Opinion
OPINION
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EDITORIALS
Darts & Laurels
May 21, 2008Is it just us, or are these nascent summer days disappearing more quickly than Hillary Clinton's chances of being the Democratic nominee for president?
OPINION
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COLUMNS
Brace yourselves, we’re in for a brain drain.
May 19, 2008Elizabeth Hillaker, UF Alumnus
OPINION
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EDITORIALS
Marital Bliss: California ruling sets example worth following
May 19, 2008Last week, the California Supreme Court handed down a historic ruling regarding one of the most divisive issues of our time: gay marriage.
OPINION
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EDITORIALS
Darts & Laurels
May 14, 2008Yes, ladies and gentlemen, summer has finally arrived. The Legislature has concluded one of the most painful and pointless sessions in recent memory, Major League Baseball is in full swing, the Sunshine State's signature sweltering temperatures are starting to return, and for many of us here in the Gator Nation, it's back-to-school as a new semester presents us with new opportunities to engage in one of our favorite pastimes: procrastination. As we venture into summer '08, however, we at the Department of Darts and Laurels won't waste any time presenting to you, our loyal readers, a hot and fresh, first-of-the-summer-edition of…
OPINION
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LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Budget cuts hurt UF language programs
May 12, 2008Norman Chang, 4LS
OPINION
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COLUMNS
Alligator offers summer opportunities
By DEVIN CULCLASURE | May 12, 2008With the first day of class behind me, it has finally sunk in: Summer is here.
OPINION
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EDITORIALS
Short Changed: Legislature fails to address pressing issues
May 12, 2008As the spring term was winding down here at UF and at other institutions of higher learning around the state, so too was the 2008 legislative session in Tallahassee. Last week, the Florida Legislature closed shop after three months of supposedly working toward solutions to the many serious problems facing our state.
OPINION
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EDITORIALS
Darts & Laurels
By the Editorial Board | Apr. 22, 2008Well, it's finally here. Our calendars may say it's Wednesday, but right about now it sure feels like a Friday. This being the last issue of the spring semester and the last day of classes - though everyone seems to be too busy headed to the library for "exams" and "term papers" - we've decided to lighten it up a bit. C'mon, you know you're not really going to use both of those reading days, anyway. So grab a lounge chair by the pool, pop open a cold one and start thinking about summer. It's with bittersweet nostalgia that we here at the Darts & Laurels department compose our semester-ending edition of Darts & Laurels.
OPINION
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EDITORIALS
So long, Alligator; thanks for everything
Apr. 22, 2008The Alligator's sports editor, Mike McCall, and I were talking about our long-term career goals recently, and we have come to simple terms about what would validate our lives' work.
OPINION
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COLUMNS
Barbaric, antiquated capital punishment must be abandoned
Apr. 22, 2008Few issues represent so profound a moral conundrum and elicit so visceral an emotional response as capital punishment.
OPINION
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COLUMNS
Polygamist raid warranted
By Greg Pivarnik | Apr. 22, 2008The separation of church and state does not apply to religions that advocate sexual abuse and violence toward underage women. The Child Protective Services (CPS) made the correct decision to remove 416 minors from a polygamist compound in Eldorado, Texas, earlier this month. Any arguments that attempt to defend the people at the compound, including anyone who advocates returning the children to their parents based on religious rights implied in the First Amendment, misunderstands the role the government has to protect its citizens from physical harm.
OPINION
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COLUMNS
Obama's war plan worrisome
By D. Morgan Potts | Apr. 22, 2008Obama is selling himself as the president to settle the peace, not continue the war. Yet some of the senator's recent comments suggest he has far less of an interest in peace than in popularity. In an Associated Press interview from July 2007, Obama suggested that even the likelihood of genocide was insufficient grounds for retaining an American presence in Iraq. "If that's the criteria by which we are making decisions on the deployment of U.S. forces, then by that argument you would have 300,000 troops in the Congo right now - where millions have been slaughtered as a consequence of ethnic strife - which we haven't done." Obama is implying America should bear as much responsibility for the security of citizens in a country we do not occupy as one we do. That is, none at all.
OPINION
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COLUMNS
Compassion needed to overcome past
By GERALD LILES | Apr. 21, 2008Nature takes wood in one of two ways: either fire burns it or water rots it away. If that wood forms the walls of a building, the way it happens can make all the difference in the world.
OPINION
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LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Other issues surround pope visit
By Rob Myers | Apr. 21, 2008Despite all of the different views that could have been discussed regarding the pope's visit, Mr. Massaro chose to babble aimlessly instead. There were so many issues deserving attention, and yet all Mr. Massaro could seem to focus on was the pope's bling.
OPINION
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LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Column on pope was ignorant
By Mark LaBelle | Apr. 21, 2008I was disappointed, but not surprised, by Vincent Massaro's column Monday about the pope's U.S. visit. It confirmed what many people know but do not want to admit: Anti-Catholic speech is one of the remaining acceptable forms of discrimination in America today.
OPINION
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EDITORIALS
UF has come a long way but still has work to do
By the Editorial Board | Apr. 21, 2008In the spirit of Earth Day, we think it's necessary to applaud UF's ongoing campus sustainability efforts and the progress that has been made to reduce the university's large environmental impact.
OPINION
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COLUMNS
Unrealistic cultural expectations of beauty unfair to women
By Claire Beach | Apr. 21, 2008You've seen them at the Plaza of the Americas: Student Government-sponsored billboards, in an effort to boost self-esteem, encouraging women to love their bodies, claiming that "diets don't work" and assuring everyone that confident women who don't worry about looking like supermodels are sexier than those who do.
OPINION
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EDITORIALS
Vague policy might not stop exploitation
By the Editorial Board | Apr. 20, 2008There are some things that change almost every semester: roommates, classes and professors. But the one thing that seems to remain constant is the temporary sticker price shock every student faces when the cash register rings up the astronomical cost of textbooks.
OPINION
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LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Voters must decide on best candidate
By Anthony Piferrer | Apr. 20, 2008I am disappointed that the Alligator would publish the blatantly slanted article by Drew Harwell on the upcoming congressional election for District 6.
