Since June has become the month of soccer for Europe and the Americas, many have dusted off their national flag sweatsuits and vuvuzelas. However, for U.S. fans, it’s difficult to start parading around with American flag capes. The U.S. needs better players, and to get them, Americans have to play soccer.
The end of the world: We tease the idea here in the opinions section every now and again. Like in our opening editorial of Summer A and C—we mentioned an apocalypse was sure to come because Ted Cruz and John Kasich dropped out of the Republican presidential primary. Well, here’s the thing: We may have cried wolf a little bit.
Hello my dearest readers. To everybody returning to Gainesville, let me be the first to welcome you back to our humble home. To all of the freshmen who just graduated from high school, don’t worry; the worst (the move-in process with crying mothers, silent fathers and impatient siblings) is behind you. Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Zach, but you can call me Zachary. I write a weekly op-ed column here in your soon-to-be most favorite newspaper, The Independent Florida Alligator. Congratulations on beginning your collegiate journey by joining us in the wonderful, religiously drunken pilgrimage that is Summer B.
Hello, Gator Nation, and welcome to Summer B!
The United Kingdom’s referendum to leave the European Union, or the “Brexit,” as it has been affectionately called, has been a long time coming with strangely not a lot of attention throughout the world until it happened.
Universities don’t teach the one concept most important in our world and in our personal lives.
I wouldn’t be the person I am today without my father. Countless studies over the past decade point to the fact that the possibilities for my future improved tremendously because my dad was simply there for me during my childhood. Parents determine the destiny of their children in the years when kids try to make a sense of this world. Fathers traditionally play half the role in parenting, but their role is often underrated.
How do we have a Darts & Laurels today, while we still grieve over those we lost in Orlando, while we painstakingly hold our breath for those still in recovery. The rest of the country can move on, but how do we? It happened right here at home. How did those in Newtown, Connecticut, or Charleston, South Carolina, move on when mass murder devastated their lives?
There is a Swahili proverb: “The world is a field of chaos.” With my eyes I see it is so, and with all my heart I wish it wasn’t the case.
Hey Gator Nation!
Let’s be honest, getting offers for free or discounted things online or in the mail can be pretty exciting. As you move forward in your financial life, you will start to get more and more offers for things like new cars, insurance options and instant approval credit card offers. Most of these offers are easy to disregard, as they include major financial decisions you have to make when the time is right for you.
Sunday morning Orlando became the center of another massive shooting, something that seems to have become an occupational hazard of American life. While the details are still coming in about the deaths and injuries, and the whole story is not yet clear, a couple things are.
Wow, has it really been a week since our last talk? I feel like so much has happened! I don’t know if 650 words are going to be enough to express my discontent with three latest controversies: the gorilla, the rapist and the two hair-dyed blondes that could possibly be president.
Twenty first-graders attending school in Newtown, Connecticut. Then, it was a family and pedestrians in Santa Monica, California. Twelve more at a Washington, District of Columbia, naval yard. Three at Fort Hood, Texas. A long-planned mass-murder at Isla Vista, California.
Dear readers, we’re nearing the end. Five weeks into Summer A. It’s already almost over: crazy, right? It’s time to hit the books and try to pull some miracles in these classes so that we can all go back to enjoying what summer is truly about… never-ending rain?
In light of the controversy around the Stanford rape case, it’s amusing to observe Americans wonder why there are many in our country who don’t have an ounce of respect for the justice system.
My gosh, it’s been hot these past few months. It must be from that El Niño. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 13 of the 15 highest monthly temperature anomalies have occurred since February 2015. Unfortunately, Australia’s Bureau of Meteorology declared El Niño finished on May 24. Opponents of the existence of climate change have blamed abnormalities, climate and weather since 2014 on El Niño. Now that it has ended, politicians may actually have to respond to Mother Nature.
Well, dear readers, this is it. We’re calling it. The end is nigh — and not the cool kind of Nye we all know and love from probably the only thing we liked in elementary school more than recess: “Bill! Bill! Bill!” (If this reference went over your head, you need some more science and bowties in your life!) But for real, the coming months are basically life-or-death… or move to Canada.
If you ask the average person on the street what the definition of democracy is, they will usually include answers such as “one person, one vote” and the rights of citizens. While these may be true, there is a lot more to successful democracy than just the basic definitions that are popular to the general public. Things such as rule of law and peaceful transition of power to an opponent are key in order for democracy to continue without slipping into authoritarianism.
One of the less “typical” courses available here at UF is titled “Harry Potter and the Holocaust.” I’ve had the privilege of taking it. While I could write a column about that class alone — send an email, and maybe I will — there’s one theme I want to ramble about this week.
Solutions by The State News
