For many college students, Labor Day means the end of a summer job or summer fun, the start of a new school year and perhaps the kickoff of
A leader, above all else, has a responsibility to those he or she governs.
The grass is green. The flowers are blooming. And the chin pubes are sprouting.
Picture in your mind the most wonderful, pristine girl in the world. She cooks, rips your friends when they’re being complete tools, and is down for making any place her personal bedroom. For about 75 percent of you, the image of Vince’s porn-star girlfriend from Entourage pops up. Go with it. For girls, just picture Don Draper covered in flowers and Nicholas Sparks novels.
I’ve got some advice for freshmen.
To: The UF Freshmen and Transfer Students
Welcome to UF. You are now a student at the flagship academic institution of the state of Florida. With a University of Florida degree, you have endless career opportunities and a promising shot at some of the nation’s top graduate programs.
Welcome to the University of Florida and The Gator Nation!
Freedom is an addictive thing, isn’t it? Each time we get a little bit more freedom to do anything, regardless of the positive or negative impacts, we cling to it like a mother clinging to her newly born baby. It is our baby. It is our everything. But why is this so? Why do we find it so difficult to let go of any kind of freedom? I would put my hard-earned Monopoly money on the reason being a human tendency, to grasp onto anything that enables us to express ourselves. Since expression can be quasi-defined as life, the opportunity to live to one’s fullest potential, which I believe is infinite, can be equated as freedom.
We have about 80 years to live, and about one-third of that we spend unconscious. And I don’t mean because of an accumulation of hard nights at Midtown. Throw in work, education, eating, daily household and personal hygiene chores, and the roughly five years everyone spends in a line of some sort just waiting for something like a red light to turn green.
Simply being an American citizen comes with a grab bag of freedoms and benefits. Social Security, education, welfare and President Obama’s soon-to-be-implemented comprehensive health care system are only some of the fruits of our nation’s wealth - a wealth built on the social and ethnic diversity that defines America. While this diversity is our nation’s greatest strength, we cannot allow unrestrained access to America’s limited bounty. I am writing in regards to SB1070, the Arizona law causing so much uproar – the one that allows police officers to detain suspected illegal immigrants unless they are carrying immigration documents. I’ve heard the words “un-American,” “fascist,” “xenophobic” and “racist” all used to describe this legislation and its supporters, and I have never been more worried for the future of America.
Jersey Shore: Two words that ignite controversy, YouTube impersonations and fist pumps.
About two weeks ago, I took a trip to Cedar Key with my Counseling in Community Settings class and our professor, Dr. West-Olatunji. Cedar Key is a small town located on the Gulf Coast, about 50 miles southwest of Gainesville. Known for its aqua-farming, it is a big name in the clamming industry. The purpose of our trip was to talk to members of the Cedar Key community in order to gain a better understanding of how the oil spill has impacted their lives. As future counselors, we also wanted to learn how our profession could better serve the needs of communities impacted by the oil spill.
America heralds the banner of innovation because of the country's aptitude for creativity. Individual creativity is an essential part of the American spirit and is embodied in our country's founding documents. A government produces the most from its citizens when it allows each of them to define and pursue their own success. Using a system of limited regulation, a government should be one that allows for society to enhance its prospects by working up freely from below, instead of being determined from the top.
Last Thursday's top story, "Faculty search raises questions" concerned the inability of the College of Journalism and Communications to even interview a professional journalist with 25 years of experience at The New York Times for a very hands-on and professional opening within the college for next year.
Last Thursday's column "Make up your own mind about politics" inspired me.
I was passing through Midtown last Tuesday evening, and I stopped to watch the live music at The Swamp for a song or two. “Cause it’s the first of May, first of May,” he sang, and I was thinking what a nice voice he had when suddenly – “Outdoor f--king starts today. Celebrate spring with a crazy little thing called f--king outside” – my heart started pounding as nervous anger flooded my insides. He dropped the F-bomb in his beautiful melody. As he scanned the audience, his eyes met mine. I felt uncomfortable just witnessing this performance. Maybe I was overreacting, I thought. I decided I’d try to wait it out, hoping the next song would be swear-free and worth staying for. He had a good voice. “I’m going to make this part as vulgar as possible,” he said, and I cringed. I instantly began to change my mind about staying. He said something about “f--king everybody,” and I couldn’t stand listening anymore. I left — no applause from me tonight.
It is clear that Chris Moody, despite his attempts to seem educated and informed, is exactly the opposite. Like most opponents of Arizona’s new immigration law, SB1070, he has clearly never even read the actual bill.
Like an episode of “Deadliest Warrior,” Florida saw its own battle between two epic foes Tuesday, this one during a special legislative session called to pass a measure that would put the question of banning oil drilling on the November ballot. In The Florida Legislature vs. Charlie Crist, I have to give this one to the Legislature, and a quick kill it was—about 55 minutes, to be exact.
For the last two weeks, I have given advice for incoming UF students to use as they acclimate themselves to university life. This week, however, I write to lend a word of advice to all university students. Whatever grade, alma mater, or status as a student, listen up: Don’t drink from the punch bowl.
Solutions by The State News
