A crash that happened halfway around the world should be a warning sign to passengers everywhere.
The first column I ever wrote for The Alligator was about the best libraries on campus. For this column, I would like to expand on my list of “Best of…” But rather than comparing the best on-campus libraries, I’m going to discuss off-campus coffee shops. This is my attempt at a reprise.
With shaky, highly caffeinated hands, you push through the rotating door of Library West. Students are walking around intent on finding a coveted seat. The days are quickly dwindling down before the weeks of final projects and exams, which means all libraries on campus are at full capacity. Finding a seat on any floor of a UF library is becoming a tricky game of musical chairs, with seats only opening up when class changes. However, you’re determined to find the perfect one, and most likely will stay there for the foreseeable future.
There’s a place in this world where nearly 1 in 4 women report experiencing sexual violence, where nearly 50 percent of its population is without reliable food, where 1,200 people were killed in 2015 and where 414,490 people were displaced from their homes. This place is Burundi. Never heard of it? Exactly.
Applying for college was one of the most difficult academic challenges of my life. It was the compilation of years and years of all-nighters, skipped social events, supportive teachers (and not-so-supportive teachers), my parents’ sacrifices and so much work. I poured all of myself into my college applications because going to college was my most important goal.
With our whole “stand up and yodel” day of giving in our collective recent memories, I think it would be fitting to talk about our class councils.
It’s no secret that money, a well-known family name and connections can bring advantages when it comes to college. Wealthy and famous families often donate huge amounts of money to the schools they want their children to attend. When families aren’t donating to higher education institutions, they can simply capitalize on their names and connections. Honestly, who could ever deny the kids of an A-list celebrity?
There’s a special recipe involved in the making of the infamous Florida man stories. They usually involve an alligator, body of water, drugs or nudity and, if we’re really lucky, Taco Bell. The headlines for these stories are eye-catching, to say the least: “Naked Florida man baking cookies on George Foreman grill responsible for fire,” or “Florida man makes beer run with gator in hand.” (All real headlines.)
Any humanities student will tell you that they have been repeatedly asked something along these lines: “What do you plan on doing with your major?” Most of us have our rehearsed responses: “I’m not sure yet!” or “Maybe law school.” But after a while, you wear down and begin to secretly wonder, along with everyone else, what exactly you will do with a classics or philosophy degree. At least, this has been my experience.
Every year, basketball fans fill out a March Madness bracket in an attempt to predict the future and win an insurmountable amount of money. Around this time of year, I usually look at my sports-obsessed friends who have the basketball knowledge to fill out those cool-looking, debate-starting brackets and think to myself, “Darn, I wish I cared or knew enough about basketball to fill out one of those.” Then, last year came the Kanye bracket; now my bracket-filling cravings are satisfied with so many non-sports related brackets to choose from.
It is hard for bad news to surprise me nowadays. Headline after headline summarizing tragedies and horrific events are nothing new. When I read about these bad things happening, I usually feel very removed from the situation. I understand their negative effects, and my heart aches for all of the hate in the world. However, something about it does not seem real without seeing it happen firsthand. My life continues, and nothing changes. Gun control laws are not tightened, the country’s faulty socioeconomic system prevails and the depressing articles keep pouring in. I have almost reached the point of utter hopelessness.
Whatever happened to television shows like “Little House on the Prairie” and “That’s So Raven”? Shows that are sweet and often have a happy ending. Nowadays, if someone turns on the television, networks are most likely playing some type of provocative show. For example, the first episode of “Enemy of the State” involved at least four murders. All of this led me to think: Is television becoming too violent and sexual?
The system of checks and balances is as fundamental to the U.S. as the Constitution itself. However, in recent decades, the lines between the government’s branches have blurred. On Friday, President Donald Trump issued the first veto of his presidency, an act many presidents before him have used. This act is within his constitutional power, but what sets it apart from any other presidential veto is his manipulation of executive power.
College admissions have been rocked by scandal recently. Federal authorities have busted a scheme in which wealthy parents paid a man named William “Rick” Singer to get their children into college. He bribed college coaches to recruit children as star athletes (even if they had never played the sport in question) and bribed SAT or other college entrance exam proctors to give the children an advantage (such as the proctor correcting his or her answers or allowing someone else to take the test in the child’s place). Numerous figures from all sorts of professional fields were involved, including law, real estate developers, executives, etc. Including the ones that grabbed the most attention were actresses Lori Loughlin of “Full House” and Felicity Huffman of “Desperate Housewives.” What Loughlin, Huffman and others did is clearly illegal, and they should face justice for their actions. However, outright bribery and fraud aren’t the only things wrong with college admissions, and many of those problems are perfectly legal.
Last Friday, 50 lives were lost in Christchurch, New Zealand, after a gunman opened fire in two mosques. The perpetrator is understood to be a white nationalist who posted a racist manifesto online prior to the attack and live-streamed the killings on Facebook. He was identified as 28-year-old Brenton Harrison Tarrant from Australia. According to New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, he will go to trial in New Zealand where he will face the justice system for the acts of terror he committed.
With Spring Break gone and a terrifyingly challenging week of classes under our belts, we have all settled back in. It’s different this time, though. After a Spring Break without responsibilities or rules, it’s hard to rid ourselves of that mindset. We’ve tasted what life is like for the elite members of society who don’t have to work for things, and returning to the "Gainesville grind" now feels like a painful vacation to a penitentiary. What did we do to deserve this? Students’ breakup with Spring Break is cruel, and now we are left with the sloppy second half of the semester. Is there any hope that it’ll get better?
“We know that freedom has many dimensions. It is the right of the man who tills the land to own the land; the right of the workers to join together to seek better conditions of labor…” These words, spoken by Robert F. Kennedy at the 1962 World’s Fair in Seattle, the same year Cesar Chavez founded the National Farm Workers Association, echo today, leaving reverberations across the United States. Cesar Chavez, who had been protesting for better living conditions for migrant workers in California, encouraged his fellow Americans to boycott the grape industry that underpaid and abused its workers.
Sixty-one years ago, an Air Force veteran named George Starke Jr. became the first African American student to attend UF when he enrolled in our law school.
You’ve just started your car. Your gas tank is full, and your mind is refreshed. Spring Break is officially over, and it’s time to head back to reality. You mentally prepare yourself for the drive back to Gainesville. You’ve spent the past week relaxing, without a care in the world. Deadlines were pushed to the back of your mind, and anything that remotely reminded you of school was quickly brushed aside.
I have heard every version of students wishing Spring Break hadn’t ended. From, “I’d love it if the semester ended already,” and “Why did it have to end early?” to even the dramatic “God, I’m dropping out. I swear.”
Solutions by The State News
