Opinions - The Independent Florida Alligator

OPINION | EDITORIALS

Our interwoven legacy/Nuestro legado entretejido

By Alligator Editorial Board | July 29

Like an intricately woven quilt, the key to any community is honoring and highlighting the shared experiences that bind us together despite our differences in background. The Alligator always seeks to create equitable, accessible coverage of the UF and Gainesville communities, stitching together well-loved and worn traditions with the issues facing us today.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Preventing the well of well-run organizing from running dry

By Cassie Urbenz | July 22

Hinting upon this idea last time as I spoke of how intersectionality can help us in the fight against burnout, bringing new members into the fold of leadership is more important than ever. As I, and a plethora of other organizers scramble to help build new leadership, I can’t help but think of the path I took to my current place and how to acclimate others to the difficult job of navigating activism in Florida.

OPINION | COLUMNS

J.D. Vance: The Forgotten Man

By Abraham Hilu | July 22

In 1886, William Graham Sumner, a renaissance man of the social sciences, formerly taught at Yale, produced a work named, “The Forgotten Man.” This piece gave insight into how the American government was moving toward aiding large corporations and concurrently leaving the middle class behind.

OPINION | COLUMNS

‘Dark Brandon’ delusions: Biden’s narcissism places his feelings over country

By Rey Arcenas | July 15

“Dark Brandon is coming back,” President Biden told one voter earlier this month. Dark Brandon, to review, is the internet meme that satirizes the president’s low energy persona by depicting him as a laser-eyed figure cloaked in darkness obliterating malarkey. Its inversion of reality is the punchline. Biden, too, has increasingly inverted reality as he desperately clings to his party’s nomination after a devastating debate performance.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Mom crossed the border, so I crossed out my dreams

By Vivienne Serret | July 15

As a first-generation Latina, iIt’s been up to me to be the glue that puts back the pieces of shattered dreams that once belonged to the 19-year-old version of my mother — a burden placed on me the second I was born.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Intersectionality as a solution to activism burnout

By Cassie Urbenz | July 8

As you become more entrenched in activism at UF and in Gainesville, you quickly begin to see familiar faces. It can be rewarding, but sometimes it can feel like you are the only ones organizing, and it gets rough when you need to plan action and get a LOT of things done in a short amount of time… all on top of your schoolwork, job and personal life.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Presidential debate: calamities or promise

By Abraham Hilu | July 8

The presidential debate June 27 presented a clearer picture of what both candidates have in mind for policies in the United States. A general concluding theme is President Joe Biden is mentally compromised, while former President Donald Trump arguably performed one of his best presidential debates. People from both parties realize Biden doesn’t have the strength to continue the most demanding job in the country.

OPINION | COLUMNS

It’s Joever: Biden is old, unpopular and should not be running for President

By Rey Arcenas | July 1

I tuned into the first Presidential debate of the election season with alcohol in hand. My friends sat around the couch, watching the live political spectacle alongside 51 million other viewers. Drinks ran dry as both candidates made gaffe after gaffe. While former President Trump lied about abortion “even after birth” and denounced Biden as a “bad Palestinian,” our current President’s age became painfully visible as he struggled to form coherent answers to Trump’s rhetoric. Even when silent, Biden unnervingly stared off into space, looking visibly confused.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Recognizing queer student activists at the frontlines of struggle

By Rey Arcenas | July 1

I co-organized my first protest the spring of my freshman year, opposing House Bill 1557 or the “Don’t Say Gay” bill. During our march through Gainesville, dozens of community members swelled the crowd while others heckled us with homophobic slurs.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Leave it to the professionals: The trend of legislative attacks on higher education in Florida

By Cassie Urbenz | July 1

Almost a year ago on July 1, the Florida Legislature passed Senate Bill 256 — a bill specifically intended to limit the power of unions in the state. The challenge that the Florida Legislature forced upon us has developed in several ways. While we have seen a growing community stand behind our unions, we have also seen an escalation of attacks on the groups we have a responsibility to protect.

OPINION | COLUMNS

‘Inside the closet,’ and what it means to survive in silence

July 1

Staying in the closet can feel almost like an act of complicity. Is there a way I could change my family members' minds if I were more open and proud? Am I doing other people like me a disservice by not being out? But surviving as a community isn’t always about large actions, protests and demonstrations. For some of us, the biggest step forward in the fight for queer acceptance is to simply survive. To reach a point of success where we aren’t dependent on those who hate us.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Climate change in Florida: a state of emergency or a state of no urgency?

By Ace Mclain | July 1

Gov. Ron DeSantis recently issued a state of emergency for multiple South Florida counties in response to the devastating rains and flash flooding. Yet less than a month ago, DeSantis signed a bill that sought to expand natural gas infrastructure, putting concerns about climate change on the back burner.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Donald Trump: Grievance or rightful justice?

By Abraham Hilu | June 10

CORRECTION: This column has been updated to state the case's prosecutor was Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg and state that former President Donald Trump was found guilty on all 34 counts. The columnist originally wrote that New York Attorney General Letitia James was the plaintiff and did not reference the guilty sentencing. The Alligator corrected the column incorrectly by identifying Alvin Bragg as the Manhattan Defense Attorney and the plaintiff of the case.

OPINION | COLUMNS

From indictments to disconnect: The polarizing effects of Trump and Biden

By Max Rappoport | June 10

The upcoming Summer Olympics in Paris, France have been forced to take a backseat as news cycles begin to focus their content on the presidential race between Donald Trump and Joe Biden.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Student journalist: Writing about other people’s trauma when I’m still processing my own

By Vivienne Serret | June 5

To all my student journalists: If you find yourself hyper-focused on climbing to the top and leaving everyone behind to fend for themselves, it’s time to put the pen down and ask yourself to remember why you started doing this in the first place.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Lavender, scared: The need for the Lavender LLC

By Rey Arcenas | June 3

At the Lavender LLC, I formed life-long friendships and found a welcoming community that helped me grow into myself.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Protecting choice: The impact of Florida's ban on cultured meat

By Valeria Gomez | June 3

On May 1, Senate Bill 1084 was signed, banning and criminalizing the sale and manufacture of cultured meat in Florida. While other states, including Tennessee, Alabama and Arizona, have considered similar bans, Florida was the first to actually implement it. This push for a ban stems from the science behind cultured meat being viewed as taboo and a strong pushback against having increased competition from the meat industry.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Look out for lions!: ANHPID Pride and the fight for progress

By Joaquin Marcelino | May 28

From the Chinese lion dancers roaming about the Reitz Union to the heads of research labs, the Asian Native Hawaiian Pacific Islander Desi (ANHPID) community is lively and active at UF.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Blood in the water: A lesson in homogeneity

By Anghelo Gangano | May 28

I can choose my profession and my politics, but I will never be able to choose my ethnicity.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Why you should join The Alligator

By Claire Grunewald | Apr. 22

I hope my journalism career outlives The Alligator couch.