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Florida Alligator
Opinion

Person who wrote 'Cuban' on brick felt victimized by person who perverted meaning

By DEBORAH SWERDLOW | Jan. 28, 2010

I’m upset that Ana Laura Martinez was offended by the Writing on the Wall Project, but I’m even more upset that Martinez completely missed the point of the activity. The presence of the word “Cuban” on one of those bricks does not mean that the word itself is inherently offensive and derogatory. Instead, it means that the person who wrote “Cuban” on his/her brick felt offended when they heard someone say that word. This distinction is hardly about semantics. The difference is that the person who wrote “Cuban” on his or her brick felt victimized by the speaker, who perverted the meaning of a perfectly reasonable ethnic description.

Florida Alligator
Opinion

SG should find another way to raise fees for Reitz renovation

By MATT MINGUS | Jan. 28, 2010

If there’s any thinking going on behind the closed doors of the Unite Party, it’s clearly not very creative. Rather than offer fresh and innovative ideas about how to raise funds for a renovation of the Reitz Union, Student Body President Jordan Johnson’s Wednesday column in the Alligator recycled the same, tired rallying cry for a raise in student fees. He justified his position by using other Florida institutions as examples of “successful” fee-hiking campaigns. Instead of focusing his energy and Student Government position to encourage the Board of Trustees and the administration to search for financial solutions that would not further burden his constituency, Johnson has embraced the idea that the only way the Reitz can be renovated, his proclaimed “Heart of the Gator Nation,” is by adopting the usual go-to strategy of exploiting the labor of graduate employees. Johnson might claim to be grasping at “history,” but he is really reaching for the wallets of already underpaid and overworked graduate assistants who have rent to pay, classes to teach and families to feed. SG needs to stop showcasing its lack of originality and begin to serve as an example to other Florida universities in how it approaches these renovations, rather than justify a new fee simply because they can’t think of anything better.

Florida Alligator
Opinion

Protesters of the Writing on the Wall project missed the point

By ANDRE NOBLE | Jan. 28, 2010

What happens when a world becomes so PC (politically correct) that even symbols created to break down barriers come under fire? Well, we have 65 members of the PC police saying they’re offended that their nationality is represented on the Writing on the Wall. Besides the wall having the word Cuban, it also features “Jap,” “Nigger” and other racial epithets. What annoys me about these people is that they totally ignore the fact that the wall represents offensive phrases and words used against someone.

Florida Alligator
Opinion

Politicians support parties, not voters

By PAUL MURTY | Jan. 28, 2010

As long as I can remember, we have had terrible political divisions in our country. The only time Democrats and Republicans seem able to work together are in times of crisis, like after the attacks of Sept. 11 or Pearl Harbor. The politics of our country, specifically of Congress, are inherently wrong and against what Americans want.

Florida Alligator
Opinion

Darts and Laurels

By Alligator Editorial Board | Jan. 28, 2010

The Editorial Board has never been so happy to say TGIF. And we are in dire need of the weekend to rest and recuperate because it’s almost that time again, kids. It’s the most dreaded time of the semester. Yep, you guessed it — Student Government elections.

News

Dance Fever

By Steven H. Keys | Jan. 28, 2010

A pole-dancing instructor Rebecca Butler, 22, performs at French Addiction’s lingerie fashion show at The Laboratory on West University Avenue Tuesday night.

Sports

Pink means more for junior

By TOM GREEN< | Jan. 27, 2010

When the Gators take the floor Friday in the O’Connell Center for the fourth annual Gators Link to Pink meet, it will have a more significant meaning for junior Alicia Goodwin that the first two times she competing in it.

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