The motto of the informative and highly addictive TED Talks is “ideas worth spreading.” Gainesville’s independent offshoot — TEDxUF — had plenty of ideas worth writing home about. Some of the area’s best and brightest took to the stage Saturday and shared their experiences, concerns and hopes for the future.
One good quip that came from John Mayer’s song “The Heart of Life” was “Fear is a friend who’s misunderstood.”
Like most students, I rarely pay attention to UF politics. However, when someone promises me there’s more than what meets the eye, I try to understand what’s going on.
Syria is rife with civil unrest. Many archaeological sites have been looted, museums are being damaged, and artifacts are being stolen. During times of war, cultural heritage is left defenseless. Islamic landmarks like the Umayyad Mosque, the old city of Aleppo and the Krak des Chavaliers — a crusader castle — have all been damaged by bombs and theft.
Is Gov. Rick Scott so concerned about his chances at re-election that his appointees need to prevent early voting on UF’s campus? After the Florida’s Division of Elections announced last week the Reitz couldn’t be an early voting location for Gainesville’s upcoming municipal elections, it certainly appears that way.
If you Google “Valentine’s Day sex,” you’ll get about 312 million results. That’s a lot of ideas.
There are two kinds of people: those who will admit they care about fashion and those who care about fashion but don’t know it.
A rising tide to lift all yachts?
“Lame duck” is too misleading a description of the remaining years of President Barack Obama’s time in office. Labeling a term “lame duck” implies that nothing will get done in Washington, and everyone knows it. The truth is, nothing will indeed happen, but the chief executive will try everything in his power to convince you otherwise.
Last week in the Alligator’s GatorAid advice column, Leslie Cole responded to an anonymous student’s question, “I’m a girl, but I’m not 21. What are good old-fashioned ways to have fun without drinking?”
As Gov. Rick Scott gears up for his 2014 re-election campaign, his primary focus has shifted away from dealing with the many critical issues our state faces. Instead, he has decided to devote the bulk of his energy toward fundraising for his re-election bid in advance of the November election.
The U.S. federal government is not known for always making the best choices. In some states, it’s legal to marry your first cousin but not a member of the same sex. However, one of America’s biggest flubs is the propagation of alcohol and the criminalization of marijuana.
It’s OK to like labels on things other than clothes — or really, on anything but your clothes — because those things can be itchy and uncooperative. Some people say labels are limiting, but I argue they are liberating. As humans, it is easier for us to categorize things. Labeling helps us process the world around us, as well as ourselves.
With the national spotlight often on Floridians like Casey Anthony and Terry Jones, there’s not much we can be proud of. The Sunshine State isn’t exactly known for its positive contributions. However, there is one exception, and we recently marked its 50th anniversary.
The recent cold snap that froze much of North Florida and paralyzed our neighbors in Georgia and Alabama doesn’t disprove climate change. Period.
President Barack Obama recently announced that a task force was formed to address sexual assault on college campuses.
The weekend is finally here, and I’m more excited about it than usual because this Sunday is Super Bowl Sunday! Who cares if the half-time performer is Bruno Mars? Who cares if it’s going to be freezing at the MetLife Stadium? Who actually cares if the Seahawks or the Broncos win? Not me, because I don’t even like football. But I love Super Bowl Sunday, because I love food — namely, pizza.
During Tuesday’s State of the Union address, I was proud to hear our president talk about the issues that matter to Americans, especially those that impact us as students. From the skyrocketing cost of college to the importance of raising the minimum wage, the vision the president laid out last night is distinctly American: infused with the optimism and pragmatism that has always kept our nation moving forward.
They say that when we landed on the moon, the scientists who got us there used computers with less processing power than what’s in an iPhone. This implies that everyone who has a computer today has an opportunity to do something awesome. It also implies they’re probably wasting that opportunity, consuming massive quantities of porn or binge watching series on Netflix — or a weird combination of the two.
If you haven’t heard about it yet, UF is being sued by a gun-rights group for not allowing on-campus residents to keep guns in their dorm rooms.
Solutions by The State News
