Opinions - The Independent Florida Alligator

OPINION | COLUMNS

Stop comparing your success to others this new year

Jan. 8, 2017

Happy New Year, and happy Monday! Welcome back, everybody. I’m sure you all have read plenty of pieces discussing New Year’s resolutions and their pros and cons. Most people seem to either love or hate the idea of these goals many of us set for ourselves. Some of us make a note on our phone and a sign for our bulletin board detailing our plan to better ourselves. Others claim that if we wanted to change ourselves, we would have started when we conceived the idea, rather than waiting until midnight on a speciﬁ c day to start living our lives a certain way. Both of those opinions are valid, I think. Obviously, we don’t have to wait, but Jan. 1 seems as good a day as any to start living our lives the way we want. I’m not going to tell you that you should feel one way or the other, because, truth

OPINION | EDITORIALS

Self-perception in the era of social media

Jan. 8, 2017

It is safe to say that a majority of millennials and those who are even younger have some sort of social media account. After all, we are dubbed the social media generation by various media outlets. Whether your interactions with social media just involve the Twitter you had to make for class participation, or if you’re constantly picking the perfect Instagram filter, you have most likely had some degree of interaction with making a post. Think about the last post you made, whether it be a quick snap on your Snapchat story, a long Facebook life-update or a witty tweet. Would you say that post accurately represents you? Chances are, you’re rolling your eyes and going “duh.”

OPINION | COLUMNS

Get ready for a great Spring semester

Jan. 8, 2017

Hello Gator Nation,

OPINION | COLUMNS

Gutting Affordable Care Act : a misguided thought

Jan. 8, 2017

Repealing the Affordable Care Act could be disastrous, especially for those who make up most of Donald Trump’s supporters. Coal miners, many of whom voted for President-elect Trump, benefited from black lung benefits that were written into the ACA, also known as Obamacare. Similarly, there were subsidies for helping people afford plans. While not perfect, the health care law did solve many problems of the old system, such as cumbersome insurance applications and rejections for pre-existing conditions. U.S. adults often skip care and are sicker than adults in 11 other countries that were surveyed, according to the Commonwealth Fund. While Republicans are fans of American exceptionalism, they have yet to find a better plan than Obamacare or a single-payer system. Instead of working on a plan that could be an alternative to Obamacare, Republicans simply opposed it and called for a repeal, as if the health care system was perfect to begin with until Barack Obama messed it up.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Should I stay or should I go: resisting the urge to live in Florida forever

Jan. 5, 2017

During my time on campus thus far, I have come across very few individuals who have no desire to ever leave Florida. About 97 percent of UF students come from Florida, and many of the other 3 percent have lived in Florida in the past or have close family in-state, according to Study Point, a college-admissions website. As the premier university in this wonderful state, UF’s reputation dominates all markets up and down the peninsula. However, many students entertain the thought of starting their careers elsewhere. This is completely normal, as it is natural for young people to desire new landscapes, people and environments, but the level of longing for new sights and sounds seems to vary greatly among individuals.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Nothing in life is certain but death — and ever-inflating textbook prices

Jan. 5, 2017

Like every great work of academic literature, I’ll begin with the superfluous introduction to what lies ahead.

OPINION | EDITORIALS

Darts & Laurels: January 6, 2017

Jan. 5, 2017

Let’s start with something completely trivial in order to ease into the new year. In a move that no one really asked for, Pixar and Walt Disney Pictures are set to release “Cars 3” this sum- mer. “Cars 2” is the only Pixar movie thus far to ever receive a “Rotten” score on movie-rating website Rotten Tomatoes, so it seems like a strange move. Perhaps it’s for the nostalgia factor? After all, children and young adults alike were excited for last summer’s “Finding Dory.” You’d think that, perhaps, visiting an old movie for the third time, the big shots at Disney and Pixar would know how to balance their new and old audiences, as they so masterfully did in “Toy Story 3.” But plot details released to Entertainment Weekly have revealed that “Cars 3” is going to be about entitled millennial cars. Yes. Millennial cars, according to Entertainment Weekly. So a dart to Pixar for giving us another reason not to see the sequel to the sequel that no one asked for.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Focus on the positives as we move into 2017

Jan. 5, 2017

I was going to write a year in review. I was going to write about how crazy 2016 was with all of the atrocities that plagued our world, from our nation’s deadliest mass shooting in Orlando to everything that has been happening in war-torn Aleppo. I was going to write about how we lost popular-culture icons every month, from David Bowie in January to Debbie Reynolds at the tail end of December, and then we had an orange one elected to be president of the U.S. in between. I could have written all about every single bad thing that happened last year. I was going to, but then I realized that by doing that, I would be focusing on only the negative things that happened.

OPINION | EDITORIALS

The (actual) dystopian reality of the US

Jan. 4, 2017

Ever since the inception of dystopian fiction, it has been a common trend to point at the direction a country is going in and liken it to a fictional dystopia better left in print. By far and large, the most common dystopia used in these comparisons is the one in George Orwell’s “1984.”

OPINION | COLUMNS

My new-semester resolution: be present

Jan. 4, 2017

I’ll be the first to admit it. I tend to think New Year’s resolutions are a bunch of malarkey — and thank you, Joe Biden, for popularizing that expressive phrase. By Jan. 10, I’ve forgotten half the goals I’ve set for myself, and then I begin to hate the other half of the vague intentions I’ve set. (e.g. “Really, Mia? You wanted to ‘worry less’ this year? And how are you going to accomplish that?”)

OPINION | COLUMNS

Respect is for people, not ideas

Jan. 3, 2017

Let’s talk about respect. For many people, college is the first time they find themselves amid a diverse population, expected to communicate their ideas in a meaningful way. The critical exchange of ideas is how we grow, and if respect is the compass with which we navigate these interactions, I think it is vital to take a closer look.

OPINION | EDITORIALS

Please be kind in 2017

Jan. 3, 2017

There is a very strong consensus that 2016, quite frankly, sucked. Maybe folks are blaming it on the massive political overturns happening across the world (including both Brexit and the U.S. presidential race) or the devastating acts of violence that occurred last year. Maybe it was the staggering number of influential celebrities that left us in 2016 or the fact that the globe mourned a gorilla for way too long. Maybe it was the sudden influx of creepy clowns lurking in people’s neighborhoods (seriously, what the heck was that one?). Regardless, there’s no denying that 2016 was an eventful year, but it was not necessarily eventful in a good way.

OPINION | COLUMNS

I smoke cigarettes: A discussion about addiction

Jan. 3, 2017

The other night I was biting my nails at a party. I was trying not to step outside and bum a cigarette. It had been five days since I last smoked. I had felt proud of myself earlier in the day, but the familiar feeling of intense craving welled up the second I stepped into the dimly lit apartment. Now, one hour into the soiree, sipping my second rum and coke, I was exhausted with small talk. I didn’t want to discuss my major, my post-graduation plans or my summer internship. I grimaced at the faux-floral stink of the scented candle in the corner, downed my cocktail and stepped onto the balcony. I saw a portly guy with a scraggly brown beard puffing away at a cigarette. I tried to play it cool.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Appreciate the experiences that will later change your life

Dec. 6, 2016

I’m going to go ahead and get the sappy cliches out of the way: All good things must come to an end. The end is just the start of another beginning. Don’t cry because it’s over; smile because it happened.

OPINION | EDITORIALS

Be proud of your paper

Dec. 6, 2016

Hi, everyone, it’s Zach Lee here, taking off the editorial mask to speak to you all directly one last time here in The Independent Florida Alligator. That being said, the following views are my own, not those of the Alligator.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Becoming part of something bigger than myself

Dec. 6, 2016

Two years ago, I walked into the office of the Alligator on West University Avenue to take the copy-editing test. The copy desk chief at the time sat me in a small wood-paneled office that held rows of shelves lined with tall black books: about half of the archives of a student paper that’s been around for 110 years. Thankfully, I passed that test.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Cherish the importance of journalism and its people

Dec. 6, 2016

It was here I fell in love with my craft, my college and my colleagues, and it was here I realized journalism is far from over.

OPINION | COLUMNS

‘Westworld’ and ‘Black Mirror’: when the real world mirrors science fiction

Dec. 5, 2016

I don’t recall how or why I started watching “Black Mirror” and “Westworld;” only that I began both in an attempt to distract myself from finals week and was immediately hooked. Much like my introduction to “Game of Thrones” a few years ago, as soon as I began binging these shows, I found that everyone around me was talking about them, obsessing over fan theories and expressing the discomfort these fictional worlds instilled in them. Warning: spoilers ahead.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Drop your phone; enjoy the greenery across UF's campus while you still can

Dec. 5, 2016

For many students, a typical walk to class consists of a sigh of remorse and the comfort of sweet melodies seeping through some Apple headphones. With eyes locked on the pavement below, students make their walk in straight lines, firm in their mission to avoid confrontation by any means possible.

OPINION | EDITORIALS

Past, future and Simpsonwave

Dec. 5, 2016

As college students of the 21st century, we’re stuck in that weird place between a longing for nostalgia and anticipation of tomorrow’s technology via futurism. Perhaps one of the most hysterical and disturbingly beautiful products of this emotionally grappling crossroad is Simpsonwave.