Opinions - The Independent Florida Alligator

OPINION | COLUMNS

Stop and smell the roses, busy Gators

Oct. 28, 2013

A good friend of mine carries home a new stack of books from the library every week. She reads all the time, maintains good grades and serves as an event director for one of her extracurriculars. One of my favorite things about her is that, no matter when I ask her to do something, she’s ready. I’ve never heard her say, “I can’t, I’m busy.” She has just as much to do as everyone else but makes time for the things she enjoys, like reading Jacques Lacan and taking photo excursions.

OPINION | EDITORIALS

Goodbye, Lou Reed — Velvet Underground frontman dies at 71

Oct. 28, 2013

There’s an often-repeated quip about the Velvet Underground: Only about 30,000 people bought the band’s debut album, but they all went out and started a band after hearing it.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Guest column: Iran nuclear challenge a win-win?

Oct. 27, 2013

Iran‘s nuclear program became a challenge 10 years ago. Some parts of the international community, represented by the permanent members of United Nations Security Council and Germany (P5+1), are exposing their concern about possible military dimensions of Iran’s nuclear program, and Iran is operating on peaceful purposes of its program.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Saudi women drive rights argument home

Oct. 27, 2013

A revolution can start with the simplest of actions.

OPINION | EDITORIALS

Chris Brown shouldn't be let off, but probably will anyway

Oct. 27, 2013

Chris Brown was arrested early Sunday morning in Washington, D.C., on felony assault charges, but hey, we’ll probably forget about it in a few weeks or so.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Guest column: You say you want a revolution? You should start with music

Oct. 24, 2013

Music has lost its revolutionary power, and it’s your fault.

OPINION | LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Wednesday columnist’s complaints unjustified

By Akeila Brown | Oct. 24, 2013

I’m not quite sure I understand the author’s beef with Accent Speaker’s Bureau.

OPINION | LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Views in Wednesday column not representative of IOC

By UF Islam on Campus | Oct. 24, 2013

In light of one of the opinion columns that appeared in the Alligator on Wednesday, Islam on Campus would like to clarify its views on the article, “Accent is rife with corruption.”

OPINION | LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Zulkar Khan’s column on Accent Speaker’s Bureau corruption

By Heather Ray | Oct. 24, 2013

I am grateful to be part of an institution where students question apparent corruption and cronyism in organizations intended to represent them.

OPINION | COLUMNS

America’s policy on Pakistan: A love/hate relationship

Oct. 24, 2013

Shortly after the U.S. government shutdown ended, American officials announced Pakistan will be receiving more than $1.5 billion in military and economic aid.

OPINION | EDITORIALS

Darts & Laurels 10/25/13

Oct. 24, 2013

As F. Scott Fitzgerald wrote in that one book you kind of remember from high school, “Life starts all over again when it gets crisp in the fall.”

OPINION | EDITORIALS

Alien conspiracy theory is alive and well

Oct. 23, 2013

Out of all the mythical creatures and monsters, aliens have to be the scariest.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Republican political strategy relies on misinformation, deception

Oct. 22, 2013

During a recent discussion with medical students at the University of Louisville, Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) inadvertently gave rare insight into the political strategy employed by him and his fellow Tea Party politicians.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Guest column: Inside the mind of a bomber

Oct. 22, 2013

This column is a response to a guest column published in the Alligator: “Palestinians are people with a voice”

OPINION | COLUMNS

Clues in ‘The Shining’ reveal the moon landing was faked

Oct. 22, 2013

Stanley Kubrick was one of the most evocative and accomplished directors in history. Even his worst movies were great, and his best movies pushed filmmaking into territory that was previously unthinkable. Even in death, he continues to influence directors and writers, and people still debate what his films mean to this day. He also secretly directed the Apollo 11 moon landing.

OPINION | LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

RTS website is useless

By Jack J. Hutchens | Oct. 22, 2013

After living in Gainesville for three months, I can say without equivocation that the bus system here is an utter failure. I cannot count how many times the bus drivers and the website have failed me. Apparently, I live in a Bermuda Triangle of bus scheduling. One morning a particular bus comes at 8:40. Another, it’s not there until 9:05 a.m. How could a schedule have a 25-minute window of error? When their website tells me I have 15 minutes to get to my stop, that means the bus will fly by in five with me standing 10 yards away and the driver being too rude to wait for me. Their refusal to pick up customers, I feel, has little to do with their desire to follow the letter of some rule. Something has to change with this system.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Accent is rife with corruption

Oct. 22, 2013

A strange set of events unfolded last week. In just hours, all 1,700 tickets were taken. The next day, an eager audience packed the Phillips Center for the Performing Arts to listen to the words of a frail 84-year-old speaker. Who was this old geezer?

OPINION | EDITORIALS

Don't get ahead of yourselves, Broward pranksters — you're no ‘Animal House’

Oct. 22, 2013

Tuesday, we ran a story about a group of freshmen boys — of course — whose pranks at Broward Hall prompted the installment of surveillance cameras on their floor.

OPINION | COLUMNS

‘Created Equal’ makes some women feel less than equal

Oct. 21, 2013

If you had to make the unfortunate trek through Turlington Plaza last week, chances are you caught an eyeful of the Created Equal movement’s aborted fetus posters and stand-ups lining the walkways. The “graphic images ahead” signs weren’t quite emphatic enough to prepare us for what was there.

OPINION | LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Better resources for cyclists

By Bruce Frendahl | Oct. 21, 2013

I recently became an avid biker after a church friend gave me a bike. I used to bike everywhere on campus and in town when I was a University of Florida student in the 1970s. Some streets around town don’t even have a bike lane.