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Impact and Inspire Party found in violation of campaign rules

Election season wasn’t over until six people made a decision.

A former bus driver lost her job but won the lawsuit. Will she get her job back?

More than three years after she was fired for slapping passengers’ hands, a Regional Transit System bus driver might get her job back.

Local LGBTQ advocate discusses problems with the recent transgender military ban

Student Government senators look to rename Reitz Union

The cancellation of a UF Student Senate meeting left the Reitz Union’s name unchanged — for now.

2020 candidates need to address gerrymandering as a big issue in politics

We’re well over a year away from the 2020 presidential election, but candidates are already jumping into the race. Last Monday, Sen. Kamala Harris announced her campaign for president on “Good Morning America.” Three weeks prior, Sen. Elizabeth Warren announced she was forming a presidential exploratory committee. And President Donald Trump filed his 2020 re-election paperwork on the day of his first inauguration in January 2017. As these candidates get their campaigns together and form their messages, they’ll have to decide which issues will be the most important ones in 2020. I’d like to make a suggestion for an issue they should place front and center in 2020: redistricting and gerrymandering.

Darts and Laurels: Jan. 25, 2019

It’s a short week and the sun is warm and shining down on Plaza of the Americas. The sweet sounds of guitars are playing in the air and friends are chatting on the lawn over their Krishna lunch. It is Spring semester, and the days are lazy and relaxed. The days seem to be moving just a little bit slower. You look over to your friends who are talking about their long weekend; and you begin to drown out the background noises. Your eyelids start to feel heavy as you soak in the warmth of the day.

DeSantis’ environmental order shows promise, but will it be effective?

Florida’s new governor has only been in office for a couple weeks and he’s been anything but idle. So far, he has (among other things): appointed three justices to the Florida Supreme Court, suspended three political officers, called for the legalization of smokable medical marijuana and announced a sweeping environmental program. It’s this last item I want to focus on.

So about that online voting thing...

Sometimes when I write these columns, I wish I could type away praising Student Government competence with rainbows, unicorns and classical music in the background.

Florida and how 2019 is righting wrongs

Every state and its government have issues that need to be addressed, and Florida is no exception. Florida has made a number of mistakes over its entire 173 years of existence as a part of the U.S., many of them concerning racism.

First Senate Judiciary meeting rejects online voting

Holes in the UF Student Body constitution were discovered at the first Senate Judiciary Committee meeting of 2019. Every decade, a commission meets to fill them.

Election recounts are tedious, but necessary

It’s been about a week and a half since Election Day, but that’s not I expected you to remember. Multiple recounts in Florida and around the nation have dragged out the elections. In the Florida governor’s race, Democratic candidate Andrew Gillum initially conceded the race to Republican Ron DeSantis but took back his concession after late-counted ballots narrowed the gap between the two candidates to 33,000 votes. Gillum re-conceded Saturday, after a machine recount (machine recounts are required under Florida law if the vote margin is below 0.5 percent) decided the election for DeSantis, with the final margin being above the 0.25 percent threshold for a manual recount. However, the races for Senator (between Democrat Bill Nelson and Republican Rick Scott) and Florida Agriculture Commissioner (between Democrat Nikki Fried and Republican Matt Caldwell) did fall under the 0.25 percent margin, triggering the first statewide manual recount in Florida history. Nelson has reportedly conceded after the recount gave Scott a 10,000 vote lead, while Fried seems all but certain to win with a 6,000 vote lead. This is despite the recount in Broward County going less than smoothly, with more than 2,000 missing ballots amid President Donald Trump’s claims that Democrats are trying to steal the election in Broward.

Darts and Laurels: November 2, 2018

You started Homecoming weekend by partying Friday night. It extended into Saturday morning, but the afternoon has already come calling. The sounds of tailgating and Homecoming weekend are beating down your door and begging to be let it in. These festivities wait for no Gator — they could not care less for your sleeping habits. You grumble to yourself and bunker your head under your pillow, but the fluffy shield doesn’t do much to dampen the subwoofers, excited yelling and the scent of hot dogs and hamburgers wafting through the window. You descend the stairs to investigate.

More than 200 people attended march at UF for Andrew Gillum on Friday

Holding two Andrew Gillum posters and a portable fan amid rain and humidity on Friday afternoon, Rachel Godskind came out to rally even though she already voted.

The amendments on November’s ballot are overly complicated, here’s why

Nov. 6 will be here before you know it, and Florida voters will have a lot of choices to make. Several of these choices will be on amendments to Florida’s constitution. According to Miami Sun-Sentinel, there will be 12 amendments on the ballot in November, numbered from 1 to 7, and 9 to 13 (Amendment 8 was removed from the ballot by the Florida Supreme Court). These amendments cover a variety of topics, from government meeting dates, to vaping, and dog racing. The problem: the individual amendments also jump around in topic.

Lara Alqasem will not be deported from Israel after Supreme Court ruling

UF alumna Lara Alqasem was granted permission to enter Israel after being detained for more than two weeks in an Israeli airport. 

UF graduate to face the Israeli Supreme Court

After two denied appeals and nearly two weeks living in Ben Gurion Airport’s detainment center, UF graduate Lara Alqasem will have her final hearing. 

We need a UN ambassador with a global perspective

Earlier this week, United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley announced that she plans to resign from her position at the end of the year. For President Donald Trump, her future departure means the loss  of one of the highest-ranking women in his administration. This is an unfavorable blow to an administration already ridiculed for appointing a Supreme Court Justice accused of sexual assault.

Let’s be serious about looking out for each other

In my almost-four years in college, I’ve learned a lot about friendship — the friends who have withstood the test of time and distance, the best friends, the acquaintances (and maybe even the frenemies) — and what it means to be a reliable friend. 

Supreme Court Kavanaugh

Christine Blasey Ford is sworn in before the Senate Judiciary Committee, Thursday, Sept. 27, 2018 in Washington. (Win McNamee/Pool Image via AP)

UF reacts to Kavanaugh-Ford hearings

The U.S. and UF stopped when Christine Blasey Ford took a stand.