Opinions - The Independent Florida Alligator

OPINION | EDITORIALS

Facebook hosting news may not be such a good idea

Mar. 25, 2015

Facebook was perhaps the pioneer social networking site, surpassing early failures and moderate successes like Myspace. Today, though, it’s often seen as a congested social hellscape, overrun with posts from your pregnant high school classmates, vaguely racist rants and OMG this adorable little girl asked her brother where babies come from and YOU WON’T BELIEVE WHAT HAPPENED NEXT.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Ted Cruz’s campaign will sharpen up the GOP

Mar. 25, 2015

On Monday, Texas Sen. Ted Cruz announced his candidacy for president of the U.S. With the simple tweet “I’m running for President and I hope to earn your support!” the 2016 election season began. The checks will be written. There will be stump speeches. Babies will be kissed. Ronald Reagan will be invoked. Flag pins will be worn.

OPINION | EDITORIALS

Santa Fe Student Government needs your help

Mar. 24, 2015

We’ve been devoting a lot of coverage to Ted Cruz, Iran, anti-homelessness ordinances and regressive legislation concerning who can use what bathroom. Today, let’s direct our attention locally to Santa Fe College.

OPINION | COLUMNS

A woman’s place is on the money — literally

Mar. 24, 2015

If you were to open your wallet right now and pull out a genuine U.S. bill printed within the last century, there is a 100 percent chance there will be a man’s portrait on it. To put this a different way: There is a 100 percent chance that there will not be a woman on it. The last time a woman’s portrait was printed on U.S. paper currency was in the late 1800s, when first lady Martha Washington, President George Washington’s wife, was on the 1886 and 1891 $1 silver certificate. It isn’t just paper currency where women have not been recognized, however. Only three women have been on U.S. coins: Susan B. Anthony and Sacagawea on $1 coins and Helen Keller on the back of the 2003 Alabama quarter. There has always been a need to recognize more accomplished women, and now it might actually be addressed.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Intentions behind #RaceTogether misguided

Mar. 24, 2015

In the span of one short week, Starbucks rolled out and ended a campaign called “Race Together,” with a hashtag and sticker set to match. Starbucks allowed its partners to write “Race Together” on customers’ cups, hoping to generate dialogue. By the way, “partner” is just what Starbucks calls its employees as a gesture of goodwill and to show that employees are valued.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Talking about death is an important part of life

Mar. 23, 2015

If there’s one thing Americans don’t like talking about, it’s death.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Race: What matters is identity, not categorization at birth

Mar. 23, 2015

Ariana Miyamoto was born May 12, 1994, in Sasebo, Japan. She is a Japanese citizen. She speaks Japanese fluently. She spent her childhood years in Japan. She identifies as Japanese. Miyamoto’s beauty, talent and strong sense of patriotism enabled her to win the 2015 Miss Japan Pageant. With this victory, Miyamoto will represent Japan in the Miss Universe Pageant. Despite her qualifications and talent, Miyamoto has faced criticism, and people have questioned her ability to represent Japan.

OPINION | EDITORIALS

UVA frat’s exoneration does not invalidate sexual assault epidemic

Mar. 23, 2015

Sexual assault on college campuses has become one of the defining issues of the mid-2010s. Discussion of the problem is widespread, and at this point it has become impossible to ignore. The president launched an initiative to combat it. Sen. Marco Rubio is sponsoring legislation against it. As a community, we were forced to deal with it during last year’s spree of yet-unsolved attacks against women.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Public-humiliation trends a setback for modern society

Mar. 23, 2015

The sixth annual TEDxUF conference was held Saturday, and it was a chance to see the awe of TED Talks come to life right here on our own campus. Unfortunately, I did not manage to land a ticket. But, inspired by the availability of an event on campus so similar to the innovative presentations I used to watch every week, I went searching for some good TED Talks to watch.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Ted Cruz’s candidacy announcement signals start of 2016 presidential race

Mar. 22, 2015

Fun fact: U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, fiery lawmaker and the person who bears the closest living resemblance to the guy from “American Dad,” was born in Canada.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Democrats voting no on Trafficking Act is a shameful, political charade

Mar. 22, 2015

There comes a time in American history when a bill is introduced into Congress that has real bipartisan support and has such common-sense appeal that it would be idiotic for anyone to block it. To want to play politics with a bill of this nature would be asinine and would prove one’s ineptitude. Yet, this “well, duh, we are going to vote yes on it” bill is being obstructed by Senate Democrats, and no end is in sight for them to realize the senselessness of their stance against something that, I’m sure, 99.99 percent of the population supports.

OPINION | EDITORIALS

Trans bathroom bill comes from hatred, contempt

Mar. 22, 2015

Tonight on campus, LGBT Affairs is hosting a vigil for the thousands of trans women who lose their lives to violent hatred annually.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Consent is not sexy, but it doesn’t need to be — it’s necessary

Mar. 19, 2015

I invited someone over to my place a few weeks ago. I texted them early in the day to meet up later in the night, but by the time we were supposed to meet up, I wasn’t feeling it. I was tired, but I felt bad for backing out — I was the one who asked them to hook up and knew they would be disappointed. So, I kept my commitment and we met up.

OPINION | COLUMNS

The world eagerly waits for Vladimir Putin to spit that fire

Mar. 19, 2015

A specter is haunting Russia — the specter of gangsta rap. Over the course of his 16-year reign, Russian President Vladimir Putin has repeatedly affirmed his status as a disciple of hip-hop’s more aggressive permutation. This could be seen most recently from March 5 until this past Monday, when Putin was nowhere to be seen, spurring both media outlets and the world audience to work themselves into a tizzy over where he may have gone and why.

OPINION | DARTS LAURELS

Guns, Netanyahu and Kendrick in this week's Darts & laurels

Mar. 19, 2015

This week, we were ankle deep in pollen, blinded by unkind sunlight while we trudged our way to class through sweat and swamp-ass. Luckily, we’ll be getting some time off to compensate for having to endure the god-awful months ahead. In the meantime, here’s a slow-descent-into-finals-and-sweat edition of …

OPINION | COLUMNS

Fearmongering hinders problem-solving

Mar. 19, 2015

We all reach a point when we are so stressed we think our world is spiraling out of control. It’s a terrifying feeling that is something akin to skydiving and not having your parachute open. Fear and anxiety can ruin a day, week, month, year or even a lifetime. More often than not, we pull through and move forward. However, what happens when the anxiety is affecting sizable portions of the world?

OPINION | COLUMNS

What if Vladimir Putin had really died?

Mar. 18, 2015

Russian President Vladimir Putin hadn’t been seen in public between March 5 and March 15, and it made everyone a little worried. In a world constantly connected by social media and more traditional forms of news, world leaders — including our own President Barack Obama — have become more available to their subjects, at least in terms of their appearance in the public and technological sphere. In this reality, the disappearance of a constantly sought-after public figure becomes even more concerning.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Kylie Jenner’s relationship is a bad example for young girls

Mar. 17, 2015

When it comes to relationships, I usually refrain from passing judgment of any kind. My mindset is: Why judge someone if they are genuinely happy? It’s not up to me to decide if a relationship is right or wrong with regard to age, race or gender. I figure, if two people are happy, let them be happy. But my usually solid stance quivered when a relationship between two celebrities was confirmed last week.

OPINION | LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Created Equal failed to change minds

Mar. 17, 2015

Created Equal may “believe what they believe,” but their display was simply inaccurate, inflammatory rhetoric. Their only goal was publicity and they achieved it. One could evoke similar revulsion among viewers by photographing any surgically removed human organ and displaying it, billboard-sized, on a truck. It is immaterial that such beneficial surgeries remove cancerous organs to prolong human life. I doubt their display changed any “thinking” minds. More likely, last week’s stunt merely hardened previously held positions, both pro- and anti-abortion rights, among our campus community and effectively stifled any reasonable debate on campus regarding abortion and the anti-abortion rights movement.

OPINION | COLUMNS

PETA: not a voice for vegans

Mar. 17, 2015

As a sophomore in high school, I educated myself on issues of animal cruelty and meat production in the U.S. After thorough research, I made the decision to change my lifestyle. I adopted a vegetarian diet. I maintained it for the last five years, and fully transitioned to a vegan diet about six months ago. I don’t walk around with a soapbox in hand, ready and willing to talk about my views on animal maltreatment or government-regulated factory farming. I often refrain from even using words like “vegetarian” or “vegan” because they elicit baffled and confused responses that I don’t often have the time or energy to deal with. Clearly, I have strong opinions that motivated me to make a lifestyle change, but I don’t often engage others in conversation about animal rights unless I’m asked a direct question.