Opinions - The Independent Florida Alligator

OPINION | EDITORIALS

Editorial: The curious case of Benjamin (Button) Carson

Mar. 20, 2016

A little more than a week ago, the country stood in awe as former Republican presidential candidate Ben Carson rose from the dead — or at least partially awoke from his constant state of slumber — to endorse Mein Drumpf as the Republican nominee. While some are caught up in whether this is a Chris Christie-like attempt at securing a vice presidency or cabinet position, we at the Alligator have taken this opportunity to look back critically at Carson’s campaign. After intensive study and research, we’ve conclusively diagnosed him with the Benjamin Carson disease.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Column: Casual sex is not self-discovery or empowerment

Mar. 20, 2016

"There is no sexual relation.”

OPINION | COLUMNS

Column: Accent needs to do its job

Mar. 20, 2016

According to its website, Accent Speakers Bureau, the Student Government group that brings speakers to campus, “strives to bring controversial and influential speakers to the university, with the intent of further educating the student body, outside of the classroom, on current hot topics and controversies.” If this is the group’s mission statement, Accent is clearly not doing its job.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Column: Media still treats Sanders terribly

Mar. 20, 2016

The liberal media made up its mind a long time ago: Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will be the Democratic nominee. While former Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley’s candidacy was laughable from the beginning, support for Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., has increased steadily. His legitimacy has increased with time. While he will never have the kind of name recognition Clinton has, Sanders’ support has grown from five-person crowds to sold-out auditoriums. Yet, this means nothing to the liberal establishment.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Guest column: Cop and Shaq shoot it out in Florida

Mar. 17, 2016

This is going to be an amazing year for the Constitutional Sheriffs and Peace Officers Association, and we want to thank everyone for making that possible. One of the greatest things I have learned from the CSPOA is the proper role of law enforcement. As a young child, I grew up with two Florida Highway Patrol officers as parents and a longtime friend who was a Marion County deputy sheriff. Though I never worked the beat, I did hear stories and saw how they carried themselves.

OPINION | EDITORIALS

Editorial: In honor of a Tampa deputy, hero

Mar. 16, 2016

We at the Alligator would like to dedicate this editorial to Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office Deputy John Robert Kotfila Jr.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Column: The major problem with populism

Mar. 16, 2016

Until this election cycle, populism, the strategy to appeal to the general population, was a term mostly directed to the dusty bookshelves of American history or parties only present in European politics, like Podemos.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Column: This is not the end of Marco Rubio

Mar. 16, 2016

Marco Rubio: The GOP’s golden boy, the Republican pride of the Sunshine State, the Florida-born master of politics, carefully set up by those before him to lead a new generation.

OPINION | EDITORIALS

Editorial: A hero webs a comeback

Mar. 15, 2016

With Florida’s presidential primaries and Gainesville city elections finally over, we can take a sigh and briefly shift focus toward a non-political issue worthy of discussion: Spider-Man. For those actually invested in the real world who may not have heard the breaking news from last week, Marvel Studios released a new trailer for “Captain America: Civil War,” which featured the return of everyone’s friendly, neighborhood web-slinger. This is now the third movie installment of Spidey, which automatically raises a number of concerns for all of us, particularly for an anxious opinions edito — uh, many staffers at the Alligator.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Column: The legitimacy of political science

Mar. 15, 2016

If asked about their latest views on quantitative easing in the Federal Reserve, most people wouldn’t have an opinion. The same thing can be said about the latest breakthroughs in particle physics, medical technology or any area of science for that matter. On the other hand, if politics comes up, people will adamantly share their opinion — informed or not — on what they believe to be right.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Column: Take a chance, give audiobooks a try

Mar. 15, 2016

When I was in elementary school, I spent a lot of time in the car. Whether it was driving my siblings and myself to the various interests that occupied our time, such as dance class or soccer practice, driving us all to school and back every day like an absolute saint, or driving the family off across the country on vacation, my lovely, self-sacrificing parents did a lot of driving three young, talkative, easily riled-up kids around. Not to sound like someone who despises technology — because I don’t — but they managed to do this day in and day out without the helpful distraction of an iPad for small, sticky fingers to latch onto. I applaud their self-control, and I must remember to call home more often.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Column: Why are we fascinated by anti-heroes?

Mar. 14, 2016

Whether you like it or not, we live in a cultural climate dominated by the anti-hero. Not to be confused with a full-blown villain, an anti-hero by definition lacks the upright moral character and endearing qualities of the traditional heroes we’ve come to know so well in mainstream culture. This quite often takes the form of questionable means to an end, an unpredictable narrative trajectory and unsavory moral flaws.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Guest Column: The importance of women's history in building the feminist movement

Mar. 14, 2016

History teaches us lessons about how people organized to change the world — lessons in victories and lessons in failures. The women’s liberation movement made innumerable gains for women, from being able to wear pants on campus and having credit in our own names to having access to birth control in marriage. But the point isn’t just to learn about history; it’s to use that knowledge to change — and make — history. We can learn from the victories of previous movements, adopt their techniques and improve them if necessary. We can study our predecessors’ failures, analyze them and make sure not to repeat them.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Column: To disparage bad wind is really dis-gust-ing

Mar. 14, 2016

Whoa. Where am I? Just a minute ago, I was walking down University Avenue, but before I knew it, I blacked out and woke up in the opinions section of the Alligator.

OPINION | EDITORIALS

Editorial: Endorsements - Gainesville city elections

Mar. 14, 2016

It’s the fight of the century: Gainesville city elections, in which residents will vote for candidates for mayor and District 4 city commissioner.

OPINION | EDITORIALS

Editorial: Sink or swim, we're all in this together - so vote

Mar. 13, 2016

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OPINION | COLUMNS

Column: Our various technologies prohibit introspection

Mar. 13, 2016

We live lives without half-lives.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Column: Why UF Law is still worth it

Mar. 13, 2016

Two weeks ago, the UF Levin College of Law hosted its first Double Gator Reception, an event in which professors, administrators, alumni and potential law students could meet and mingle.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Column: The differences between Sanders and Clinton on incarceration

Mar. 13, 2016

The U.S. has the second-highest prison population rate, according to the Institute for Criminal Policy Research and the World Prison Brief. While the U.S. touts itself as the “home of the free,” this seems contradictory to American values. Mass incarceration is a lose-lose problem: Those who are needlessly incarcerated lose the ability to integrate easily into society and the taxpayers are footing the bill for something that ultimately does not make us any safer. According to the University of Chicago Crime Lab, the costs for housing an inmate can be around $30,000 a year, but this does not take into account the social costs of high rates of incarceration.

OPINION | DARTS LAURELS

Darts & Laurels: 03/11/2016

Mar. 10, 2016

Getting back into the swing of things after a week off is usually extremely difficult. It’s hard to wake up for those 7:25 a.m. classes, pull all-nighters and eat Top Ramen after a week of sleeping in until noon, lounging by the pool or beach and eating home-cooked meals — that is, if you went home.