Opinions - The Independent Florida Alligator

OPINION | EDITORIALS

Committing to due diligence reporting for Pride

By Jiselle Lee , Kristine Villarroel and Jackson Reyes | June 12, 2023

Last week, The Alligator published a paper with an emphasis on LGBTQ stories. We featured nonbinary drag queens, covered state trans legislation, local Pride info sessions and more. We’re proud to publish these stories our staff worked hard on. We’re honored to cover the stories about our local communities.

OPINION | COLUMNS

We want a seat at the table

By Jackson Reyes | May 22, 2023

At first glance, most people I’ve met don’t realize I’m an Asian American, which led to my desire to embrace my Filipino identity. It pushed me to learn more about that side of my heritage. It was something I was proud to represent in my accomplishments, such as graduating high school and attending UF.

OPINION | EDITORIALS

Representation matters

By Joe Newman | May 22, 2023

Representation matters. Having two top editors of Asian descent for the first time in The Alligator’s 117-year history matters. Their voices, their perspectives and life experiences matter – not only for their newsroom but for the UF community.

OPINION | COLUMNS

It’s about time

By Jiselle Lee | May 22, 2023

Despite the enormous efforts the community has made to establish its presence, The Alligator has lacked consistent coverage of AAPI people in the Gainesville community. Admittedly, this is the result of an inconsistent amount of AAPI reporters on our staff from semester to semester.

OPINION | COLUMNS

My life is really a slice-of-life movie

By Kyle Bumpers | Apr. 24, 2023

April 24, 2022, I got an email asking me to interview for The Alligator. A year later, I’m publishing my goodbye column in this semester’s final paper. My driver’s license might read the same name, but the kid who got that email isn’t the same as the one typing this column.

OPINION | COLUMNS

The Alligator kept me sane

By Aurora Martínez | Apr. 24, 2023

I’m leaving this place knowing I’ll miss it with every fiber of my being. And in all honesty, I’ll probably forget which stories we worked on, but I won’t forget how much I grew with you.

OPINION | COLUMNS

If walls could talk

By Alan Halaly | Apr. 24, 2023

Those walls, though some now covered in mold, know The Alligator’s newsroom isn’t for the weak. It’s a pressure cooker of immensely talented, high-strung 20-somethings trying to launch a career in a field where you’re told to do cartwheels for pennies.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Dear diary, saying goodbye sucks

By Veronica Nocera | Apr. 24, 2023

Two years ago, I thought I would stick with The Alligator right up until graduation, but sometimes finish lines come sooner than expected. I never wanted to be a name on the masthead, but sometimes cards just fall a certain way.

OPINION | COLUMNS

I am so tired

By Christian Casale | Apr. 24, 2023

I could say I put in all this work to serve the UF and Gainesville communities, which would be noble. I could say I did it all for the clips and for a career after graduation, which would be cynical, but understandable in this dying industry. But neither is exactly true. I did it because the people around me were doing it.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Look Mom, I’m in a newspaper

By Jack Lemnus | Apr. 24, 2023

As a senior who always felt late to the game, I spent the last year hustling to catch up. It seemed like everyone started writing for The Alligator in their first year, interned at a newspaper in their second and had a job lined up by their last. But despite the setbacks, I’ve grown more this semester at The Alligator than any other.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Where We Stand

Apr. 17, 2023

In a place like north central Florida, our connection to the environment is everything. It surrounds everyday life no matter who you are — a UF student here to get your degree and leave or a longtime Alachua County resident.

Gabriella Aulisio (center) poses with her flag football team, The Steelers, at the YMCA Sports Complex fields on Archer Road in 2008.

OPINION | COLUMNS

As the climate changes, so does Gainesville

By Gabriella Aulisio | Apr. 17, 2023

Places I grew up with — places that defined me and built me to be the nature-loving, outdoor going, multi-sport playing girl I am — are no longer there.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Before it’s too late

By Colleen Anderson | Apr. 17, 2023

Before my generation, young people weren’t given a platform to share their lived experiences. With the rise of digital media, however, this dated norm is being erased.

OPINION | COLUMNS

A note from Gainesville’s mayor

By Harvey Ward | Apr. 17, 2023

When it comes to climate change here in Gainesville, it often seems like we’re whistling past the graveyard.

OPINION | COLUMNS

GAU deserves a voice, too

By Rachel Hartnett | Apr. 10, 2023

At this moment, GAU is fighting for the first amendment rights of students and workers and for UF’s core values.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Is Florida where higher education goes to die?

By Oliver Grundmann | Apr. 10, 2023

In recent years, the Florida legislature and Gov. Ron DeSantis have made the state exceptional through a political agenda that is detrimental to the people of Florida — bills that have already been enacted.

OPINION | EDITORIALS

Paging Dr. Sasse…

By The Alligator Editorial Board | Apr. 10, 2023

Ever since Ben Sasse, a former Republican U.S. senator from Nebraska, took office, there’s been a president-sized hole left in much of the UF community.

OPINION | COLUMNS

There is something happening here in Florida: attacking academic freedom

By John A. Nackashi | Mar. 29, 2023

Gov. Ron DeSantis and the GOP state legislature have advanced Florida House Bill 999 to restrict higher education academic freedom.

OPINION | COLUMNS

What Women’s History month looks like at UF

By Ebonee Brown | Mar. 28, 2023

March marks a month to commemorate the transformative achievements of women to the world and even our very own university. Women’s History Month celebrates the observance and celebration of interventions made by women in our culture.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Women’s History Month: What is UF standing for?

By Juliann Carpenter | Mar. 20, 2023

Despite how great we are, we are looked down upon when we exhibit natural human characteristics considered "unladylike." We’re criticized for not acting soft, pretty, gentle or caring. We're stripped from our feminine identity when we favor something or act in a way that’s stereotypically masculine.