Sports
Column: The Dolphins’ season was an ugly, shameful success
By Matt Brannon | Jan. 8, 2017It’s hard to pinpoint exactly when Dolphins fans gave up hope on Sunday.
Opinion: Columns
Opinion
Stop comparing your success to others this new year
Jan. 8, 2017Happy New Year, and happy Monday! Welcome back, everybody. I’m sure you all have read plenty of pieces discussing New Year’s resolutions and their pros and cons. Most people seem to either love or hate the idea of these goals many of us set for ourselves. Some of us make a note on our phone and a sign for our bulletin board detailing our plan to better ourselves. Others claim that if we wanted to change ourselves, we would have started when we conceived the idea, rather than waiting until midnight on a specifi c day to start living our lives a certain way. Both of those opinions are valid, I think. Obviously, we don’t have to wait, but Jan. 1 seems as good a day as any to start living our lives the way we want. I’m not going to tell you that you should feel one way or the other, because, truth
Opinion
Gutting Affordable Care Act : a misguided thought
Jan. 8, 2017Repealing the Affordable Care Act could be disastrous, especially for those who make up most of Donald Trump’s supporters. Coal miners, many of whom voted for President-elect Trump, benefited from black lung benefits that were written into the ACA, also known as Obamacare. Similarly, there were subsidies for helping people afford plans. While not perfect, the health care law did solve many problems of the old system, such as cumbersome insurance applications and rejections for pre-existing conditions. U.S. adults often skip care and are sicker than adults in 11 other countries that were surveyed, according to the Commonwealth Fund. While Republicans are fans of American exceptionalism, they have yet to find a better plan than Obamacare or a single-payer system. Instead of working on a plan that could be an alternative to Obamacare, Republicans simply opposed it and called for a repeal, as if the health care system was perfect to begin with until Barack Obama messed it up.
Opinion
Should I stay or should I go: resisting the urge to live in Florida forever
Jan. 5, 2017During my time on campus thus far, I have come across very few individuals who have no desire to ever leave Florida. About 97 percent of UF students come from Florida, and many of the other 3 percent have lived in Florida in the past or have close family in-state, according to Study Point, a college-admissions website. As the premier university in this wonderful state, UF’s reputation dominates all markets up and down the peninsula. However, many students entertain the thought of starting their careers elsewhere. This is completely normal, as it is natural for young people to desire new landscapes, people and environments, but the level of longing for new sights and sounds seems to vary greatly among individuals.
Opinion
Nothing in life is certain but death — and ever-inflating textbook prices
Jan. 5, 2017Like every great work of academic literature, I’ll begin with the superfluous introduction to what lies ahead.
Opinion
Focus on the positives as we move into 2017
Jan. 5, 2017I was going to write a year in review. I was going to write about how crazy 2016 was with all of the atrocities that plagued our world, from our nation’s deadliest mass shooting in Orlando to everything that has been happening in war-torn Aleppo. I was going to write about how we lost popular-culture icons every month, from David Bowie in January to Debbie Reynolds at the tail end of December, and then we had an orange one elected to be president of the U.S. in between. I could have written all about every single bad thing that happened last year. I was going to, but then I realized that by doing that, I would be focusing on only the negative things that happened.
Opinion
My new-semester resolution: be present
Jan. 4, 2017I’ll be the first to admit it. I tend to think New Year’s resolutions are a bunch of malarkey — and thank you, Joe Biden, for popularizing that expressive phrase. By Jan. 10, I’ve forgotten half the goals I’ve set for myself, and then I begin to hate the other half of the vague intentions I’ve set. (e.g. “Really, Mia? You wanted to ‘worry less’ this year? And how are you going to accomplish that?”)
Sports
Column: Year two under McElwain wasn’t ideal, but successful nevertheless
By Ethan Bauer | Jan. 3, 2017As Jim McElwain made his way off the field following Monday’s Outback Bowl victory, players snuck up behind the second-year head coach and bathed him in blue Gatorade.
Sports
Column: UF is no better off than it was a year ago
By Patrick Pinak | Jan. 3, 2017Austin Appleby was asked a simple question after his final game as a Florida Gator: Where do you see Jim McElwain taking this program?
Opinion
Respect is for people, not ideas
Jan. 3, 2017Let’s talk about respect. For many people, college is the first time they find themselves amid a diverse population, expected to communicate their ideas in a meaningful way. The critical exchange of ideas is how we grow, and if respect is the compass with which we navigate these interactions, I think it is vital to take a closer look.
Opinion
I smoke cigarettes: A discussion about addiction
Jan. 3, 2017The other night I was biting my nails at a party. I was trying not to step outside and bum a cigarette. It had been five days since I last smoked. I had felt proud of myself earlier in the day, but the familiar feeling of intense craving welled up the second I stepped into the dimly lit apartment. Now, one hour into the soiree, sipping my second rum and coke, I was exhausted with small talk. I didn’t want to discuss my major, my post-graduation plans or my summer internship. I grimaced at the faux-floral stink of the scented candle in the corner, downed my cocktail and stepped onto the balcony. I saw a portly guy with a scraggly brown beard puffing away at a cigarette. I tried to play it cool.
Sports
Column: On things, both sporting and silly
By Alejandro López | Dec. 6, 2016I still remember that first phone call. It’d be hard not to, considering how much I didn’t want to field it.
Sports
Column: Writer, editor leaves after three years
By JORDAN MCPHERSON | Dec. 6, 2016I still have the emails from my freshman year — three of them from former alligatorSports editor Phillip Heilman.
Opinion
Appreciate the experiences that will later change your life
Dec. 6, 2016I’m going to go ahead and get the sappy cliches out of the way: All good things must come to an end. The end is just the start of another beginning. Don’t cry because it’s over; smile because it happened.
Opinion
Becoming part of something bigger than myself
Dec. 6, 2016Two years ago, I walked into the office of the Alligator on West University Avenue to take the copy-editing test. The copy desk chief at the time sat me in a small wood-paneled office that held rows of shelves lined with tall black books: about half of the archives of a student paper that’s been around for 110 years. Thankfully, I passed that test.
Opinion
Cherish the importance of journalism and its people
Dec. 6, 2016It was here I fell in love with my craft, my college and my colleagues, and it was here I realized journalism is far from over.
Opinion
‘Westworld’ and ‘Black Mirror’: when the real world mirrors science fiction
Dec. 5, 2016I don’t recall how or why I started watching “Black Mirror” and “Westworld;” only that I began both in an attempt to distract myself from finals week and was immediately hooked. Much like my introduction to “Game of Thrones” a few years ago, as soon as I began binging these shows, I found that everyone around me was talking about them, obsessing over fan theories and expressing the discomfort these fictional worlds instilled in them. Warning: spoilers ahead.
Opinion
Drop your phone; enjoy the greenery across UF's campus while you still can
Dec. 5, 2016For many students, a typical walk to class consists of a sigh of remorse and the comfort of sweet melodies seeping through some Apple headphones. With eyes locked on the pavement below, students make their walk in straight lines, firm in their mission to avoid confrontation by any means possible.
Opinion
The ideas behind UF’s Strategic Development Plan
Dec. 5, 2016In the aftermath of many months of planning, I’m both exhausted and exhilarated.
