Opinion | Columns - The Independent Florida Alligator

OPINION | COLUMNS

Columnist bids farewell to college experiences, memories

By Will Penman | Apr. 19, 2010

Since I graduate in about a week and a half, I think now is a good time to say goodbye. Some things you say goodbye to are things we’ll all need to say goodbye to. Farewell, increasing tuition. Some things you say goodbye to are special to my class. Farewell, Tim Tebow. And some things are more personal goodbyes. Farewell, Professor Shoaf. This is a mix of all of those.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Columnist offers final observations

By Ryan Spencer | Apr. 18, 2010

Ah, my last column of the semester — and my last semester at that. I suppose this is where I get all sentimental in my undergraduate reflection, perhaps mustering enough good will to radiate advice out to some of the younger Gators among us. How quaint that would be, but any knowledge I’d be kicking wouldn’t exactly be worthy of an AAA rating. Plus, I’m not that generous. I guess the matter comes down to just how cliché I’m willing to allow myself to be. Answer: very.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Graduate student questions university’s academic integrity

By JON BOUGHER | Apr. 18, 2010

My thesis partner, Roman Safiullin, and I recently reached a compromise with UF to include video footage shot for our thesis film in post-earthquake Haiti after the recent UF travel ban had been imposed.

OPINION | COLUMNS

US should stay vigilant, fight Marxists

By PAUL MURTY | Apr. 15, 2010

Guess what, folks? The scientists are at it again. No, they’re not doing sciencey things. They’re busy promoting Al Gore’s global warming Ponzi scheme.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Church opposed Westboro visit

By ASA WALKER | Apr. 15, 2010

This weekend Gainesville will be visited by protesters from the Westboro Baptist Church of Topeka, Kan. This group is known for their protests of military funerals, contempt for homosexuals and other groups.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Media should focus more on war-crimes

By Teba Mohammad | Apr. 14, 2010

Recently, a video was released by WikiLeaks from an unknown source showing the killing of Iraqi civilians by American troops from an Apache helicopter July 12, 2007.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Students should question authority

By Nick Miner | Apr. 13, 2010

Modern students are not interested in learning. They are interested in passing their tests and getting good grades. It doesn’t matter how much you know, it only matters how well you regurgitate information. Why has American education devolved to this point? One reason is the loss of American industry to foreign countries with cheap labor. This has constricted the job market, making a college degree much more important. Employers give preeminence to the institution. Thus to get into excellent schools, you have to have top grades. Yet is there also a cultural backlash against questioning authority? The 1970s saw massive student protests that played a pivotal role in our withdrawal from Vietnam.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Manufactured fear creates false reality

By Joshua Lee | Apr. 13, 2010

It’s a scary world outside. Past the comforts of my tiny, messy dorm room, danger lurks at every turn. People from foreign lands plot to wipe me and my country off the map. Even getting into a Toyota is akin to dancing with death. Or that’s at least what the media would have you believe. To me, news today has increasingly become a stream of cautionary tales and exaggerated warnings.

OPINION | COLUMNS

People are connected through empathy

Apr. 12, 2010

I try my best to remember that everybody has a story.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Democrats drop like flies in upcoming congressional election

By Brittany Fox | Apr. 11, 2010

Though I’ve never fully understood the expression, congressional Democrats are keeping true to the English idiom and dropping like flies. Most recently on the no-go list for November is Rep. Bart Stupak (of “Stupak Amendment” fame). Let’s have a walk down memory lane, shall we? By last December 10 House Democrats had artfully announced their early retirement. With the new year, announcements from the esteemed Senate had come in: former presidential hopeful Chris Dodd, North Dakota’s Byron Dorgan and Evan Bayh (former governor of Indiana and rumored 2008 presidential contender).

OPINION | COLUMNS

Bagram, Kandahar stops on Lame Train

By Ryan Spencer | Apr. 11, 2010

If you’ve been hearing a low rumble or seeing a faint column of smoke off in the distance, perhaps traveling in the direction of Afghanistan, be alarmed.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Student Body should be more open minded toward peers, life

By Will Penman | Apr. 11, 2010

Walking around campus last week, you may have been confused. Is it Turlington Plaza or a war zone? Is it the Reitz Union North Lawn or no man’s land? Humans vs. Zombies has invited students to see things in a different way. The Student Body has, for the most part, declined the invitation.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Americans should not forget the past

By PAUL MURTY | Apr. 8, 2010

Race relations in the United States are not perfect, nor will they ever be. Since the election of Barack Obama, the problems seem to be increasing.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Judd Apatow-style underdog movies aren’t one-size-fits-all

By Julia Tilford | Apr. 7, 2010

There’s been a recent trend in mainstream cinema that thrusts schlub guys into the spotlight. They’re normal, everyday dudes who drink, smoke pot, look like your neighbor and have lame jobs, if they have jobs at all.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Amendment Zero: solution for ‘Kongress’

Apr. 7, 2010

One of the great mysteries of our time is the paradox of state government. Every few years, each state in our great union selects the brightest and most talented descendants of privilege and sends them away to plot out the boundaries of our daily lives. Just like clockwork, these seemingly divine figures time and again fail to deliver on their promises and the effulgent nature of their haircuts.

OPINION | COLUMNS

GOP spending ironic given principles

Apr. 6, 2010

Despite being the party of fiscal responsibility, Republicans have gotten into a hot mess over their party’s spending.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Students should consider working for the federal government

Apr. 6, 2010

It’s just about that time of year again. If you are an underclassman like me, the economy is still looking down and you could use a well-paying internship or job to get you through the summer. For those UF seniors about to enter the real world, the job market is looking especially rough.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Students should take stand

By Dave Schneider | Apr. 5, 2010

I was standing on Turlington Plaza Monday with some members of the Coalition for Justice Against Police Brutality, telling students walking by about the shooting of Kofi Adu-Brempong by the University Police Department. As we were handing out fliers for today’s protest, a girl stopped me and asked me about the incident. To no fault of her own, she said she hadn’t heard anything about it and wanted to know how UPD could possibly shoot an international student on campus.

OPINION | COLUMNS

In love, actions speak louder than words

Apr. 5, 2010

I think it’s fair to say there are few phrases in the English language that are more emotionally loaded than “I love you.” For that matter, it’s probably fair to say there are few phrases that are more regularly abused and misused than those three words.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Religion debate won’t make progress

By Ryan Spencer | Apr. 4, 2010

On Tuesday, Gainesville will get a glimpse of the increasingly popular God-concentrated argumentative cavalcade appearing in many of the auditoriums across the country and the world, the local showcase the Accent speaker’s bureau has dubbed The Great Religion Debate. These loosely related, independently organized events have made celebrities out of their dialectical pugilists, among them Richard Dawkins, William Lane Craig and Shmuley Boteach, although I must admit it seems the notoriety gained from these debates is severely biased toward the atheistic side of the podium. Is it infamy more than fame, the relative lameness of their theist counterparts or simply their writing of more entertaining books? I’m sure we’ll find out.