Opinions - The Independent Florida Alligator

OPINION | COLUMNS

Guest Column: Be wary of instant approval credit

June 13, 2016

Let’s be honest, getting offers for free or discounted things online or in the mail can be pretty exciting. As you move forward in your financial life, you will start to get more and more offers for things like new cars, insurance options and instant approval credit card offers. Most of these offers are easy to disregard, as they include major financial decisions you have to make when the time is right for you.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Opinion: Gun reform still largely out of reach

June 13, 2016

Sunday morning Orlando became the center of another massive shooting, something that seems to have become an occupational hazard of American life. While the details are still coming in about the deaths and injuries, and the whole story is not yet clear, a couple things are.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Opinon: No one is above the law, except Brock Turner

June 13, 2016

Wow, has it really been a week since our last talk? I feel like so much has happened! I don’t know if 650 words are going to be enough to express my discontent with three latest controversies: the gorilla, the rapist and the two hair-dyed blondes that could possibly be president.

Sarah Schumaker, 23, leads a group of mourning Orlando residents and visitors in lighting candles at the vigil held at Lake Eola Park on Sunday.

OPINION | EDITORIALS

Editorial: How long will this go on?

June 13, 2016

Twenty first-graders attending school in Newtown, Connecticut. Then, it was a family and pedestrians in Santa Monica, California. Twelve more at a Washington, District of Columbia, naval yard. Three at Fort Hood, Texas. A long-planned mass-murder at Isla Vista, California.

OPINION | EDITORIALS

Darts & Laurels: June 9, 2016

June 8, 2016

Dear readers, we’re nearing the end. Five weeks into Summer A. It’s already almost over: crazy, right? It’s time to hit the books and try to pull some miracles in these classes so that we can all go back to enjoying what summer is truly about… never-ending rain?

OPINION | COLUMNS

Opinion: The U.S. ‘justice system’ is not doing its job

June 8, 2016

In light of the controversy around the Stanford rape case, it’s amusing to observe Americans wonder why there are many in our country who don’t have an ounce of respect for the justice system.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Opinion: With the onset of global warming, climate change talks will start again

June 8, 2016

My gosh, it’s been hot these past few months. It must be from that El Niño. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 13 of the 15 highest monthly temperature anomalies have occurred since February 2015. Unfortunately, Australia’s Bureau of Meteorology declared El Niño finished on May 24. Opponents of the existence of climate change have blamed abnormalities, climate and weather since 2014 on El Niño. Now that it has ended, politicians may actually have to respond to Mother Nature.

OPINION | EDITORIALS

Satire: Save money, live better... Build drones?

June 6, 2016

Well, dear readers, this is it. We’re calling it. The end is nigh — and not the cool kind of Nye we all know and love from probably the only thing we liked in elementary school more than recess: “Bill! Bill! Bill!” (If this reference went over your head, you need some more science and bowties in your life!) But for real, the coming months are basically life-or-death… or move to Canada.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Opinion: Trump, his protesters and American democracy

June 6, 2016

If you ask the average person on the street what the definition of democracy is, they will usually include answers such as “one person, one vote” and the rights of citizens. While these may be true, there is a lot more to successful democracy than just the basic definitions that are popular to the general public. Things such as rule of law and peaceful transition of power to an opponent are key in order for democracy to continue without slipping into authoritarianism.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Opinion: Children’s art embodies the understanding of ourselves and each other

June 6, 2016

One of the less “typical” courses available here at UF is titled “Harry Potter and the Holocaust.” I’ve had the privilege of taking it. While I could write a column about that class alone — send an email, and maybe I will — there’s one theme I want to ramble about this week.

OPINION | EDITORIALS

Darts & Laurels: June 2, 2016

June 1, 2016

If you’re on the lookout for some life coaching, Dr. Ben Carson awoke from his slumber, yet again. Let’s see what message he brought to Fox News on Memorial Day: “America right now is like a cruise ship that is about to go off of Niagara Falls with tremendous carnage and death.” Hmm… Never mind. This sounds more like some nightmare he had after seeing “Titanic.” Anyway, we at the Alligator would never do you like that. We’d never give you up, let you down or run around and desert you. So, relax and fade away into our latest segment of…

OPINION | COLUMNS

Opinion: Whom does one remember on Memorial Day?

June 1, 2016

My great-grandparents fought in Syria’s army in World War I for the Allied Powers, which eventually earned them an expedited path to U.S. citizenship. This historical anecdote allows me to account for my presence in the U.S., which I can do without kissing the ground on which I was born or giving thanks my family left its homeland.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Opinion: President Obama still has six more months

June 1, 2016

If you thought of the last few accomplishments of President Barack Obama, what would come to your mind? It would probably be his visits to Cuba this past March and Japan just last week. The bottom line, though, is Obama’s past accomplishments have not been here in the U.S.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Opinion: Trump and the media smokescreen

May 30, 2016

So, let’s talk about The Donald. Let’s not talk about his obscene, blanket remarks labeling illegal immigrants as criminals bent on destroying society or the fact he thinks Islam somehow has a hatred for the U.S. that nobody else can see. Rather, let’s talk about the fact he can make his massive media attention devoid of any actual news to work to his advantage.

U.S. President Barack Obama lays wreaths at the cenotaph at Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park in Hiroshima, western Japan, Friday, May 27, 2016. Obama on Friday became the first sitting U.S. president to visit the site of the world's first atomic bomb attack, bringing global attention both to survivors and to his unfulfilled vision of a world without nuclear weapons. (AP Photo/Shuji Kajiyama)

OPINION | EDITORIALS

Hiroshima: a sobering reminder of then and now

May 30, 2016

On Friday, President Barack Obama made a remarkably historic visit to Hiroshima, Japan, calling for a “moral revolution” and a “world without nuclear weapons” in his address. If this rhetoric sounds at all familiar, that’s because, well, it is.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Opinion: Body-shaming, hypocrisy and Sriracha sauce

May 30, 2016

Like any good writer in the 21st century, the controversial topics I address are inspired directly from what I see on social media. Based on that alone, this week I was forced to decide between three things: whether Hillary Clinton’s lying habits are worse than Donald Trump’s, those one-minute cooking videos that always end with that one dude making sex noises to the image of food — “oh ye-AH!” — or some asshole at the gym again.

OPINION | COLUMNS

My weekend safari in Paynes Prairie: a look into venture capitalism

May 25, 2016

“The ethic of conservation is the explicit abnegation of man's dominion over the Earth. The lower species are here for our use. God said so: Go forth, be fruitful, multiply, and rape the planet — it's yours.” Ann Coulter

OPINION | COLUMNS

Memorial Day: actually remembering history

May 25, 2016

Thank you, Mr. Trump.

OPINION | EDITORIALS

Darts & Laurels: May 25, 2016

May 25, 2016

It’s that time of year, dear readers: The days are getting hotter, the sun’s growing brighter, the list of your friends on wild summer vacations is getting longer and longer. Don’t worry: You may be shaping up for exams now that Summer A is halfway over, but this Summer here in Gainesville is still fire. Traffic is super light, the lines to the clubs are nearly non-existent and there are fewer people around to clog up your Wi-Fi when you’re on an all-night gaming spree. Most of all, you’re in for a treat: our senseless ramblings, our assessment of life’s deepest concerns, our latest segment of…

Thousands of people gather at the Paris casino in Las Vegas for the Nevada State Democratic Convention on Saturday, May 14, 2016. They are picking delegates to send to the national convention in July. (AP Photo/Michelle Rindels)

OPINION | EDITORIALS

What happens in Nevada... But seriously, what happened?

May 23, 2016

By now, most of you have probably heard about what happened at Nevada’s state Democratic caucus on May 14. Violence, chair throwing, verbal harassment, a California senator fearing for her life: At least, this is what happened according to many Democratic officials and major media.