Opinions - The Independent Florida Alligator

OPINION | EDITORIALS

Scott relies on half truths in gubernatorial race

Apr. 7, 2014

As the November gubernatorial election looms on Florida’s horizon, the Rick Scott and Charlie Crist camps are neck and neck in the polls. However, a Voter Survey Service poll commissioned by the Sunshine State News released Monday revealed Scott has pulled slightly ahead of Crist. As it stands, Scott leads with a 45-percent poll ranking, and Crist is lagging at 44 percent.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Accent should invite more alleged criminals

Apr. 7, 2014

Accent Speakers Bureau announced its sponsoring of Ehud Olmert, the former Israeli prime minister, before he abruptly canceled the visit on April 1. I find myself defending Accent’s decision to bring the ex-Israeli prime minister. This might strike you as odd, considering Olmert’s dark side, but let me explain.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Don’t feed the trolls: a new class of cyber bullies

Apr. 7, 2014

The Internet has given us so many beautiful and fantastic things. We can communicate with others in far-off lands, we can research almost anything within the span of a minute, and we can create and share information instantly. But it’s also bred a new class of web users that almost everyone with an Internet connection has experienced: the troll.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Why are Republicans pushing to restrict youth voting in our states?

Apr. 7, 2014

Here’s a number that’s scary for Republicans: 18 percentage points.

OPINION | EDITORIALS

In all kinds of weather: Thank you, Gators

Apr. 6, 2014

So, we lost.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Rush’s vampiring ways are not the issue

Apr. 6, 2014

A lot of hoopla was made last week over the revelation that congressional candidate — and UF graduate — Jake Rush participated in various role-playing games, typically starring as a vampire. The story quickly went national, as various political blogs and news outlets wanted to discover more on the vampire who wants to role play as a congressman.

OPINION | COLUMNS

We need to pop the virginity stigma

Apr. 6, 2014

Last October, a 19-year-old made headlines when he announced he would lose his virginity on stage in front of a crowd as part of a performance art piece.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Marijuana rips lives, families apart

Apr. 6, 2014

DENVER — In what will go down in history as the biggest national overdose since America died of alcohol poisoning once Prohibition was lifted, the entire state of Colorado has overdosed on marijuana.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Embrace the dad jeans: Normcore is in

Apr. 3, 2014

Spring is abloom, but ignore the flower prints and bright colors: What you should really be digging out of your closet is the pair of dad jeans you bought months ago at the thrift with the intention of turning into distressed cutoffs.

OPINION | DARTS LAURELS

Darts & Laurels 4/4/14

Apr. 3, 2014

Is it just us, or was this week not totally hellish? Most of us are in that comfortable lull between midterms and finals, the weather is gorgeous, and McDonald's will be giving away coffee for the next two weeks.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Government seeks to destroy privacy

Apr. 3, 2014

The rapid growth of technology’s capabilities is cause to reflect on what privacy means in the 21st century. But the U.S. government is not concerned with such reflection. In the post-9/11 world, the government has made it a top priority not to redefine but destroy the idea of privacy.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Colbert racism mishap shows satire is lost on Twitter

Apr. 3, 2014

Sitting behind his anchor desk on Monday night, Stephen Colbert offered the nation a firm and righteous apology.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Accent blunders suggest tokenism

Apr. 3, 2014

On Monday, I was surprised to learn that Accent Speaker’s Bureau had to cancel its event featuring former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert after he backed out of the interview. I assumed it was an early April Fools’ Day joke. The news of the cancellation came the same day that Olmert was convicted of bribery in a Tel Aviv court for taking $160,000 in bribes to speed along government permits to build the Holyland housing estate while he was the mayor of Jerusalem.

OPINION | EDITORIALS

Get-the-flunk-out-of-my-inbox: FERPA needs revamp

Apr. 2, 2014

As we reported Wednesday, students have noticed a sudden influx of emails from a website called ClusterFlunk advertising networking services. Although junk email plagues everyone, Webmail’s spam filter usually catches them. However, as in this case, messages occasionally trickle through, reminding us that personal data — such as students’ university email addresses — are public knowledge.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Unpaid internships create cycle of privilege

Apr. 2, 2014

When I was an underclassman, I asked every graduating senior the same question: What does it feel like to be moving on to real life? I rarely got the same answer.

OPINION | EDITORIALS

Defense against the dark LARPs: a Jake Rush story

Apr. 1, 2014

Jake Rush caught the attention of websites like Gawker when reports surfaced of the Alachua Republican lawyer’s involvement with live-action role-playing games. During his undergraduate years at UF, Rush was part of The Camarilla, the UF chapter of an international gaming society. Around 2009, under the name of his gaming alter ego Chazz Darling, Rush posted messages in a gaming forum with violent and sexual threats, according to Gawker.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Obamacare succeeding in spite of Scott

Apr. 1, 2014

Throughout his administration, Gov. Rick Scott has been a fierce opponent of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, more often referred to as “Obamacare.”

OPINION | COLUMNS

Enough already: Left is hypocritical regarding campaign finances

Apr. 1, 2014

For the past few weeks, the left has been hell-bent on criticizing Republican campaign donors. The overwhelming amount of this one-sided smearing and demonization borders on the absurd.

OPINION | COLUMNS

America passively condones rape culture

Mar. 31, 2014

The first of many things wrong with the column in Time magazine by Caroline Kitchens is its title: “It’s Time to End ‘Rape Culture’ Hysteria.”

OPINION | EDITORIALS

April Fools’ rules: Don’t be dumb, don’t cross the line

Mar. 31, 2014

April Fools’ Day is seriously tempting for college newspapers. So many raunchy jokes we could make! So many university officials we could roast! So many punny headlines — more than usual!