beyond the standard partisan hackery, Mr. Griffin offers several gems that are simply too precious to ignore.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Roadtrips can be fun, enlightening

By Bryan Griffin | June 9, 2010

We have all seen it on our Facebook news feeds – friends and family posting pictures of their worldly travels. For many students, classes and obligations have dwindled, and those lucky enough to find funding have taken the opportunity to explore exotic destinations.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Students’ census responses important for future planning Fellow Gators

By Marcus L. Dixon | June 7, 2010

I know you all have heard so much about how important it is to fill out the 2010 Census, but this is the final stretch.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Cheating in class is easy, unacceptable

By KATHRYN STOLARZ | June 7, 2010

By now you’re probably in “lazy-days-of-summer” mode. Staying up late doing nothing productive. Sleeping in. Wanting to lay out by the pool. Thinking and moving in slow-motion.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Individual action key to conservation

By Bryan Griffin | June 2, 2010

For too long, environmental conservation has been a cause championed by liberals. Even though most members from both sides of the political spectrum, myself included, recognize the importance of environmental preservation and want to work to protect our planet, only liberals seem to lay claim to the issue.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Soccer deserves a spot in the limelight alongside football

By Marc Evenst Jn Jacques | May 31, 2010

It is love at first sight. It is a Thursday afternoon, and you are exhausted, waiting on the bus and eager to get home.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Facebook should not share user info

By Joshua Lee | May 31, 2010

Like most college students, I am quite tied to my Facebook account and have put much of my life on the ever-growing social network. When I first heard about Facebook four years ago, I promised myself I would never sign my deal with the devil and get an account. Four years later and here I am, one of those people who logs on at least twice a day to update myself on things that the website says I care about.

OPINION | COLUMNS

The Savvy Modern Online Politico

By Bryan Griffin | May 26, 2010

I love a good Internet political meme. Most political junkies have their inner circles of friends on an email list-serve that they use to distribute particularly funny or applicable memes. It can be a very enjoyable hobby.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Columnist gets hands on BP’s leaked memo

May 26, 2010

As a corporation, British Petroleum is deeply saddened by the recent leaks in our interwebs tube that have pumped out an ever-increasing number of highly sensitive and damaging internal documents into the vital Gulf of Public Opinion. We have prepared the following memo as a “top kill procedure” on the destructive flow of information by piping loads of crap into real leaks of BP’s corporate philosophy:

OPINION | COLUMNS

Driving comes with social responsibility

By Joshua Lee | May 24, 2010

A couple of weeks ago, at the tender age of 19, I finally got my Florida driver's license. After a three-year saga of excuses and missed opportunities, I finally sucked it up and studied hard enough to pass - despite running over a cone and failing my first attempt. While pretty much all college students and young drivers can relate to the experience, I feel like I have a unique view of the whole process.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Student Alliance party refutes departing senators’ attacks

By Keir Lamont | May 24, 2010

Last spring, an extraordinary event occurred in Student Government: Members of the Progress and Orange and Blue parties put aside their differences and created a brand-new party that represents all students, not just the lucky few. This new party, the Student Alliance party, immediately got to work by opposing the new Reitz Union student fee. We felt that in times of great economic hardship, the Unite Party was wrong to pass the buck on to the Student Body.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Communism’s return possible in U.S.

By Bryan Griffin | May 19, 2010

Thomas Jefferson once said, “All tyranny needs to gain a foothold is for people of good conscience to remain silent.”

OPINION | COLUMNS

Problems at home should be priority

By Joshua Lee | May 17, 2010

In recent weeks, we have seen natural disasters and incidents that have irreparably stained many parts of our nation.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Women should veto HB 1143

By Katie Walters | May 17, 2010

Sens. Andy Gardiner and Mike Haridopolos introduced two amendments to a bill in the Florida House of Representatives that would restrict women’s access to abortion. The bill and the two amendments passed in the House and Senate last week. Florida now waits for Gov. Charlie Crist to either sign or veto the bill, which has not yet come to his desk. Once it does, he has 15 days to decide.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Health care should not depend on non-profits

By Nick Miner | May 12, 2010

On Tuesday, the Alligator published an article by Bryan Griffin who argued for a larger role for non-profits in the American health care system. This article was not only full of blatant contradictions but naive in the extreme. Mr. Griffin was arguing that the health care system would perform better in private hands, he just forgot that non-profits are heavily dependent upon the government and are not private enterprise. In his attempt to discredit the new health care laws he actually made an argument for an increased government role.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Government spends efficiently

By Nicholas Mildebrath | May 12, 2010

Debate is important. Especially when it comes to something as vital as health care. But when it comes to debate, as one senator put it, “You are entitled to your own opinion, but you are not entitled to your own facts.”

OPINION | COLUMNS

Congress should be more concerned for public’s interest

By Bryan Griffin | May 12, 2010

This week, the director of the Congressional Budget Office announced the health care legislation is going to cost about $115 billion more than expected. This brings the total in health care spending up to about $1 trillion — so far.