Opinion

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Opinion

Please be kind in 2017

Jan. 3, 2017

There is a very strong consensus that 2016, quite frankly, sucked. Maybe folks are blaming it on the massive political overturns happening across the world (including both Brexit and the U.S. presidential race) or the devastating acts of violence that occurred last year. Maybe it was the staggering number of influential celebrities that left us in 2016 or the fact that the globe mourned a gorilla for way too long. Maybe it was the sudden influx of creepy clowns lurking in people’s neighborhoods (seriously, what the heck was that one?). Regardless, there’s no denying that 2016 was an eventful year, but it was not necessarily eventful in a good way.

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Opinion

I smoke cigarettes: A discussion about addiction

Jan. 3, 2017

The other night I was biting my nails at a party. I was trying not to step outside and bum a cigarette. It had been five days since I last smoked. I had felt proud of myself earlier in the day, but the familiar feeling of intense craving welled up the second I stepped into the dimly lit apartment. Now, one hour into the soiree, sipping my second rum and coke, I was exhausted with small talk. I didn’t want to discuss my major, my post-graduation plans or my summer internship. I grimaced at the faux-floral stink of the scented candle in the corner, downed my cocktail and stepped onto the balcony. I saw a portly guy with a scraggly brown beard puffing away at a cigarette. I tried to play it cool.

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Sports

Column: On things, both sporting and silly

By Alejandro López | Dec. 6, 2016

I still remember that first phone call. It’d be hard not to, considering how much I didn’t want to field it.

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Sports

Column: Writer, editor leaves after three years

By JORDAN MCPHERSON | Dec. 6, 2016

I still have the emails from my freshman year — three of them from former alligatorSports editor Phillip Heilman.

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Opinion

Appreciate the experiences that will later change your life

Dec. 6, 2016

I’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.

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Opinion

Be proud of your paper

Dec. 6, 2016

Hi, 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.

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Opinion

Becoming part of something bigger than myself

Dec. 6, 2016

Two 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.

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Opinion

Cherish the importance of journalism and its people

Dec. 6, 2016

It 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.

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Opinion

‘Westworld’ and ‘Black Mirror’: when the real world mirrors science fiction

Dec. 5, 2016

I 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.

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Opinion

Drop your phone; enjoy the greenery across UF's campus while you still can

Dec. 5, 2016

For 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.

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Opinion

Past, future and Simpsonwave

Dec. 5, 2016

As 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.

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Opinion

The ideas behind UF’s Strategic Development Plan

Dec. 5, 2016

In the aftermath of many months of planning, I’m both exhausted and exhilarated.

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Opinion

The battle was won, but the war continues

Dec. 4, 2016

On Sunday, the Dakota Access pipeline saga finally came to an end.

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Opinion

$80,000 for Arianna Huffington's speech is appalling

Dec. 4, 2016

A 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.)

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Opinion

Not all shows and franchises are meant for revivals

Dec. 4, 2016

It’s become increasingly common for reboots, remakes and sequels to be produced for films and series that were created in the recent past.

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Opinion

Until next time: some words of farewell for seniors, students

Dec. 4, 2016

Well, 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.

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Sports

Column: Enough is enough. It’s time to play a freshman quarterback

By Patrick Pinak | Dec. 3, 2016

ATLANTA — Burn the redshirt.

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Sports

Picks Column: SEC Championship Game edition

Dec. 1, 2016

Site: Georgia Dome (Cap. 71,228)

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Sports

Column: McElwain can silence critics with win vs. Alabama

By Ethan Bauer | Dec. 1, 2016

Joey Ivie remembers the pain well.

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Opinion

Darts & Laurels: December 2, 2016

Dec. 1, 2016

You’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,