Throughout the semester, I’ve read and edited some pretty bad columns, so I’m hoping I’ve learned how to write a good one.
Given this is my final column for the summer, I wanted to go over everything that went wrong in the way Student Government handled juggling Newell Hall and Library West. Well, perhaps not just everything that went “wrong;” maybe also things that make you go “hmmmm.”
Endorsements, much like winter in Westeros, are coming. The Alligator will be gathering information provided from most candidates for most offices in the coming weeks.
You search Google for “sunglasses.” You browse for a while. You look at a few on Amazon, a few on Ray-Ban’s website and ultimately decide to leave the purchase for another day. But now every website with Google AdSense, like the sidebar on Facebook, offers you sunglasses. It’s called targeted advertising, and even if you might think it’s annoying, computers seem to know us better than we know ourselves. I’m okay with big data as long as it’s good data.
Since I was young, I was always taught to save my money for a rainy day. I got piggy banks as gifts and learned to pick up pennies on the street (only the ones faced heads for good luck). I knew that if I saved up enough, I could buy my own house just like my mom did. But somewhere along the line, the messages I was receiving about penny-pinching became inconsistent.
As the end of the Summer semester approaches, weeks of hard work are coming to fruition.Libraries across campus fill with hordes of students. Amid the silence of focus, small hums of conversation focus on lack of sleep, cups of coffee and hours spent studying.It’s almost a competition. Who took the most credit hours, who did the most extracurricular activities or logged the most hours at work. Life is a never-ending game of quantity over quality. Our world often focuses on numbers. They define our acceptance into college, whether we move onto the next class and seemingly if we worked hard enough. Increasingly, life is about quantity over quality. That’s not to say numbers as a form of quantifying work is bad. However, our society seems to take this to an extreme. Sometimes these numbers feel like our worth. Sleeping less and doing more is rewarded in this world that revolves around work. It’s thought to bring more productivity. More tasks complete. More ideas. More effort. More progress. More money for a company. More job advancements. More and more and more. But what happens when there’s nothing left to give, like when at the end of the semester students are often sleep deprived and burnt out?Students should evolve the way they see their work. More isn’t always more.Working to the extremes of fatigue is dangerous. Numerous articles appear when you look up “overworking.”Overwork leaves your body run down and low on sleep. This leaves you as an easy target for illness. Stay on campus for a semester, and you can tell when people are getting tired. Everyone is sick.You’re likely emotionally, mentally and physically exhausted. Overworking can lead to less productivity for this reason. There’s a point when continuing to work or study ceases to be worth the loss of sleep.Studies on this topic go as far as to find that overwork can even lead to early death. This jarring statement shocked me to my core. Since I was an elementary student, the school system I learned in enforced the reality that more work equals more success. We were made to be test-taking machines, competing against one another for the highest grades and recognition.I think this is dangerous and needs to change. I’ve been on the receiving end of burnout. In a particularly tough school year, I was hospitalized four times. I have a chronic illness. Stress and lack of sleep make it worse.However, in my life, sleeping less and doing more was met with reward, which reinforced the need for my behavior. If I wanted to be successful, I needed to work more — even if it was at the cost of my health.Even outside of the school system, into college and onto the world of the job market, the same message of working more often permeates.I think adjustments should be made so people take care of themselves and don’t see time spent away from work as a consequence of more work or less sleep later.
“What in the f--k?”
Looks don’t really matter at the end of the summer, especially in North Florida. The entirety of the Gainesville population is dripping with sweat and unbothered by unkempt appearances.
Students here at UF pay a fee of $19.06 per credit hour called the “Activity and Service Fee.” Multiply that by however many credit hours students are taking, and this is how Student Government gets its $21 million budget.
Wellness, where health and happiness intersect, has become a trillion-dollar industry. It’s come at the cost of science and truth.
Ever wondered if your constant browsing of social media is depressing you? Here’s the science.
Periodically, this story makes the rounds through headlines: Someone with an invisible illness has been publicly shamed for using accessible parking or other aids.
Carmelo Anthony has finalized his buyout with the Atlanta Hawks, making him a free agent again. His intentions now are to sign with the Houston Rockets.
Pop star Demi Lovato’s drug overdose has triggered an ongoing debate over whether addiction is a choice or a disease.
On July 26, 1990, the Americans with Disabilities Act was passed. It recently passed its 28th anniversary, which means it’s been almost three decades of the official reshaping of society’s accommodation, perception and admission of disabled people.
Everyone is a different person with different needs. Diversity and inclusion are important. In journalism, there are so many stories to tell. But often, some voices go unheard.
Last week, a 5-year-old watched his father die in a gas station parking lot. The shooter, Michael Drejka, will likely face no charges because of Florida’s incredibly lax stand your ground law. The victim, Markeis McGlockton pushed Drejka to the floor after he came back from the inside of the gas station to find Drejka arguing with his girlfriend. Little did McGlockton know that making the mistake of pushing too hard as defense of his family would lead to his death. Drejka shot from the floor at McGlockton who as evidenced in a security video was not lunging at him after the first push.
The drone of rain on the car roof is almost deafening. It comes through to the inside like loud TV static. If you peer out the window at the mute downtown scene, between the droplets, you can see that white water pours off storefront awnings like an avalanche. On the flooded sidewalk, huddled in a shallow doorway, a faceless man’s fingers hold a cardboard shield in defense against the damp. The problem of homelessness is never so striking as it is in a rainstorm. An increased supply of short-term shelter is a more immediate solution to this problem which statistics fail to capture.
It started out innocently enough. “24/7 Study Space Survey” says the subject line for the email that flies into my inbox from former Monroe County Detention Center inmate/Student Body President Smith Meyers. “Your responses to the attached 5-minute survey will be invaluable as we prioritize support for the overnight study spaces needed for your academic success.”
A trio of freshmen – corners Marco Wilson, CJ Henderson and running back Malik Davis – stood out in UF football team’s 4-7 campaign last season.
Solutions by The State News
