Opinion | Columns - The Independent Florida Alligator

OPINION | COLUMNS

Column: Facebook leads the way in gun reform

Feb. 1, 2016

Disciples of the Second Amendment have been snubbed. The world’s largest social network took defining steps in the arduous effort for reasonable gun control Saturday. Facebook announced it would be banning users from coordinating private, person-to-person sales of guns on its website as well as through Instagram, though licensed gun dealers and gun clubs will not be affected by the company’s action. (Phew! Thank you, Jesus.)

OPINION | COLUMNS

Column: Why do we care about current events?

Feb. 1, 2016

This past weekend I found myself in an all-too-familiar situation involving a labored conversation, the hole I talked myself into and an unsuccessful attempt to escape. I was partially to blame for this predicament, as I had broken one of the unspoken cardinal rules of social gatherings: Don’t discuss politics with someone you just met.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Column: The future of 'The Daily Show' is strong

Feb. 1, 2016

I tend to focus my column on serious political and social issues, but for the sake of incorporating some occasional variety, I’d like to commit this week’s piece to a more lighthearted topic very dear to my heart: “The Daily Show.”

OPINION | COLUMNS

Column: Supporting Bernie Sanders is lazy and cowardly

Jan. 31, 2016

I am not a conservative per se — as a Jew, a woman and a first-generation American, it wouldn’t be becoming of me to join the openly racist, sexist and xenophobic right wing. But if conservative could mean something else, it might mean this: Things exist, and exist for reasons, and we’d better think about what they are before we burn it all down.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Column: A local election debate in unnecessary detail

Jan. 31, 2016

I’m sad and disappointed most UF students — probably an overwhelming majority — don’t participate in local politics. We spend practically four years of our lives in Gainesville. We eat, live and spend a lot of money in this fair city. When issues of utility rates, transportation and public safety are brought up in local politics, students should pay close attention — is there a better time to get involved in Gainesville politics than right now?

OPINION | COLUMNS

Column: Has Barbie caught up to the 21st century?

Jan. 31, 2016

The new generation of Barbie dolls represents many different kinds of women of different shapes and sizes. For many little girls, these dolls aren’t sidekicks – they ARE Barbie. Often for girls they symbolize an ideal to aspire to. Many of Barbie’s incarnations have been different professions, including careers in the military, medicine and public service. The point of these has been to show girls this message: “You can do it, too!”

OPINION | COLUMNS

Column: Memoirs - something to say or sell?

Jan. 28, 2016

It seems that these days, anyone who is anyone has decided to sit down and write a memoir.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Column: The media should stop focusing on the appearances of female athletes

Jan. 28, 2016

For the past few months, female UFC fighter Ronda Rousey has been all over the news. Her record is impressive: She holds an Olympic medal in Judo, was the first female fighter to sign with UFC and is currently ranked first in UFC women’s bantamweight. Even with her recent loss to fellow UFC fighter Holly Holm, there’s no doubt Rousey’s achievements are noteworthy.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Technology addiction isn't unique to millennials

Jan. 28, 2016

A cardinal sin of our generation, or so I’m told, is our incessant need for instant gratification — in other words, our addiction to digital technology. We spend our lives scrolling through Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, Yik Yak, Tinder, Grindr, Bumble, Uber, Lyft, Woofer, berniesanders.com and ISIS, just to name a few places. But it seems we rarely spend enough time with those we truly care about.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Column: The Zika virus is an urgent concern

Jan. 27, 2016

In 2014, West Africa experienced one of the worst catastrophes in modern history. It was not a civil war or natural disaster of a physical sort, but rather, a virus known as Ebola. What started out as a few unconfirmed reports eventually developed into one of the worst epidemics in medical history.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Column: The problem is Hollywood, not the academy

Jan. 27, 2016

Not even a week after this year’s Oscar nominations were released, Jada Pinkett Smith, the wife of Hollywood icon Will Smith, did what all noble public figures do and took to Facebook to express her dissatisfaction. Smith and her supporters, one of them being director Spike Lee, are calling for a boycott of the Oscars. Why? Because of the lack of people of color in the nominations.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Guest column: BDS movement is about delegitimizing Israel

Jan. 26, 2016

Last Friday, the Alligator published a column titled, “Don’t be rude about BDS movement,” in which the author defended the movement that seeks to boycott and sanction the State of Israel. The column contained multiple misconceptions and inaccuracies.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Column: The 'idea' of /t/ in the English language

Jan. 26, 2016

Pronounce this phrase as quickly as possible: “The hat rack tapped the bottle.” Now, take the words: “hat rack,” “tap” and “bottle,” read them aloud and sound out each individual sound, paying careful attention to how you pronounce the sounds that are written with the letter <t>. Did anything change?

OPINION | COLUMNS

Column: Aramark is bad food, and evil to boot

Jan. 26, 2016

Campus dining is a classic example of a public institution being tarnished by the practices of a private company. It would be highly inefficient for UF to manage food services, which is why the university makes contracts with private food companies to handle dining. This is where Aramark comes in. Since 1995, Aramark has been contracted to bring students “Gator Dining.” The problem: Aramark has been under investigation multiple times over the past decade for labor law violations and food safety issues.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Not enough responsibility with drones

Jan. 25, 2016

Drones are not the silver bullets we’ve made them out to be. On one hand, they facilitate our objectives by killing high-value targets without risking American lives. But on the other hand, we have to deeply consider the consequences, ranging from civilian deaths to the deception and secrecy with which our government conducts these drone strikes.

OPINION | COLUMNS

It's greed versus the planet

Jan. 25, 2016

It’s been three weeks since the governor of California, Jerry Brown, issued a state of emergency regarding the ongoing Aliso Canyon gas leak that has spewed up to 58,000 kilograms of methane per hour since Oct. 23. Without doing too much math, that equates to about two and a half months since the natural gas well released a trove of delightful job-creating and completely harmless vapors into the atmosphere before any declaration of emergency took place.

OPINION | COLUMNS

"Making a Murderer": vigilante or voyeuristic?

Jan. 25, 2016

Like so many college students with a Netflix subscription and a tendency to procrastinate, I devoured all 10 episodes of “Making a Murderer” within the course of four days. The hype surrounding the series was unavoidable, and after a fervent recommendation from a close friend, I happily shirked all responsibilities and dove in. As a courtesy spoiler alert, anyone who has exhibited the self-control to avoid the show and doesn’t want to know how it ends, avert your eyes.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Column: Food lobby pervades American diet

Jan. 24, 2016

More vegetables, less red meat and more low-fat dairy products: Seems like good, clear-cut dietary advice, right? These aren’t the dietary guidelines the U.S. government released recently. Rather, these are the guidelines released by the Swedish National Food Agency, which address nutrition in a more substantive fashion.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Column: GOP leaders have a plan for success

Jan. 24, 2016

We Floridians don’t realize how lucky we are. Not only do we live in a large and continuously growing state in our fair union, but we are also one of the swingiest of swing states. Pretty much every election is contested, and with legislative redistricting being fought out in the courts, elections are only going to prove more interesting going forward.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Column: Mass migration is not a left vs. right issue

Jan. 24, 2016

With the sexual assault and terrorism associated with migrant flows, European values are in a clash with no solution in sight. How does one weigh hundreds of thousands of illiberal, disaffected young men against starvation in Syria, Taliban firing squads, Eritrean indefinite conscription that amounts to slavery and a Mediterranean of floating corpses?