Bonnaroo, Lollapalooza, Glastonbury, Coachella: The names sound like exotic, tribal get-togethers deep in a rainforest and, frankly, that description is not far off.
Last month, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act (JASTA), which would allow families of 9/11 victims to sue Saudi Arabia for its alleged complicity in the terrorist attacks. President Barack Obama vetoed the bill, arguing it would not only undermine strong diplomatic relations with Saudi Arabia, but it would also weaken the long-standing tradition of sovereign immunity: the legal doctrine that no foreign nation can be held responsible from civil suit of prosecution. However, the veto was overridden by an overwhelming margin — 97-1 in the Senate and 348-77 in the House.
I’m going to come out and admit something I usually only share with close friends: I role-play online. Now before you start thinking I spend time on Neopets forums, let me briefly explain the type of role-playing I do. I role-play through Tumblr. Each character I play has a different blog, and I’m part of a larger group in which each person has a handful of characters with their own blogs. When it comes to actually role-playing, it goes like this: I write a scene through my character’s perspective, then whoever I am role-playing with writes the same scene through their character’s point of view and advances it. This keeps on going until the thread finishes.
Late Monday night, an angry mob assembled on the streets of Pennsylvania State University.
Popular culture shapes a lot of the comedy around us, obviously. Plenty of TV shows make references to current events, and plenty more harken to other decades to appeal to an older crowd. Weekly shows like “Saturday Night Live” thrive off of popular culture; it’s a show that’s stayed relevant for more than 40 years by doing so. Period pieces take the culture of a past era and convey that era to a modern audience.
It was astonishing, the vice presidential debate between Tim Kaine and Mike Pence. It looked oddly familiar. It looked nothing like the debate between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump a few weeks ago. No, this debate was full of substance, political theory and, for the most part, well-developed arguments. Kaine and Pence got on that stage and actually looked like what two respectable candidates ought to. It seems the debate we watched Tuesday is the debate we had traditionally been watching. For once, we felt nostalgic.
Many students at UF have taken statistics classes at some point in their lives. Whether they came to UF with AP Statistics credits in their back pockets or took Introduction to Statistics 1 here, it’s comforting to know that those in our campus environment acknowledge and respect statistical truth, even if, by taking those classes, they understand how easily manipulated statistics can be. Regardless, the website FiveThirtyEight, created by statistical superstar Nate Silver, published an article yesterday with a gripping headline: “People Who Oppose Gay Marriage Are Less Likely To Value Expert Opinion.”
I was a freshman and walking to my first-ever college party. It was 9 p.m., and I approached the apartment complex slowly. I stuck my hand into the pocket of my dark-green army jacket and fiddled with the half-filled pack of Marlboro Lights with two joints pushed to the corners. I figured I should bring something to be polite, but I had no way of obtaining a bottle of wine or a six-pack of beer.
This past week I had some free time and enjoyed watching TV. I have been paying more attention to the new commercials and publicity displayed in the media.
As students, learning is not only done in the classroom through courses by professors, but also in extracurricular activities. A conference, for instance, might give students new insights, too. In a typical class, achieving the best academic performance is the largest goal for every student, accomplished by completing assignments, class participation, discussion and exams.
Fads come and go. In 2016, some of the best moments can be had sitting on the Plaza of the Americas, watching people as they stroll all the way from Anderson Hall to Turlington Plaza, selfie stick in hand, to document this fascinating migration. Fitbits must always be on, because how else would people keep track of how many calories they burned playing “Pokemon Go”? Why not let everyone know what you just did by sending them a Snapchat with that puppy-dog face?
Hey, Gators!
The political climate we find ourselves in today is radically binary; for this, we must give thanks to the luminary influence of this presidential election. There seems to be much class, racial and ideological resentment, all of which are rising to the surface of the American conscience. Sadly, all it took for such contempt to become public and commonplace was an election. The vitriol with which both sides of the aisle — both sides — hate the other candidate, party and platform simply boggles my mind.
If you are like most students heading back to school this Fall, you have a lot going on. For many people, that includes studying for classes, extracurricular activities, hanging out with friends and Fall football games. But as Fall starts to wind down, you will start looking forward to visiting friends and family back home for the holidays. The problem with traveling is that it can be quite expensive. But, there are ways to save on your travel expenses, and your credit card (or future credit card) is a great place to start.
Animal rights advocacy can be for everyone.
Perhaps one of the biggest reasons the “Star Wars” franchise is so well-celebrated is its character depth. In the latest installment, “The Force Awakens,” the two protagonists meet Han Solo and ask themselves whether he is a “war hero” or a “smuggler.” It’s a chuckle-inducing conversation. We remember the quasi-duality of Han Solo in the original trilogy. He was a renegade, a drinker, a gamblin’ man and a cheat. Solo, while certainly a pretty face, had all the charisma and romantic prowess of a drunken fraternity brother. His irresponsibility, lack of foresight and self-important cavalier attitude expressed arrogance and a blatant disregard for other people’s lives. Said plainly: Han Solo was kind of a d-----. More “smuggler” than “war hero,” without a doubt.
How many times have we been told, “You get out what you put in”? This applies to so many aspects of life, from friendships and romantic relationships to academics and physical fitness. The validity of this statement is widely accepted; it is honestly difficult to dispute. It’s logical, and it continues to prove itself right, time after time.
Nephew, I don’t want you to know a world made up in shades of one color. Blue like sadness, like masculinity, like rigid gender norms and small minds. Really, I do not want you to grow up to be an a------.
Considering how many people in our society experience college, I find it interesting just how few novels are written with collegiate settings. I recently finished the book “Loner” by Teddy Wayne, which offers quite a frightening perspective on certain people and places around us. This novel is not a cute 200-page story that takes place at an elite university, but is instead a disturbing portrait of a notable chunk of our culture. What makes this book successful is its dynamic main character, a Harvard University freshman named David Federman. To call Federman a first-class narcissist, entitled braggart, unreliable narrator and know-it-all would be putting it lightly.
On Wednesday morning, the world lost a great man; a man bigger than politics, whose name alone is synonymous with the state of Israel.
Solutions by The State News
