Opinion

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Opinion

Column: Trees combat climate change

Jan. 13, 2016

It’s more likely than not every person in the world has, at least once, seen a tree. As human beings, we cannot live without trees: They clean our air, provide oxygen, conserve energy, save water, prevent water pollution and soil erosion, offer food and healing and create economic opportunities. I could go on, noting how they create a canopy and habitat for wildlife, provide wood and combat climate change. This last one is particularly critical, as the Paris Climate Change Conference attested to it. As stated by Trust for Public Land, a nonprofit organization dedicated to conserving land, “a single grown tree can release enough oxygen back into the atmosphere to support two human beings.” 

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Opinion

Column: Why we need to be wary of value placed on polls

Jan. 13, 2016

If this election cycle will be remembered for anything, it will be not only for the amount of candidates, but also for the sheer amount of polling conducted. The average news watcher is bombarded with percentage points on a daily basis when reading or watching the news. The only other place you could get this many numbers is when Bernie Sanders talks about economic reform and taxing the one percent.

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Opinion

Editorial: Where we are now: American culture and the Powerball

Jan. 13, 2016

"S1.5 billions dollars, nothing to lose.” This cute little mantra we just made up seems to be the prevailing attitude among millions of Americans this week, as the country collectively rushes to the nearest gas station, supermarket or liquor store to buy their way into a chance at changing their lives forever.

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Opinion

Editorial: Reflecting on the State of the Union

Jan. 12, 2016

With Tuesday night’s State of the Union address, the Obama presidency informally began its final act.

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Opinion

Color me happy: the rise of adult coloring books

Jan. 12, 2016

I’d like to thank everyone who emailed me last week about my column’s new literary focus. I greatly appreciate the support and the interest. In the future, if you’d like to email me with column suggestions, please direct your emails to sbg_column@aol.com.

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Opinion

Column: Adults have power, children decide

Jan. 12, 2016

Do you remember the first few weeks of elementary school? Because, when looking at the other side of the globe, it seems like some leaders forgot life lessons taught to them when they were children.

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Opinion

Column: Language is all about our choices

Jan. 12, 2016

"You like potato and I like potahto,

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Opinion

Vaping is not only unhealthy, but also remarkably uncool

Jan. 11, 2016

Being like-minded with those who sought a fitness renaissance in the New Year, I went to a sporting goods store last week and purchased a dorky pair of running shoes. The half-off marking, coupled with the promise of a more efficient and healthy respiratory system, had my head and hopes high. Leaving the store, box of Asics in hand, I passed by a panderer who was making his last pleas before the night set in. It was less empathetic and more in the spirit of karmic rectification that I gave the man a few dollars in spare change. During the rummage I happened upon a pack of Marlboro 27’s in my pocket and, once again being altruistic, opted to donate the rest of my rather full pack to the strip-mall nomad who wanted for so much. 

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Opinion

Column: The U.S. and ISIS: How do we salvage victory?

Jan. 11, 2016

Any successful strategy against ISIS will ultimately require both a military and political campaign. On the one hand, our military campaign has proven relatively successful. On the other, our political opposition to ISIS needs considerable improvement. Before going any further, let’s establish some context.

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Opinion

Editorial: Bowie's passing calls for his life to be celebrated

Jan. 11, 2016

No sooner than after Monday’s editorial on manatees, we have unfortunately found ourselves once again writing on a subject featured in last week’s “Darts & Laurels.” Monday, the world at large mourned the loss of musician David Bowie, who passed away Sunday after succumbing to an 18-month-long battle with cancer.

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Opinion

Column: Paris conference was a bunch of hot air

Jan. 10, 2016

As Jan. 1 neared, many media outlets published articles that reviewed and ranked the most noteworthy events of the past 365 days. For many left-wing publications, the event that gained the most praise was the 2015 United Nations Paris Climate Change Conference. This event, apparently the most important and consequential event of the past year, was magnificently monumental in nature. Because of the hot air emissions created at the talks and coupled with the negotiators’ unduly self-praise, the media declared that all of the polar bears clinging onto nearly liquid glaciers can rest easy.

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Opinion

Editorial: The reclassification of manatees would be a grave error

Jan. 10, 2016

In last week’s Darts & Laurels, we awarded a Laurel to Florida’s manatee population for making a tremendous comeback. This was spurred on by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s announcement Thursday that they were seeking to reclassify the West Indian manatee from “endangered” to “threatened.”

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Sports

Column: A way-too-early list of Florida football players to watch in 2016

By JORDAN MCPHERSON | Jan. 7, 2016

After a lackluster ending to the 2015 season, Jim McElwain and the Florida football team now turn their attention to Spring practice. The Gators return a plethora of starters -- most notably All-Southeastern Conference corner Jalen Tabor, freshman phenom Antonio Callaway and prolific punter Johnny Townsend. But for each starter coming back, Florida sees a veteran heading to the NFL.

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Opinion

Column: No one is forced to like Shakespeare

Jan. 7, 2016

"Nothing is true; everything is permitted.” 

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Opinion

Column: Instagram celebrates superficial lifestyles instead of actual lives

Jan. 7, 2016

I don’t have an Instagram. I’d like to pretend it’s because I’m too subversive for social media, but the truth is I’m too lazy for it. After witnessing my friends pour hours into photo capturing and filter selection, I decided it wasn’t worth the effort. Putting on makeup for a first-day-of-school selfie? Please. 

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Opinion

Darts & Laurels 01/08/2016

Jan. 7, 2016

As the first week of the new year draws to a close, so too does the first week of Spring semester. As anyone who has ever picked up an Alligator on a Friday could tell you, this means it’s time for the most beloved of traditions, the one thing that keeps the Opinions section sane after a week of depressing headlines and deadlines… Darts & Laurels.

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Opinion

Guest Column: Planning on flying your own drone? Read this before you're cleared for takeoff

Jan. 6, 2016

If you’re one of the lucky people who got a drone as a holiday gift, don’t strap on your flying goggles just yet.

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Opinion

Letter to the Editor: Student Fees

Jan. 6, 2016

Dear UF students,

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Opinion

LCD Soundsystem reunites, we reflect on its influence

Jan. 6, 2016

We here in the Opinions corner of the Alligator have a profound respect for music. However, our love for the medium is generally not enough to overcome the realities of a daily student newspaper, where the witty commentary and strong emotions of the lone editorial are generally reserved for that day’s top stories, NOT the passions of music obsessives. So it was to our surprise and excitement that the reformation of LCD Soundsystem not only generated headlines but did so in several prominent publications: Hey, if it’s good enough for Time magazine, the L.A. Times and The Guardian, it’s good enough for us.

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Opinion

Column: The cultural significance of "Auld Lang Syne"

Jan. 5, 2016

"We two have run about the hills