opinion - The Independent Florida Alligator

Opinion

Every vote matters: why I am choosing to vote this year and why you should, too

Oct. 27, 2016

With the presidential election just around the corner, ‘tis the season for unsolicited arguments about political and social issues. Instead of spouting nonsense about why I think people should believe a certain way, I want to share some of my personal reasons for voting, with the hopes that they might give some of you a reason to vote in the upcoming election.

Opinion

The international farce that is the United Nations

Oct. 27, 2016

The United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) ratified a resolution Oct. 18 denying the Jewish people’s deep historical ties to Jerusalem. While the resolution acknowledges the “importance of the Old City of Jerusalem and its walls for the three monotheistic religions,” the sacred hill is only referred to by its Islamic name, al-Aqsa Mosque/al-Haram al-Sharif. Not only does the resolution make no reference to its Jewish name, Temple Mount, which happens to be considered the holiest site in Judaism, but it distinctly puts quotation marks around “Western Wall Plaza,” a subtle attack on the legitimacy of its Jewish connection.

Opinion

Keep things in perspective, because the world may not be as bad as it seems

Oct. 27, 2016

The world in 2016 might look and feel like a never-ending (and rapidly expanding) dumpster fire, but the reality is that the dumpster fire is not actually growing. Instead, it's slowing down.

Opinion

The rise of apex predators: Netflix and HBO Go

Oct. 26, 2016

There used to be a time when movie rental stores roamed free across this vast land. Blockbuster would graze happily on its nourishing customer base. Rival species Hollywood Video would gladly pick up the scraps.

Opinion

The UF Halloween memo and how extreme political correctness has run amok

Oct. 26, 2016

We live in a world of extremes. It saturates our culture, plagues our politics. But substantive discourse often requires gray area and nuance. Yet as a society, we perpetually leave little room for it. The conversation about political correctness is no exception. This became obvious to me a few days ago.

Opinion

When everything is going wrong, focus elsewhere

Oct. 26, 2016

I went on vacation two weekends ago, and almost everything that could’ve gone wrong did go wrong. It was a weekend adventure to the Desert Trip concert in California (dubbed “Oldchella,” because it was a showcase of ’70s and ’80s musicians on the Coachella grounds) with my dad and my sister, and going in, I was already nervous. I’m a naturally anxious person; my dad and my sister are not. So the week beforehand, I had called them numerous times trying to figure out what the “plan” was. As of Tuesday, two days before we left, I didn’t even know what time the flight was. The two of them just told me to relax and that they’d take care of it, which wasn’t exactly helpful to my overly anxious brain.

Opinion

On Gov. Scott’s voter-registration decision

Oct. 25, 2016

With Hurricane Matthew still fresh in our minds, we need to talk about our governor’s behavior regarding the hurricane.

Opinion

The power of forgiveness and being honest

Oct. 25, 2016

Becoming an adult in college is a more emotional experience than we are able to appreciate. Between due dates, job applications, extracurricular activities, laundry and studying, being a part of university life seems quite stressful.

Opinion

There's meaning and memories in tattoos, despite some pain and regret

Oct. 25, 2016

I remember my very first tattoo — a crude rendition of the word “baby” on my right bicep. I got this done in my senior year of high school. My buddy Cameron had been tattooing a lot of our friends ever since he bought some sewing needles and India ink. I kept seeing people I knew showing off their small new tats, usually small doodles of things like birds, clouds or crescent moons. After seeing that none of them got infected, I decided it was high time for my own.

Opinion

Secular self-reflection is necessary, especially when discussing literature

Oct. 25, 2016

Last Wednesday, the editorial board of the Alligator wrote a column titled “Religious self-reflection is necessary,” in which it took the instance of a British Muslim school educating their girls that to be beaten by one’s spouse is permissible as a reminder that we all must reflect on the nature of religion. Mr. Editorial, as I will call this unnamed author, said we must recognize that “The Bible, the Torah, the Quran … are the words of the gods you believe in, but they were written by man, and man’s way of thinking has come a long way since those initial writings.” He consequently reminded us the books and the religions they have created are inherently flawed, and we must not simply “cherry-pick the pieces that you like and ignore the pieces that you don’t like.” Thus, the example from the British Muslim school is a classic case of a primitive religion that needs reform and needs to come to a more rational understanding of the social context in which their religion started.

Opinion

The revolution will not be televised

Oct. 24, 2016

It’s no secret to those of us in Gainesville that Cox Communications sucks. But elsewhere in the U.S., there are plenty of service options. If you don’t like watching TV while it’s raining outside, you can opt with DirecTV (owned by AT&T). If you have no regard for your bandwidth, Sling TV might be for you. If you’re a masochist who likes being treated like s--- by customer service reps, Dish Network is right up your alley.

Opinion

Cherish your time in Gainesville while you can, graduation is looming

Oct. 24, 2016

This past week I received my first graduate school acceptance letter, and I was subsequently hit by the realization that this will likely be my last year in this wonderfully bizarre town. I was always aware of this possibility in the back of my mind, but without substantial proof to back it up, I merely rested on the assumption that I would be in this town, well, forever. When your future is so devoid of any certainty, it’s easy to fill in the void with your present life and assume that every day will simply be a repeat of your current one. Now, imbued with the knowledge that my time in Gainesville is finite, I can feel the nostalgia creeping up on me as it colors my perspective of this town ever so slightly.

Opinion

College students’ struggle needs to be addressed

Oct. 24, 2016

Today’s student is someone who has to balance classes, a number of extracurricular activities and, last but certainly not least, find a way to pay rent. Students who have multiple responsibilities other than their classes are two times more likely to drop out as opposed to those who don't. This statistic is startling, because it is clear that almost every student has outside obligations to balance. Our view of what the average college student looks like is generally far from reality. Forty percent of students in the U.S. attend college on a part-time basis, while the average student works 19 hours a week. About 40 percent of students are above the age of 25, and the number of students in minority groups attending higher education institutions is on the rise. These statistics prove the laws and practices in place pertaining to students and college need to be re-evaluated and changed. A shift in policy to represent the ever-changing college student would assist millions of individuals throughout the country.

Opinion

I’ve taken it a-pun myself to find a good pun for this headline

Oct. 24, 2016

I’ve developed a habit of taking every pun as a personal attack against my intelligence.

Opinion

Trump and Sanders have changed politics forever

Oct. 23, 2016

What great nation has lasted an eternity? Some empires come to mind when we try to answer this question. The Roman Empire lasted roughly 507 years. While Judaism is roughly 2,500 years old, the Jewish nation has come and gone many times over the course of that history. This year, our democracy in America rejoiced in its 240th birthday.

Opinion

RIP to the birds, the bees and sex euphemisms

Oct. 23, 2016

An aspect of parenting we usually like to avoid is the birds and the bees. The beasts with two backs. The dirty deed. Dipping the wick — OK. No one says that, but that’s the point. Have you noticed how we have so many euphemisms for sex? That shows just how much we try to avoid the conversation, but it’s necessary in order to be healthy and safe.

Opinion

Why it's OK to have opinions and perspectives in your news coverage

Oct. 23, 2016

Journalism is a pretty conservative field. The Associated Press Stylebook has yet to accept that “they” can be a singular pronoun and The New York Times still uses Mr. and Ms., which reinforce the gender binary. Student journalists are taught to be objective, to get both sides of every story — present the facts and tie them together.

Opinion

Let’s talk about taboo topics: being open about feelings and mental health

Oct. 23, 2016

Who decides what is OK to talk about? How do we all just seem to know what a taboo topic is? If there is a yearly workshop, I wasn’t invited. But somehow, I’m still aware of what we are supposed to avoid talking about. At a party, we’re told to steer clear of discussions about sex, politics, religion and the like. I don’t know what parties these people were talking about, because every party I attend somehow turns into a spirited political debate. Regardless, I maintain that this is a commonly used list of topics to avoid. Another common addition to this list is health. We’re told that no one wants to hear about our recent ailments or your visit to the doctor, and this may be true. People often get weird when others share personal information. Further, there is one topic that makes many people extremely uncomfortable. If you want to quiet a room full of people, bring up your mental-health struggles.

Sports

Picks Column: Bye Week Edition

Oct. 20, 2016

Ahh, bye week.

Opinion

The Great Barrier Reef is dead. Well, almost.

Oct. 20, 2016

I read an obituary for the Great Barrier Reef a few days ago that stated the reef had died after a long battle with bleaching. This bleaching was caused by stress from climate change and indirect human interaction such as toxins from oil spills and sediment from runoff. It didn’t seem right to me that I had never heard of the website that posted the obituary, so I did some quick research and learned it was just something meant to grab people’s attention in a dramatic way. The good news that is the reef is still alive. The bad news is it’s dying at a rapid rate and will most likely be completely destroyed soon if something isn’t done to slow the rate of climate change.