Opinion
Opinion
UF reacts to Catalan independence vote
Oct. 4, 2015On Sept. 27, Catalonia held elections to its devolved parliament. A coalition of nationalist parties won 72 out of 135 seats, though only 48 percent of the vote. The coalition, which ranges from the center-right Convergència to radical CUP, bills this vote as a de facto affirmative referendum on independence from Spain, and right-wing president of Catalonia, Artur Mas, agrees.
Opinion
Pope Francis is not as liberal as he seems
Oct. 4, 2015When Pope Francis visited the U.S., he caused quite the stir with all major news channels covering his every move. The vast amount of coverage was strange, considering only 20.8 percent of Americans considered themselves Catholic in 2014, according to Pew.
Opinion
Darts and Laurels 10/02/2015
Oct. 1, 2015Darts & Laurels: wonderful tradition for Friday editions of the Alligator or insidious plot to influence the hearts and minds of Gainesville residents and UF students? You tell us, because even we aren’t sure anymore. With that inquiry out of the way, it’s time for this week’s edition of…
Opinion
Impact wins: We get the government we deserve
Oct. 1, 2015As I watched the election results roll in live on Twitter Wednesday night, I found myself more and more frustrated, wondering if giving up and embracing cynicism wouldn’t be such a bad idea after all. It certainly would do a great deal of good for my mental health.
Opinion
Planned Parenthood: Worth the stand
Oct. 1, 2015The new battlefield in the war for women is Planned Parenthood.
Opinion
Denying the existence of climate change is unfair to poor countries
Oct. 1, 2015On Wednesday, Prime Minister Josaia Bainimarama of Fiji addressed the United Nations General Assembly on the threat of climate change. As a Pacific Island state, Fiji is already experiencing the negative impacts of climate change; Bainimarama spoke of plans underway to relocate some Fijian villages due to rising sea levels. He urged the general assembly to take action at the upcoming climate change conference in Paris.
Opinion
Editorial: Pope Francis, gay marriage and actualizing change
Sep. 30, 2015It was reported Wednesday that Kim Davis, current conservative darling and avowed hatemonger, had a private meeting with Pope Francis during his visit to the U.S. last week. Per the Washington Post and NPR, the meeting occurred last Thursday at the Vatican Embassy in D.C. Apparently the meeting had been arranged at the behest of the Vatican weeks in advance. Through her legal team, Davis expressed that the meeting, although brief, was profound for both her and Pope Francis, with both clasping each other’s hands and vowing to pray for one another. Francis also sent Davis off with a nice pair of rosaries.
Opinion
While the TSA is harassing a transgender woman, body scans aren’t making us safer
Sep. 30, 2015The Transportation Security Administration’s policies, intended to fulfill the responsibility to detect and deter terrorist plots in U.S. airports, use largely invasive and discriminatory procedures that end up profiling whole groups of people.
Opinion
Meet Joselin: Dancer, sister and your UF Student Body President
Sep. 30, 2015Hello Gators! My name is Joselin Padron-Rasines and I’m your Student Body president. Even more than that, I’m a Gator.
Opinion
Editorial: Time management is a leviathan to be worked around, not slain
Sep. 29, 2015Time-management skills: Some of us got ‘em, some of us don’t. In high school and the preceding years, time-management skills essentially boiled down to doing your menial homework assignments as soon as you got home (unless you had a job, in which case your life was made exponentially harder), and saving the hard studying and projects for the wee hours. If you were of a particularly anxious sort or prone to procrastination, the wee hours could mean as early (or late) as 5 a.m. As far as the weekend went, school was essentially a non-entity, at least until Sunday evening rolled around.
Opinion
Literary tourism: a rewarding way to learn about life
Sep. 29, 2015Recently, I read an old article by Laura C. Mallonee in "The Paris Review" titled "Some Realms I Owned: Elizabeth Bishop in Manhattan."
Opinion
On a scale from one to frat …
Sep. 29, 2015Last Friday, I observed a sign on the Alpha Tau Omega fraternity house that read "ATΩ + ∆∆∆ YOU’RE THE TEN-I-SEE." My first reaction was to scoff and write off the sign as a misplaced joke. But it merits consideration so that we might better understand how Greek life prescribes the interaction between men and women and how our culture inadvertently permits abuse.
Opinion
Guest Column: Support 352Arts in Alachua County
Sep. 29, 2015I have had the pleasure of serving on the Gainesville/Alachua County Cultural Affairs Board since January 2012. I am more excited now than ever for the future of Parks, Recreation and Cultural Affairs in this region. Arts and culture are thriving in our area, but there is so much more we can do if we all share in the effort. The 352ArtsRoadmap is a set of priorities that will help chart the future of arts and culture in Gainesville and Alachua County over the next five to 10 years.
Opinion
With SG elections in full swing, voting is more important than ever
Sep. 28, 2015t is universally agreed that democracy is a cornerstone of American values. By most accounts, it is the raison d’être for our country’s existence. The concepts which fall under democratic ideals, such as the freedom of choice and freedom of speech, have fundamentally shaped this nation’s political culture and social mores.
Opinion
The ‘John Oliver Effect’ in action
Sep. 28, 2015Good satire can make you laugh, think or act; the best satire will make you do all three.
Opinion
Volkswagen recall may prove to be positive
Sep. 28, 2015It’s a great day when powerful people get caught doing bad things. Not bad as in being fellatio’d in the Oval Office or molesting-their-sister-while-espousing-conservative-family-values bad — more like corporate greed and deliberate-deception-of-the-public bad. Although it should be noted the exposure of hypocrisy does have its salience, there are bigger fish to broil today (not fry, ‘cause we’re trying to watch our figures).
Opinion
40 years later, eccentric classic ‘Rocky Horror’ still a crowd pleaser
Sep. 28, 2015This week ushers in the beginning of October, what I believe to be the best 31 days of the calendar year. This opinion isn’t based solely on the imminent approach of Halloween — which is unsurprisingly my favorite holiday — but also on the variety of changes the month seems to bring with it. With October comes the promise of cool(ish) autumn weather, the inability to escape pictures of girls in pumpkin patches and, of course, showings of "The Rocky Horror Picture Show."
Opinion
Alligator endorsement: Access Party
Sep. 27, 2015In the past, UF Student Government elections have been marked by how relatively uneventful they were. This changed with Access Party’s victory last Spring and has only been compounded by the emergence of the Impact Party — and the maybe-not-so-coincidental dissolving of the Swamp Party — this semester. The tension in the air has been palpable and a frequent topic of discussion in both the Alligator office and campus at large.
