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Tuesday, July 15, 2025

Opinion

Florida Alligator
OPINION  |  COLUMNS

Please, for sake of teens, bring condoms back to Alachua County high schools

In 2013, 47 percent of high school students reported having sexual intercourse. Furthermore, nearly one in two 12th grade students reported having had intercourse in the last three months. You and I both know that high school students have sex. Why, then, did the superintendent of Alachua County Public Schools, Dr. Owen Roberts, take a major step back for the sexual health of local youth and ban the distribution of condoms on campuses of public high schools?


Florida Alligator
OPINION  |  COLUMNS

Anti-immigration attitude in Europe costing lives

A boat laden with up to 950 people capsized in the Mediterranean Sea on Sunday. Its passengers were migrants bound for Europe escaping the limited opportunities, war and chaos of their home countries. The ship left from Libya, a failed state which has descended into civil war, where ISIS executes people on the beach. Who can blame them for wanting to leave?


Florida Alligator
OPINION  |  COLUMNS

Federal intervention in education is failing our kids

Denisha Merriweather recently wrote about her schooling experience in The Wall Street Journal. She was in fourth grade, and she hated school. She was held back twice, disliked going to school and thought she would end up as a high school dropout. She grew up with her biological mother but moved around a lot, which took a heavy toll on her grades and enthusiasm for learning. In her own words, “learning had become a nightmare — a punishment for being a child.” Denisha’s story is not a unique one. Unfortunately, there are kids in all 50 states who resent education. Some of these negative frameworks are out of the government’s control, but I would argue most of it is due to an educational system stuck in the 20th century and bogged down by bureaucracy. We all know education reform is desperately needed, but no one, especially our elected officials, is ever willing to confront the problem. 


Empty bottles and other miscellaneous particles of garbage surround a six-foot Florida alligator as it suns itself besides the look out dock off of 441 on the Payne's Prairie Preserve State Park, Saturday April 18, 2015.
OPINION  |  LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Please keep Paynes Prairie clean

I went to the Paynes Prairie lookout off of 441 on Saturday to show my aunt, who is visiting from Vermont, the beautiful wildlife of Florida. We got to encounter a 6-foot alligator sunning itself right by the dock. Unfortunately, the awe was cut short upon seeing a ton of empty bottles floating beside the alligator.


Florida Alligator
OPINION  |  COLUMNS

Let’s end pseudoscience hysteria

When even Elmo supports vaccination, it’s hard to believe there are people out there who are so vehemently against it. Since “Sesame Street” is a show that strives to remain inclusive and neutral, something would have to have a pretty strong scientific consensus in order for Elmo to outright endorse it.


Florida Alligator
OPINION  |  COLUMNS

Israel does care

The effects of war are undoubtedly tragic. Loss of life, regardless of any affiliating identity, is always devastating. Mothers weep for their sons; sons weep for their mothers. Fathers fear for their daughters; daughters fear for their fathers. We all cry the same tears. We all bleed the same blood. My flesh is his flesh, and his mine. I feel profound empathy for the pain people feel, for the grief the Israeli-Palestinian conflict causes on a daily basis, to both Israelis and Palestinians.


Florida Alligator
OPINION  |  COLUMNS

New emojis finally acknowledge life’s diversity

Apple released its newest operating system, iOS 8.3, last Wednesday. Among plenty of updates, Siri is now capable of calling someone on speakerphone, and Braille Screen Input users can fill out forms on Web pages. The most obvious update, however, is Apple’s introduction of more than 300 inclusive emojis.



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