Opinions - The Independent Florida Alligator

OPINION | EDITORIALS

Past lynchings are still part of our present

Feb. 16, 2015

On a hot, muggy, summer day in Georgia, two black couples were seized by a mob of white men. They were taken to a clearing overlooking a nearby river — the Apalachee, some 15 miles from where the University of Georgia stands today. There, they were tied up and shot to death — the coroner’s report estimated they were shot as many as 60 times. One of the women was pregnant; though it isn’t certain, some reports claim the unborn child was ripped out from her body.

OPINION | COLUMNS

NY Fashion Week: Walk in my Yeezys

Feb. 16, 2015

Last Thursday in New York City, Adidas let down its front during its fashion show to let everyone know that Yeezy Season was approaching once again.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Online shaming is shameful itself, only ruins strangers’ lives

Feb. 16, 2015

How many tweets does it take to ruin a life? Apparently, just one.

OPINION | COLUMNS

College transience will not last, but it’s not a bad thing

Feb. 16, 2015

Ask anyone older than 35 and feeling judgmental — our generation is materialistic. We love owning and buying things. We adore massive quantities of, well, stuff.

OPINION | EDITORIALS

Last week was a heartbreaking week for journalists, media consumers

Feb. 15, 2015

Last week was a terrible one for the news industry.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Valentine’s Day is over; let’s get on with our lives

Feb. 15, 2015

And so a time of year that many hopeless romantics and romance hopefuls look forward to all year comes to an end.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Legalizing marijuana is still a challenge for the Sunshine State

Feb. 15, 2015

Colorado has had recreational marijuana legalized for one year now, and its effects are still hard to determine. Many questions still remain: Did it bring in expected tax revenue? Were there any devastating unexpected consequences? Should other states follow suit and legalize pot? Many in Florida are looking into Colorado’s experiment to find support for legalizing marijuana, but the evidence may not be totally available yet.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Being Mountain Ridge Little League: from loss to ‘win’

Feb. 15, 2015

They were losers. They lost. But in a twisting turn of events, they won.

OPINION | DARTS LAURELS

Kanye West, veterans and cub scouts in this week's Darts & Laurels

Feb. 12, 2015

So, it’s the middle of midterms, and like you, we’re looking desperately for the light at the end of this dark, dark tunnel. Coffee has completely wrecked our digestive systems, and it feels like we gave up on eating real food weeks ago. But there’s hope on the horizon — we’re right at peak testing insanity, and there’s only about a week left. Until then, enjoy this holding-out-for-next-weekend edition of…

OPINION | COLUMNS

“Fifty Shades” shouldn’t be on your Valentine’s to-do list

Feb. 12, 2015

Put away your candy hearts and flowers and pull out your floggers and whips — “Fifty Shades of Grey” is here.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Idiots threaten the United States’ safety and future

Feb. 12, 2015

For a country that urges young people to get educated in order to get ahead, we’re quickly becoming a nation of idiots. Perhaps the Mike Judge film “Idiocracy” accurately predicted a future America in which everyone is a dunce, where any idiot who time travels to the future is automatically the smartest man in the country. Whatever the cause, our collective idiocy could undo all that our country has accomplished, and that should terrify everyone out of their pants. Sure, we can pride ourselves on American exceptionalism or believe that a 230-year-old constitution will save the day, but something is amiss in the U.S., and we need an urgent course correction.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Straight outta Bahston: Mark Wahlberg, the Oscars and American greatness

Feb. 12, 2015

As a culture, Americans have long been fixated on the idea of being “the best.” As any cultural anthropologist could tell you, this phenomenon is the natural by-product of being “the best” country the world has ever seen. Naturally, our esteemed privilege has often led us to debate who or what is “the best” in their respective fields. “The best” president. “The best” college football team. “The best” Kardashian. “The best” flavor of Doritos to go with your Mountain Dew. “The best” instance of Rob Schneider yelling “You can do it!” in an Adam Sandler film. It is these debates, rational and nuanced as they are, that have helped to keep American civil discourse the respected, revered institution that it is.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Obama’s ‘strategic patience’ is misleading and ineffective

Feb. 11, 2015

The world is coming undone. Chaos, violence and disorder are spreading quickly.

OPINION | EDITORIALS

Alabama limbo good sign for national marriage equality

Feb. 10, 2015

Alabama began issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples Monday. Well, parts of Alabama, anyway.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Improvement in UF SG: a how-to guide

Feb. 10, 2015

For those who missed out, last week I wrote a column detailing our Student Government representatives’ lack of visibility. In an attempt to highlight the disparities in SG presence during election time as compared to that of the rest of the year, I mentioned that Swamp Party has a recurring pattern of abandoning their social media platforms after elections. Thankfully, Blake Murphy, SG director of external affairs, wrote a letter to the editor informing me of an election code that prohibits political parties from making posts outside of election cycles. Murphy also brought attention to another YouTube account, one of three unverified ones, that releases “SG TV” episodes. He went on to mention that SG hosts dozens of events because visibility and transparency are their priorities.

OPINION | EDITORIALS

Bush can’t escape embarrassment from staff member's tweets

Feb. 9, 2015

The Republican with seemingly the best chance of sitting in the Oval Office used to occupy a parallel room in the Florida Governor’s Mansion.

OPINION | COLUMNS

GOP: There’s nothing ‘beautiful’ about rape

Feb. 9, 2015

A Republican state lawmaker insulted women and sexual assault survivors nationwide Thursday when he spoke about rape exemptions in a bill that would ban abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy. During West Virginia’s House Health Committee meeting, delegate Brian Kurcaba argued that rape and incest victims shouldn’t be exempt from the ban because even pregnancy from rape has a silver lining.

OPINION | LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

The Need for Moderation

Feb. 9, 2015

If there’s one thing this world has no shortage of, it’s opinions on the State of Israel. There are vocal proponents and vocal oppositions. The spectrum of opinions on Israel’s existence ranges from “shouldn’t exist at all” to “unconditionally” and yet, as with most political things, the middle of the spectrum is largely ignored. Although it may be the least-recognized group of advocates, that’s not to say it doesn’t exist. This is why the need for J Street U on UF’s campus is so pressing. The Middle East is, and always has been, a hotspot for political and religious tension. Ignoring this tension in favor of one group or another is illogical and unproductive. J Street U aims to change this.

OPINION | COLUMNS

President Obama’s speech calls for religious tolerance

Feb. 9, 2015

Each U.S. president since Dwight D. Eisenhower has attended the National Prayer Breakfast, an annual event started in 1953. President Barack Obama is no different in this instance, and he gave a speech at the breakfast last week. This speech marked Obama’s seventh attendance at the breakfast, and while the speech was uplifting in its hopeful message, it also raised a few eyebrows and has resulted in a lot of backlash from conservative politicians and organizations.

OPINION | COLUMNS

What ever happened to Michael Sam?

Feb. 8, 2015

I was watching the NFL Draft in May when history was made.