Opinions - The Independent Florida Alligator

OPINION | COLUMNS

Traditions, family will always count

Dec. 1, 2014

This past weekend, still recovering from our Thanksgiving feast, I participated with my family in our tradition of having Saturday morning breakfast at Einstein Bros. Bagels. We’ve been doing this every week since before my younger sister was born — almost 17 years. We’ve cycled through all the menu and manager changes as time has passed and are familiarized as regulars by the staff.

OPINION | EDITORIALS

McCollum, Bondi relationship corrupt ‘revolving door

Dec. 1, 2014

The Miami Herald published a story Saturday about the close political relationship between former Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum and current AG Pam Bondi.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Reality check: All lives matter

Nov. 30, 2014

Two years ago in Mobile, Alabama, an 18-year-old white male, Gilbert Collar, was shot and killed by a black campus police officer. He was running around campus, high and naked, when he approached the officer at the campus police station. Collar was unarmed, but the officer still deemed him a threat and decided to use deadly force against him.

OPINION | COLUMNS

‘#BlackLivesMatter’ is used for a reason

Nov. 30, 2014

One week ago, it was announced Darren Wilson would not stand trial for the death of an unarmed black 18-year-old named Michael Brown.

OPINION | EDITORIALS

Fla. guts energy efficiency, favors utility companies

Nov. 30, 2014

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OPINION | EDITORIALS

Thanksgiving ‘14: Be grateful, don’t shop, give back

Nov. 24, 2014

For most people, Thanksgiving is all about the three F’s: food, family and football. The image of a family gathered around the table with a large turkey in the middle is one of America’s most iconic scenes.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Universities need to fight sexual assault

Nov. 24, 2014

Recently, Rolling Stone magazine published a story exposing the University of Virginia’s extreme lack of attention to the dangers of sexual assault its students face.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Debunking all the pit bull-y myths

Nov. 24, 2014

One summer night two years ago, a dog named Lilly lost a leg and saved her owner’s life by dragging the unconscious woman off a set of train tracks to avoid an oncoming freight train.

OPINION | EDITORIALS

Florida campaign finance needs fixing

Nov. 23, 2014

On most political issues — the economy, health care and climate change — Americans are more polarized than ever before. However, there is at least one subject on which the vast majority of Americans agree: the enormous and inappropriate role that money plays in American elections.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Black Friday: The madness needs to stop

Nov. 23, 2014

The glorious day of Thanksgiving is almost upon us. Nothing tops dedicating a whole day to eating platefuls of food, drinking wine and watching football. Thanksgiving is a timeless holiday where we take a moment to slow down, be with the people we love and be thankful for everything we have. Unfortunately, some people are not thankful for what they have. They just want more, which in turn, has cast a dark shadow over Thanksgiving, rendering it less meaningful. This shadow is caused by none other than the dreadful day after Turkey Day: Black Friday.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Keystone XL pipeline is lesser of two great evils, needs compromise

Nov. 23, 2014

[The views expressed here are not necessarily those of the Alligator.]

OPINION | COLUMNS

More mental health care, less gun glory

Nov. 23, 2014

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OPINION | COLUMNS

Sex education needs normalization

Nov. 20, 2014

Forget math, science and history — students and parents are more concerned about sex in the classroom.

OPINION | EDITORIALS

Reflecting on a tragedy

By Alligator Editorial | Nov. 20, 2014

As you have probably noticed by now, we normally go casual on Fridays with a quirky, tongue-in-cheek “Darts and Laurels” summing up the best and worst of the week. But on Thursday night, the Alligator staff was in no mood to chide silliness and applaud reason. Anything we could have written in this space feels trivial compared to what dominated Florida State University students’ thoughts, prayers and social media newsfeeds in the past 24 hours.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Life lessons for millennials: Be yourself

Nov. 20, 2014

Millennials have a bad reputation for being emotionally distant, lazy and unfulfilled. During my time here at UF, I have tried to counteract this generalization.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Uber’s flippant attitude disconcerting

Nov. 19, 2014

The year 2014 has seen dozens of definitive moments — particularly those in technology — that will no doubt set the tone for the rest of the century.

OPINION | EDITORIALS

Florida senators wrong to oppose NSA reform bill

Nov. 19, 2014

On Tuesday evening, the U.S. Senate held a vote on a bill that would have curtailed the extensive and likely unconstitutional data collection programs of the National Security Agency.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Political discussions with family over Thanksgiving could use student input

Nov. 18, 2014

In eight days, many students will gather around tables and eat all kinds of delicious, artery-clogging foods with family members and friends.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Liberalism is about more than just spending

Nov. 18, 2014

Clay Olsen’s column, “Democrats mistake government spending for kind-heartedness,” was a conservative attempt to define liberalism as willy-nilly government handouts to the poor. He cites Lyndon Johnson’s “War on Poverty” and declares it a failure without mentioning its success before former President Ronald Reagan gutted the program. He mentioned Medicare liabilities without mentioning that President Barack Obama and U.S. Rep. Paul Ryan proposed to cut the same amount from the program. The big difference in the cuts is that Obama targets fraud on the supply side of Medicare, whereas Ryan proposed exclusively consumer-side cuts, which would increase the copay of every American.

OPINION | EDITORIALS

Bondi’s new RAGA position deepens corrupt ties

Nov. 18, 2014

Last week, the Alligator published an editorial about Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi’s close ties to the Republican Attorneys General Association — RAGA. The organization is heavily supported by donations from interest groups supporting large corporations and from corporations themselves. RAGA has handsomely repaid the investments made by these corporate groups, fighting against environmental protections, financial regulations and labor rights, all of which threaten corporate profits.