Opinions - The Independent Florida Alligator

OPINION | EDITORIALS

Editorial: Kanye West, polarization and American discourse

Feb. 14, 2016

Fans of Kanye West have had quite the month: As we discussed in the last Darts & Laurels of January, the pre-release hype leading up to the Saturday release of his new album, “The Life of Pablo,” has been rife with petty Twitter feuds, grandiose promises and more fits and starts than college students begrudgingly trying to write their term papers. The PR campaign — if it could even be called that — reached its manic climax last Thursday, when the album premiered alongside West’s clothing line at the Yeezy Season 3 fashion event in Madison Square Garden. Unfortunately for those who spent their time and/or money on the show, the album was as half-baked as its promotion.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Column: It's time for young voters to engage in politics

Feb. 14, 2016

With the upcoming voter registration deadline Tuesday, now is the time to become politically engaged. With increased voter turnout, young voters can show they care about politics and actually want their voice to be heard. While issues like Social Security and Medicare are important, young Americans won’t have to confront these for quite some time. In fact, it’s not just far off in terms of years: Many young people think it’s irrelevant to them because these programs likely won’t be around when they are older. Despite this, decisions made by politicians enter every facet of our lives, whether the impact is direct or not. According to a poll conducted by USA Today and Rock the Vote, “Only a third say they’re likely to vote in the Republican primaries. Four in 10 say they’re likely to vote in the Democratic primaries. Six in 10 say they are likely to vote in November.”

OPINION | COLUMNS

Column: Choose your own presidential candidate

Feb. 11, 2016

The path to choosing the most powerful person in the free world, by all indications and a considerable consensus, is a mess. Not that the process itself is in shambles — though that seems to be a popular refrain every four years; I just don’t trust anyone who says they fully understand it. However, because this year will be the first time I and many other college students will be voting in a presidential election, I will publicly attempt to grapple with and make sense of the primary election for the education of the Alligator readership and, more importantly, myself.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Column: Don't be rude in the name of comedy

Feb. 11, 2016

"It’s because you’re a woman.”

OPINION | DARTS LAURELS

Darts & Laurels: 02/12/2016

Feb. 11, 2016

Well friends, the time has come to raise the roof and have some fun. Throw away the work to be done, and let the music play on. Everybody sing, everybody dance and lose yourselves in the wild romance that is...

OPINION | COLUMNS

Guest column: February updates - elections, online voting task force

Feb. 11, 2016

Hello, students!

OPINION | COLUMNS

Column: Reshaping the college admissions process

Feb. 10, 2016

For me, high school was not the environment that movies and television shows painted it as. There were no jocks with letterman jackets sitting in the hallway during class, chatting it up with cheerleaders. Not once did I see a straight-A student mocked or ridiculed for being academically focused. Friday afternoons lacked the aura of youthfulness and adolescent adventure that supposedly surround a rivalry football game that evening. Yes, we were all young, squinting as we desperately tried to see the future ahead of us, but I cannot help but feel that the culturally fabricated atmosphere of high school has been long gone.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Column: Why is the book always better than the movie?

Feb. 10, 2016

To quote one of my favorite authors: “It is a truth universally acknowledged that when it comes to quality, the book is better than the movie.”

OPINION | EDITORIALS

Editorial: SG elections and the necessity to vote with integrity

Feb. 10, 2016

"I never encountered, in state and federal politics, activities as aggressive as at the University of Florida.” —Bob Graham, former U.S. senator and former governor of Florida

OPINION | EDITORIALS

Editorial: In today's wars, everybody loses

Feb. 9, 2016

On Friday, online conservative publication The Daily Caller ran the attention-grabbing headline “Prof Bans Students From Saying ‘Husband’ Or ‘Wife’ Because It’s Not ‘Inclusive.’” Author Peter Hasson opens the article with the following sentence: “In just the latest instance of taxpayer-funded censorship, students in one University of Florida course have been banned from using words such as ‘husband,’ ‘wife,’ ‘mom’ or ‘dad’ in the classroom and risk losing points off their grade if they don’t comply.” “Taxpayer-funded censorship”? “University of Florida”? “Dad”?! Juicy, rage-inducing stuff, right? Let’s learn more: “In the syllabus for her ‘Creativity In Context’ class… UF professor Jennifer Lee informs students of her four-paragraph long classroom ‘communications policy’ that she says will enforce ‘ethical conduct’ in the classroom.” The controversial “ethical conduct” Hasson is speaking of refers to Lee’s provisions for inclusive language and behavior in the classroom. Such provisions include the substitution of gender-based words like boyfriend and girlfriend or husband and wife in favor of “partner” or ”significant other” and “family,” as to be “inclusive of alternative orientations and family structures.”

OPINION | COLUMNS

Column: Yes, 'aks' is a real, legitimate English verb

Feb. 9, 2016

Few pronunciations in English are as controversial as that of the verb ‘aks.’ The top-rated definition for ‘aks’ on Urbandictionary.com puts it bluntly, summarizing all the critiques I’ve heard: “What retards say when they don’t know how to pronounce the word ask,” citing the hypothetical example, “Yo dogg… I gotta aks you a question.”

OPINION | COLUMNS

Column: Do pastors really need protecting?

Feb. 8, 2016

As enticing and accessible as the 2016 presidential election is, there are other issues we Floridians ought to concern ourselves with. I’m speaking in particular of the Pastor Protection Act, which would absolve pastors of any liability to perform marriage ceremonies for same-sex couples.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Column: Book lovers and the Amazon expansion

Feb. 8, 2016

As an English major, it goes without saying that books are a huge part of my life. They pile up on any and every flat surface in my apartment, slowly accumulating and overtaking my space. With my meager Ikea bookshelf packed to the brim, I’ve started using bedside tables, coffee tables, dressers and desks in an effort to contain them. I roll my eyes at anyone who dares suggest I buy a Kindle and wring my hands when my mother mentions our family history of hoarding. There are books worn and dog-eared from frequent readings, books I’ve only half-read, books I promise myself I’ll read one day (hello, “Infinite Jest”), and books that, let’s be honest, are just there for aesthetic purposes.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Column: Rubio's policies are not truly conservative

Feb. 8, 2016

As the Republican contention for who will win the party’s primary boils down to just nine candidates — only seven being worthy enough for Sunday night’s stage — a favorite and hopeful among Republican voters is Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla. Particularly popular among Republican youth, Rubio has gained clout in staying relevant to voters despite having to contend with the show-stealing bravado of the party’s two frontrunners, Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, and the braggart billionaire Donald J. Trump, placing third in the Iowa caucus just behind “The Donald” himself.

OPINION | EDITORIALS

Editorial: Florida's death penalty is shameful

Feb. 8, 2016

Judge, jury and executioner: Although this idiom is meant to refer to someone having ultimate power and authority over one’s fate, the legal system of the U.S. is designed in such a way that these three functions are meant to remain relatively distinct and act with a measure of independence from one another. Last month, the U.S. Supreme Court found two of these roles to be a little too close for its liking in the case of Hurst v. Florida.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Column: CDC recommendations are misguided

Feb. 7, 2016

When there is a health crisis, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are often looked to as a voice of reason. In light of the movement attempting to link autism to vaccines, the centers heavily emphasized the importance of vaccinations on herd immunity. This past week, they came out with a recommendation that women who are sexually active, but not on birth control, should not drink alcohol because any amount of alcohol could be potentially harmful. The CDC reasoned, “Why take the risk?”

OPINION | COLUMNS

Column: Make the most of UF - find a mentor

Feb. 7, 2016

As I near the end of my undergraduate career, lots of young people — I guess “young-er people” would be more accurate — have come to me asking for advice.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Column: The illusions we look to uphold as travelers

Feb. 7, 2016

"It is lack of imagination that makes us come to imagined places, not just stay at home?”

OPINION | EDITORIALS

Editorial: Don't be a Ted Cruz

Feb. 7, 2016

Here at the Alligator, we’re often accused of being a bastion of frightful liberal bias. We like to think we’re just empathetic to the less fortunate and are willing to call current events and public figures as we see them, but hey, to each their own.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Column: With the dominance of Abrahamic religion, atheism is important too

Feb. 4, 2016

A solemn recollection of what dominated the headlines of major tabloids in 2015 and in the last few months reveals a rather unpleasant truth that may have eluded some of us: Humanity has taken a thorough beating.