Opinions - The Independent Florida Alligator

OPINION | COLUMNS

February relationship series: love and friendship, two sides of the same coin

Feb. 9, 2017

When we think about relationships, the word that often comes to mind is love. It can give us a sense of purpose, bring out the noblest parts of us and reveal things we never knew about ourselves. Too often, however, we think of love applying only to our romantic partners. In honor of everyone else, I’d like to talk this week about friendship.

OPINION | LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Get informed on block tuition

Feb. 9, 2017

As a recent UF graduate, I was disappointed in the Alligator’s coverage last week of the proposed Florida Senate Bill 02 (SB02), a legislative proposal to implement “block tuition,” which would charge a flat rate for tuition for full-time students regardless of the number of credit hours they take. When block tuition was proposed in the 2010-2011 school year, UF students fought hard against it and won. It seems the saying is true: Bad ideas never really go away, they just get recycled. Did the Alligator look for any specifics on how this would financially affect students? Because there are a lot of unanswered questions about how this would be implemented.

OPINION | EDITORIALS

Judicial review is government at work

Feb. 8, 2017

In today’s lesson plan, we are going to be covering the U.S. Government. It’s become clear in the past few weeks that a lot of Americans are not entirely aware of how the government functions. It has, after all, been a long time since seventh-grade civics or senior-year Advanced Placement U.S. Government. And unless you have some aspirations in politics or listen to the “Hamilton” soundtrack regularly, there might be some holes in your memory.

OPINION | COLUMNS

You can be angry, but be fair and listen to others

Feb. 8, 2017

Americans have spent a lot of time fuming these past few weeks. I know I did. A flurry of executive actions by President Donald Trump saw the reinstatement of the Keystone and Dakota Access pipelines, a press blackout and grant-freezing at the Environmental Protection Agency, a head-scratching reorganization of the National Security Council, a backward withdraw of funding for essential aid organizations in the developing world and a broad-stroked travel ban that at its best bars legal U.S. residents from returning home and at its worst sees America turning its back on its founding principles.

OPINION | COLUMNS

The notion of freedom is not what we think it is

Feb. 7, 2017

Who has watched a cellphone commercial that advertised limited texting and data? Who has been upset at Chick-fil-A for not being open on Sundays or Chipotle for not being open all night? If Netflix or Hulu had a time limit — you could only watch a certain number of shows per week — would people subscribe? Would there be protests if Amazon imposed a delivery ban past a certain time or if you ordered multiple packages within a month’s period? Or if buffets and “have it your way” food services became extinct? What if the internet shut off globally at 10 p.m. every night, what then? How would we respond?

OPINION | EDITORIALS

Navigating the realm of political memes

Feb. 7, 2017

On this day and age of fast and constant information, news and important facts tend to get diluted. After all, most people turn to Facebook for news, scrolling through their feed and clicking on whatever bit of news interests them. Of course, there are positives to this new way of getting information. News travels a lot faster and is more accessible. People can do research on almost any topic by just sliding open their phone and pull up the internet. This information can be accessed at one’s own pace, convenience and frequency.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Venting through journal writing and coming to terms with the 'new normal’

Feb. 6, 2017

It’s obvious the past few months have initiated our transition into a sort of new normal. Several of my fellow columnists have addressed it, and I have spent plenty of time trying to come to terms with it. More often than not, this “coming to terms” has taken the form of scrolling through Facebook and growing increasingly anxious with every news article, political post and comment war I encounter. Unsurprisingly, this unhealthy routine has left me not only emotionally drained but also stressed as hell. So as a result, I’ve found myself at a crossroad where I’m forced to choose either my sanity or the responsibility of being an informed citizen — but not both.

OPINION | COLUMNS

After receiving an act of kindness, pass it on

Feb. 6, 2017

About two weeks ago, I was just driving around and taking care of a few errands with a friend of mine. We were coming from Publix, and I forgot to get something, so we stopped by the little CVS on 13th street. As we got out of the car, we both heard a hissing noise and soon discerned it was my tire. I ran over a nail. My tire was flat, and it was the largest blemish in the face of a great day. I finally had time last week to take care of my flat tire Wednesday. I mean, I had the spare on, but I had to take care of getting a new, used tire. I was getting a used tire because I was in the process of selling that heap of junk. Anyway, I called a few used tire places to find the cheapest price on a tire and the replacement fee. I eventually ended up at some place near downtown, walked in, and then what was once a nuisance turned into a great experience.

OPINION | EDITORIALS

Bernie Sanders wouldn’t have won the Super Bowl

Feb. 6, 2017

Sunday night was one of the most watched events on American television. No, not “Harry Potter” weekend. It was the 51st Super Bowl. Now, this heralded American tradition comes around once a year, and people gather for parties with seven-layer dip and a six-pack of beer. Some people follow their teams with a fanatic devotion. Others look at the two playing and pick the one that they like the most (or hate the least). A few non-sports people who still want in on the excitement double up on their friends’ opinions. Whatever the method of picking teams, more than a hundred million Americans gathered around their televisions for a night of high-stakes rivalry and entertaining commentary.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Don't give up on the truth: We must continue to defend it to the end

Feb. 5, 2017

I am attending school to become a journalist. This was not always my goal. I went through phases, as most children and adolescents do. My doctor phase was by far the longest and most involved phase. I was pre-med for one semester before I jumped ship and realized my heart wasn’t in the right place to succeed and be happy in that career. I took a journey from the Chemistry Lab Building to Weimer Hall, and I never looked back.

OPINION | COLUMNS

We must support our public schools: Here’s how

Feb. 5, 2017

Today, President Donald Trump’s nominee for secretary of education, Betsy DeVos, advances to her final confirmation vote in the U.S. Senate. Public outcry against DeVos has exploded in a big way (or, to borrow an expression from our president, “big league” or “bigly” or whatever). A spokesman for Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said the Senate received about 1.5 million calls every day last week; a staff member of Sen. Bob Casey, D-Pa., said his office received 80,000 letters pertaining solely to DeVos’ nomination. With a likely 50-50 split for and against her confirmation, Vice President Mike Pence might just make an unprecedented journey to the Senate floor to break the tie for a cabinet nominee.

OPINION | EDITORIALS

How Donald Trump seduced America

Feb. 5, 2017

Enough with the Adolf Hitler, Voldemort and Emperor Palpatine comparisons. We’re going to go a little old school now, like pre-20th century. We’re going to do an old-fashioned literary analysis by comparing our president to a Byronic hero.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Government-sponsored art is worth encouraging

Feb. 2, 2017

For the most part, my political views can be summarized by simply saying, “The less government, the better.” This applies to almost everything from education to health care, but a recent trip to Washington, D.C. may have caused a slight shift in that view.

OPINION | DARTS LAURELS

Darts & Laurels - February 3, 2017

Feb. 2, 2017

It’s hour eight in Library West. (Or is it hour nine? You cannot recall.) Your vision is hazy. You’re on your third cold-brew of the night, although by now it’s earlier morning. Your blue Study Edge notes are littered around, and the student from across the table from you groans and plops his head down on his textbook. He is lost. There is no recovery. You know you are next. Frantically, you turn away from your notes, trying to find anything that’s not Physics 2, and your eyes come across this week’s…

OPINION | COLUMNS

In the middle of a stressful term, work hard to smoke those weed-out classes

Feb. 2, 2017

Your failures are never final — unless, of course, you failed your final.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Think twice before painting all media as fake; journalism is all we've got left

Feb. 2, 2017

I’ll be blunt: Our country is out of whack right now, and I’m petrified.

OPINION | EDITORIALS

A disclaimer: Don’t romanticize darker aspects of fiction

Feb. 1, 2017

What I say today might sound a little hypocritical. I am going to discuss why people should stop comparing the current political climate to fiction. This seems a bit counterintuitive, since I spent the past few Thursdays comparing aspects of American politics and culture to two staple dystopian novels.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Take time to disconnect: a week in the woods

Feb. 1, 2017

When was the last time you were truly alone? I’m not talking about the last time you were by yourself. I assume every person spends some time each day unaccompanied, whether it be sleeping, studying late at night or using the bathroom (I hope). Yet most of the time, although we might be physically by ourselves, we aren’t actually alone. We’re constantly plugged into our phones and computers, communicating with others via text message, email or Snapchat. It’s a relentless barrage of electronic sensation and information.

OPINION | EDITORIALS

Make art, not war: the aesthetics of a Asocial movement

Jan. 31, 2017

As celebrities make bold statements about social movements and activism, sometimes we wonder: What good does it all do? There have been calls to use art to spread a message, as a call to action, but what good is a story or a picture in the long run? Though actors,

OPINION | COLUMNS

Part three: Observations in modern-day Cuba

Jan. 31, 2017

Proponents of the regime claim that Fidel Castro’s revolution won Cuba freedom, a word choice that is bewildering to hear considering the individual liberties repressed by the totalitarian government. Predictably, a Havana bookstore we visited lacked works containing ideas incompatible with communism. Next to Trotsky and Marx, there was a title that argued there was in fact democracy in Cuba because the island has a “democratic economy,” contrasting it to the economy of the U.S.