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.
“I’m not mad, I’m just disappointed,” your father says, sitting down at the edge of the bed. “I was young once too, y’know.” He chuckles to himself. “I remember when I read my first Darts & Laurels. I was just 17, a freshman at UF. All my friends were reading the Alligator. I figured, if I read it too, maybe I’ll fit in. Maybe I’ll be cool.” He sighs and looks back at you. “You’ll always be my child, and I love you for that alone. But please, make good choices. Keep a good head on those shoulders. I know it’s harmless, but some good people get caught up in some bad things when they read…
Since I was 13 or so, I’ve done my best to be as involved as I could with music wherever I am. It started when my two friends and I were contacted via Myspace by a local guitarist’s girlfriend to see if we’d want to come see him play. We became good friends after that, and my friends and I sold his CDs at his gigs at the Daytona Beach Bandshell all summer. Through that, we met a lot of musicians and bands. We took every chance we got to see them play at the Bandshell, at the mall or any of the other venues my hometown had to offer to minors when its music scene was still thriving for the younger crowd. I lost connections with most of the musicians I met because I was so young when I started to get involved. But now that I’m a more appropriate age, I’m pretty immersed in the local music scenes of both Gainesville and the Daytona area, and I’ve never been happier.
It seems like each time I turn on the news, incidences of gun violence flood the screen. They happen with such frequency that they no longer feel unusual. Sometimes they are not even considered nationally newsworthy. Yet one this week caught my attention.
Pop quiz: Who said the following quote? “Leaders, true leaders, take responsibility for the success of the team and understand that they must also take responsibility for the failure.” Was it (a) Elon Musk, (b) Steve Jobs, (c) Mark Cuban or (d) Donald Trump? Given how topical the last choice was, those of you unfamiliar with the quote probably guessed correctly.
As someone who was raised by immigrant parents and has traveled abroad multiple times in her life, I am acutely aware of the average American’s geographic and cultural ignorance. This shouldn’t be a surprise to most people; after all, it is a subject of self-deprecating humor on late-night talk shows. We seem to be aware that the Average Joe can’t differentiate Iraq from Iran and thinks all Asian food comes from the same place. We laugh at him and take comfort in the fact that we know our Pad Thai isn’t Chinese, thank you very much. But are we really much better?
There is a massive philosophical question surrounding the use of stem cells in medical research. Part of this question exists because the communication of scientific information in this country is crap. The myths oftentimes are inseparable from the facts. This is why, embarrassingly enough for us, only 70 percent of Americans believe in climate change, while an overwhelming 97 percent of scientists accept it as valid.
Often, I like to ask people: How would the history of humanity have been different if discrimination never exited?
Solutions by The State News
