Baseball may be the American pastime, but it is no secret our football players are the ones who are treated like the real heroes. Seriously, more than 30 million viewers tune in every week to worship by screen and watch their favorite teams play on Sundays.
In the late 19th century, economist Vilfredo Pareto demonstrated in his first academic paper that, in his native country of Italy, 20 percent of the population owned about 80 percent of all the land. Pareto then noticed the same pattern of distribution in his garden, where he found that 20 percent of the pods contained 80 percent of the total peas. Named after Vilfredo himself, the Pareto principle, also known as the 80/20 rule or the law of the vital few, is one of the most widely seen statistical phenomena in the world, seemingly evident on both the largest of macro levels (entire country wealth distributions) to the smallest of micro levels (amount of peas in a peapod).
Kneeling for the national anthem is once again in vogue in America. This weekend, hundreds of NFL players took a knee to protest what they have referred to as the U.S.’s oppressive treatment of minorities after President Donald Trump raised the issue at a rally in Alabama.
For those victim to it, the grotesque fact of racism is difficult to overstate. In furtive glances, tightened chests and cracked bones, it asserts itself with lethal, overwhelming force.
Remember those nights in your dorm common area? All of the usual suspects from the guys’ side and the girls’ side crept out of their crowded rooms, walked down the hall and swiped their fobs. Someone ordered pizza that everyone ate. Something someone wanted to watch was playing softly on the TV. Everyone somehow fit on one couch and five chairs.
This semester, I promised myself I’d get out of my comfort zone for the better. Too often we find ourselves in this Monday through Friday lull where we’ve gotten used to the schedule we’ve set for ourselves, and all we do is blindly follow it. Dear readers, I hope you add some spice into your lives every once in a while, especially if that spice is adding an interesting club to your lineup.
As a student at UF, you probably hear the word “involvement” tossed around a lot. Every day we are bombarded with emails, Facebook event invitations and social media posts advertising opportunities for students to get involved.
I had the opportunity to fly quite a bit this past summer, with a couple trips to New York and Boston, but mostly several trips to San Francisco to visit my girlfriend in Berkeley, California.
There once was a time when I would pour my cup of coffee at the crisp hour of 7 a.m. and listen to the birds chirp. You know, the good stuff. Seriously, I had the kind of mornings shown in movies.
Step aside, Nike shorts and Chaco shoes. The must-have fashion trend this fall? Feminism. Well, kind of.
As I wade through my last semester at UF, it has become evident that a portion of students here weren’t meant to go to college. Does that mean I think they’re not intelligent or competent? Not at all.
It’s been a week since Hurricane Irma did a number on the Caribbean islands, Puerto Rico, Florida, Georgia and South Carolina. Many are still reeling from the damages, stress and anxiety brought on by the storm. More than 6.5 million people were told to evacuate Florida based on the projection of the storm, and a lot of them did. The interstates quickly became clogged with terrified people desperate to get themselves and their loved ones out of the storm’s path.
Another day, another tweet from President Donald Trump. It doesn’t quite come as a surprise to anyone anymore, does it? Our president has desensitized many of us to his cruelty and ignorance by exposing us to his repulsive words on a daily, or sometimes hourly, basis.
What makes a university great? Is it the academics? The prestige? The ability to help students move up the socio-economic ladder? And what are we really bragging about when we share a Facebook post about UF being a top-10 public institution?
I have to give Ryan Murphy credit. I didn’t think there could be an “American Horror Story” season worse than the fourth season, “American Horror Story: Freak Show,” but two episodes into “Cult,” I think I have to call it.
As far as hurricanes go, Hurricane Irma was one for the history books. As the largest hurricane ever recorded in the Atlantic Ocean, it steadily grew in power as it meandered its way over warm ocean waters. For more than a week, Irma had the undivided attention of Floridians, as well as the entire country. The week prior, Hurricane Harvey caused billions of dollars worth of destruction in Houston.
Last week, I went to Midtown with wet hair.
When I tell people I am a journalism major, I am often met with wary looks. I have had some people make statements about how much money I will make. Others have the completely wrong image of what I want to do.
During the past long weekend, I had a lot of time to reflect on how our community comes together when the possibility of a natural disaster looms over our heads. For one, it touched my heart to see just how close this community has become within the last week or so.
I wanted to write about something political. I really did. I wanted to write about how I was told by two professors that class might be canceled either due to weather conditions or the violent threats of white supremacists. I wanted to write about the repeal of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals.
Solutions by The State News
