Sports
Column: On things, both sporting and silly
By Alejandro López | Dec. 6, 2016I still remember that first phone call. It’d be hard not to, considering how much I didn’t want to field it.
Opinion
Sports
Column: Writer, editor leaves after three years
By JORDAN MCPHERSON | Dec. 6, 2016I still have the emails from my freshman year — three of them from former alligatorSports editor Phillip Heilman.
Opinion
Appreciate the experiences that will later change your life
Dec. 6, 2016I’m going to go ahead and get the sappy cliches out of the way: All good things must come to an end. The end is just the start of another beginning. Don’t cry because it’s over; smile because it happened.
Opinion
Be proud of your paper
Dec. 6, 2016Hi, everyone, it’s Zach Lee here, taking off the editorial mask to speak to you all directly one last time here in The Independent Florida Alligator. That being said, the following views are my own, not those of the Alligator.
Opinion
Becoming part of something bigger than myself
Dec. 6, 2016Two years ago, I walked into the office of the Alligator on West University Avenue to take the copy-editing test. The copy desk chief at the time sat me in a small wood-paneled office that held rows of shelves lined with tall black books: about half of the archives of a student paper that’s been around for 110 years. Thankfully, I passed that test.
Opinion
Cherish the importance of journalism and its people
Dec. 6, 2016It was here I fell in love with my craft, my college and my colleagues, and it was here I realized journalism is far from over.
Opinion
‘Westworld’ and ‘Black Mirror’: when the real world mirrors science fiction
Dec. 5, 2016I don’t recall how or why I started watching “Black Mirror” and “Westworld;” only that I began both in an attempt to distract myself from finals week and was immediately hooked. Much like my introduction to “Game of Thrones” a few years ago, as soon as I began binging these shows, I found that everyone around me was talking about them, obsessing over fan theories and expressing the discomfort these fictional worlds instilled in them. Warning: spoilers ahead.
Opinion
Drop your phone; enjoy the greenery across UF's campus while you still can
Dec. 5, 2016For many students, a typical walk to class consists of a sigh of remorse and the comfort of sweet melodies seeping through some Apple headphones. With eyes locked on the pavement below, students make their walk in straight lines, firm in their mission to avoid confrontation by any means possible.
Opinion
Past, future and Simpsonwave
Dec. 5, 2016As college students of the 21st century, we’re stuck in that weird place between a longing for nostalgia and anticipation of tomorrow’s technology via futurism. Perhaps one of the most hysterical and disturbingly beautiful products of this emotionally grappling crossroad is Simpsonwave.
Opinion
The ideas behind UF’s Strategic Development Plan
Dec. 5, 2016In the aftermath of many months of planning, I’m both exhausted and exhilarated.
Opinion
The battle was won, but the war continues
Dec. 4, 2016On Sunday, the Dakota Access pipeline saga finally came to an end.
Opinion
$80,000 for Arianna Huffington's speech is appalling
Dec. 4, 2016A big — as in HUGE — editorial is needed concerning the outrageous sums Accent Speakers Bureau pays to speakers. The $80,000 that will go to Arianna Huffington is just the latest outrage. (I'm a liberal so my objection is not political.)
Opinion
Not all shows and franchises are meant for revivals
Dec. 4, 2016It’s become increasingly common for reboots, remakes and sequels to be produced for films and series that were created in the recent past.
Opinion
Until next time: some words of farewell for seniors, students
Dec. 4, 2016Well, dear readers, the end is near. The end of the semester, that is. To those of you who are graduating, congratulations! I hope from the bottom of my heart that life treats you well and that you accomplish everything you hope to. To those of you who are not graduating, good luck on finals, and I’ll see you right back here on this page next year! For my last column of the year, I’d like to not focus on endings but, rather, beginnings.
Sports
Column: Enough is enough. It’s time to play a freshman quarterback
By Patrick Pinak | Dec. 3, 2016ATLANTA — Burn the redshirt.
Sports
Column: McElwain can silence critics with win vs. Alabama
By Ethan Bauer | Dec. 1, 2016Joey Ivie remembers the pain well.
Opinion
Darts & Laurels: December 2, 2016
Dec. 1, 2016You’re sitting in the doctor’s office, waiting with anticipation for Dr. Pepper to come in to treat you. After what feels like an eternity, he finally knocks on the door and lets himself in. “So, you’ve been cut in half. Vertically. How you were even able to do anything apart from bleed out on the floor, let alone get up, schedule a doctor’s appointment and attend this appointment, is nothing short of a miracle. Frankly, everything I know about medicine has been undermined by your survival.” You stare blankly at him, then despite your larynx literally being severed in half, manage to shout out “God damn it Doc, speak English! How much time do I have left to live?” Shocked you’re even able to reply, he stutters, “A few minutes, I think? Once again, you’ve literally been split down the middle.” “Oh thank God,” you mutter, spitting blood everywhere. “Just enough time to read the only thing worth living for,
Opinion
Do not mourn the death of a dictator and his legacy
Dec. 1, 2016When news of Fidel Castro’s death broke out, the reaction of the Cuban community was one of elation. Cuban-Americans danced and sang in the streets, celebrating the death of a dictator who had divided their families, forced them into exile and, in many cases, imprisoned and executed some of their closest friends and relatives.
Opinion
How a virtual civil war between Reddit's leaders and The Donald tainted trust
Dec. 1, 2016For this entire calendar year, Reddit, “the front page of the internet,” has been waging a secret war on one of its most popular and active subreddits: The Donald. Created around the time of President-elect Donald Trump’s presidential bid announcement, this community of brave souls who were courageous enough to proclaim themselves pro-Trump on a website as public as Reddit started off small, with only about 6,000 subscribers after its first six months of existence. Then, sometime around February, an inexplicable spike in subscribers was initiated and has yet to show signs of slowing down. Now with more than 300,000 subscribers, or “centipedes” as they are called on the subreddit, The Donald has become one of the most cohesive, discussion-based and meme-making subreddits in the website’s history.
