Opinion: Columns - The Independent Florida Alligator

Opinion

Guest column: Cop and Shaq shoot it out in Florida

Mar. 17, 2016

This is going to be an amazing year for the Constitutional Sheriffs and Peace Officers Association, and we want to thank everyone for making that possible. One of the greatest things I have learned from the CSPOA is the proper role of law enforcement. As a young child, I grew up with two Florida Highway Patrol officers as parents and a longtime friend who was a Marion County deputy sheriff. Though I never worked the beat, I did hear stories and saw how they carried themselves.

Sports

Column: CTE evidence will lead to fall of football

By Ethan Bauer | Mar. 16, 2016

For many years, the NFL followed in the footsteps of the tobacco industry.

Opinion

Column: The major problem with populism

Mar. 16, 2016

Until this election cycle, populism, the strategy to appeal to the general population, was a term mostly directed to the dusty bookshelves of American history or parties only present in European politics, like Podemos.

Opinion

Column: This is not the end of Marco Rubio

Mar. 16, 2016

Marco Rubio: The GOP’s golden boy, the Republican pride of the Sunshine State, the Florida-born master of politics, carefully set up by those before him to lead a new generation.

Opinion

Column: The legitimacy of political science

Mar. 15, 2016

If asked about their latest views on quantitative easing in the Federal Reserve, most people wouldn’t have an opinion. The same thing can be said about the latest breakthroughs in particle physics, medical technology or any area of science for that matter. On the other hand, if politics comes up, people will adamantly share their opinion — informed or not — on what they believe to be right.

Opinion

Column: Take a chance, give audiobooks a try

Mar. 15, 2016

When I was in elementary school, I spent a lot of time in the car. Whether it was driving my siblings and myself to the various interests that occupied our time, such as dance class or soccer practice, driving us all to school and back every day like an absolute saint, or driving the family off across the country on vacation, my lovely, self-sacrificing parents did a lot of driving three young, talkative, easily riled-up kids around. Not to sound like someone who despises technology — because I don’t — but they managed to do this day in and day out without the helpful distraction of an iPad for small, sticky fingers to latch onto. I applaud their self-control, and I must remember to call home more often.

Opinion

Column: Why are we fascinated by anti-heroes?

Mar. 14, 2016

Whether you like it or not, we live in a cultural climate dominated by the anti-hero. Not to be confused with a full-blown villain, an anti-hero by definition lacks the upright moral character and endearing qualities of the traditional heroes we’ve come to know so well in mainstream culture. This quite often takes the form of questionable means to an end, an unpredictable narrative trajectory and unsavory moral flaws.

Opinion

Guest Column: The importance of women's history in building the feminist movement

Mar. 14, 2016

History teaches us lessons about how people organized to change the world — lessons in victories and lessons in failures. The women’s liberation movement made innumerable gains for women, from being able to wear pants on campus and having credit in our own names to having access to birth control in marriage. But the point isn’t just to learn about history; it’s to use that knowledge to change — and make — history. We can learn from the victories of previous movements, adopt their techniques and improve them if necessary. We can study our predecessors’ failures, analyze them and make sure not to repeat them.

Opinion

Column: To disparage bad wind is really dis-gust-ing

Mar. 14, 2016

Whoa. Where am I? Just a minute ago, I was walking down University Avenue, but before I knew it, I blacked out and woke up in the opinions section of the Alligator.

Opinion

Column: Our various technologies prohibit introspection

Mar. 13, 2016

We live lives without half-lives.

Opinion

Column: Why UF Law is still worth it

Mar. 13, 2016

Two weeks ago, the UF Levin College of Law hosted its first Double Gator Reception, an event in which professors, administrators, alumni and potential law students could meet and mingle.

Opinion

Column: The differences between Sanders and Clinton on incarceration

Mar. 13, 2016

The U.S. has the second-highest prison population rate, according to the Institute for Criminal Policy Research and the World Prison Brief. While the U.S. touts itself as the “home of the free,” this seems contradictory to American values. Mass incarceration is a lose-lose problem: Those who are needlessly incarcerated lose the ability to integrate easily into society and the taxpayers are footing the bill for something that ultimately does not make us any safer. According to the University of Chicago Crime Lab, the costs for housing an inmate can be around $30,000 a year, but this does not take into account the social costs of high rates of incarceration.

Opinion

Column: Internalized misogyny: common comments and why they’re bad

Mar. 10, 2016

We’re all guilty of it. Even a diehard feminist like myself has the occasional “ugh, get a load of her” moment when confronted with a scantily clad girl at a party. Internalized misogyny is the act of women elevating the status of men through demeaning the value of other women. At its most overt, internalized misogyny manifests as women openly tearing down other women. However, a far more subtle manifestation exists in the remarks women make day to day. It’s so subtle we may not even realize what we’re doing. In this column, I’m going to identify three very common internally misogynistic remarks I’ve heard — and made! — and explain the damage they do to feminism.

Opinion

Column: Exit stage right, exit stage left

Mar. 10, 2016

Recent polls indicate the U.K. is leaning closer toward exiting the European Union, and June 23, Britons may decide to do just that via national referendum. The odds seem to be against this. Britons overall have a long history of being supportive toward remaining part of the Union, but with the most recent Telegraph poll, indicating about 49 percent of Britons favor leaving, the U.K.’s status in Europe — and by extension, the world — appears tenuous.

Opinion

Column: America's voting age should be raised

Mar. 9, 2016

"The best argument against democracy is a five-minute conversation with the average voter.” —Winston Churchill

Opinion

Column: Books to counter anti-abortionists

Mar. 8, 2016

I was going to take time in this column to wow my potential reader with the concept of the “Library Bar”: a holy sanctuary of alcoholic beverages and dog-eared, good-smelling books, which would have been gloriously fun to write about.

Opinion

Column: Read a damn book and feed your mind

Mar. 8, 2016

Just like the stomach, the human brain needs nourishment.

Opinion

Column: English is not the American national language

Mar. 8, 2016

"You want to be in America, A) You’d better be here legally or you’re out of here; B) When you’re here, let’s speak American.” — Sarah Palin

Sports

Column: Separation of church and state championships — when religion and sports collide

By Ethan Bauer | Mar. 7, 2016

Sports and religion rarely come into direct conflict.

Opinion

Column: How hard is it to recycle a bottle?

Mar. 7, 2016

Sometime in elementary school or one summer day while visiting a zoo and being shown a cute and cuddly endangered animal, children have been taught how they can do their part to save the environment for the past two decades. All they have to do is throw trash in the correct containers. Unfortunately, it seems many forget this important lesson somewhere down the road.