Opinion | Columns - The Independent Florida Alligator

OPINION | COLUMNS

A world within your headphones: Listen to podcasts

Feb. 18, 2018

I’m addicted to Spotify. Barely a minute goes by in my waking weekday life that Spotify isn’t at least playing softly in the background, if not loudly through my earbuds on a run or through the speakers in my car. At some point, though, I started yearning for more, something in addition to music, that would expand my worldview. Enter: podcasts.

OPINION | COLUMNS

At what point will people's lives be worth more than support for guns?

Feb. 18, 2018

We talk a lot about breaking records. We try to break records for fundraising or athletics. Last week, however, we broke a record that should never have been broken: deadliest high school shooting in American history.

OPINION | COLUMNS

The Olympics highlight class division in America

Feb. 13, 2018

The Olympics, at its best, pick up the slack of politics, culture, education and everything in between. It does what these areas often fail to do: bring the many into one. It’s the simplicity and honestness of competition that does this. Either you receive a medal or you don’t, and you earn a medal by doing better than the next person. I can only wish the government were this transparent.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Actions will always speak louder than Instagram captions

Feb. 13, 2018

When people say that dating just isn’t the same as it used to be, they’re right.

OPINION | COLUMNS

The Regressive Politics of "The Bachelor"

Feb. 13, 2018

Feminists, as well as fans of generally entertaining television, would like to thank Arie Luyendyk Jr. for two more hours of productivity each week. To be frank, his season makes many previously devoted fans cringe, and many of us just can’t watch “The Bachelor” anymore.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Inmates are people, too

Feb. 11, 2018

Up until this past Friday, the Alachua County Jail was accepting comments and concerns about the way in which it operates and manages. Of the few government officials who submitted letters, each one had nothing but positive things to say.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Zen and the art of waiting for law-school decisions

Feb. 11, 2018

In preparation for writing this column, I perused the internet for its most famous, most well-liked quotes about patience. Patience, I have heard time and time again, is a virtue; good things come to those who wait, so we must remain strong and persevere as the hands of life’s clock tick onward. Stand resolute, stay hopeful.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Black students face inordinate pressure from parents when deciding on colleges

Feb. 11, 2018

On Wednesday, Jacob Copeland signed as UF’s wide receiver, and the video of the process went viral. Like most talented high-school athletes, Copeland had a handful of desirable options to choose from. His mother stood right by his side through the stressful decision until he made his choice. Upset her son didn't pick the University of Tennessee, she stormed away from the table and out of the view of the camera. The video immediately went viral through UF and the rest of the nation. The public cast shade at his mom, calling her selfish and criticizing her motherhood. Viewers believed Copeland didn't deserve to be deserted during such an important time in his life.

OPINION | COLUMNS

It’s time for Florida to end cash bail

Feb. 8, 2018

In our current system, the rich who are arrested quickly post bail, but those who are poor can spend extended periods of time in jail without a conviction. Our justice system must understand, while the punishment should fit the crime, cash bail disproportionately impacts poorer people, making it inherently unfair. In other words: It’s time for Florida to end cash bail.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Water conservation must be taken seriously

Feb. 8, 2018

In “The Wealth of Nations” from 1776, Adam Smith wrote, “nothing is more useful than water.” As much as the father of modern economics believed in a free market, that invisible hand occasionally reached for a glass of water like any other.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Recent YouTube drama is a sign it’s time to change

Feb. 8, 2018

In 2005, YouTube was born into existence and would forever change the digital world as we know it. Even though that was only 13 years ago, the internet was still in its infancy. As the first of its kind, YouTube has transformed from a time-killing rabbit hole, filled with cat videos and people “failing,” to a legitimate medium of creation and a source of entertainment poised to surpass traditional television.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Alexa, stop reinforcing gender roles

Feb. 6, 2018

The Amazon Echo, more commonly known as “Alexa,” was the star of the Super Bowl — at least if you’re the kind of person who was in it for the commercials. In the ads featuring the virtual personal assistant, after the automatic voice starts to cough, chaos erupts. While Alexa’s sick, Jeff Bezos and some Amazon employees rush to find a replacement. None of them fit the bill: Gordon Ramsay is too hostile, Cardi B plays Bodak Yellow when asked to play country music, and Leslie Jones and J.B. Smoove can’t agree on what romantic advice to give a lovesick user. The voice of Alexa returns, assuring everyone, “I’ll take it from here.”

OPINION | COLUMNS

In defense of nostalgia

Feb. 6, 2018

Today, we can listen to any song in a never-ending music library, and we have the power to stream nearly any movie ever made. But we always seem to revert to familiar classics in both categories. And there’s a reason why.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Heartwarming TV ads aren’t fooling anyone

Feb. 6, 2018

I grew up watching Super Bowl commercials that worked within the stereotype of them being created for laughter. They were essentially rodeo clowns.

OPINION | COLUMNS

The insanity defense: We should try to help rather than simply punish

Feb. 5, 2018

You may recall a story hitting the news in June 2014 about three girls in the woods in Wisconsin. Two 12-year-old girls lured a third into the woods in Waukesha, Wisconsin, attacked her and left her for dead. This past week, the girl who carried out the attack, Morgan Geyser, was sentenced to 40 years in a mental institution. Her accomplice, Anissa Weier, was sentenced in December to 25 years in a mental institution. To provide a little context, Geyser didn't merely attack the third girl, Payton Leutner. She stabbed her 19 times, all over her body. Why in the world would they do this? Apparently, they were trying to appease a character from a popular online horror game called “Slender Man.”

OPINION | COLUMNS

Don’t mix religion with education in the name of free speech

Feb. 5, 2018

Between all of the chaos to come from this White House administration, it’s been frighteningly easy for us to miss important news or dismiss seemingly innocuous political moves as insignificant. This is something we need to take note of. At this point, we need to learn to ignore nothing.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Let’s talk about protecting endangered species

Feb. 1, 2018

Manatees are as much a part of Florida’s identity as oranges and Mickey Mouse. Picture, for a moment, a manatee floating effortlessly beneath the water’s surface, looking for a patch of vegetation to munch on before it innocently moves through a precious Floridian body of water. Pretty majestic, right?

OPINION | COLUMNS

There is a drought of new and original stories in Hollywood movies

Feb. 1, 2018

With award season closing in on us, it’s that time of the year when we look back on all of the entertainment that graced our screens in 2017. Nothing very obvious changed this year in cinema; the box office was still dominated by "Star Wars" and whatever new superhero releases there were, and the Oscar nominations for Best Picture still consisted of films which the majority of people didn’t see.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Ignoring black artists will make the Grammy Awards irrelevant

Feb. 1, 2018

In a year where protest and defiance were highlighted in Hollywood, the Grammys, as always, have played it safe. Although the Time’s Up movement has focused more on actresses and directors, sexual harassment and assault has touched the music industry, too. This year, artists have released numerous songs about politics and activism, but this risk-taking was not recognized.

OPINION | COLUMNS

In a world of weak ties, hold on to your core friends

Jan. 30, 2018

In today’s ultra-connected world, a friend is no longer just a friend.