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Thursday, August 28, 2025

Opinion | Columns

OPINION  |  COLUMNS

Goodbye Column: Your health should always come before a story

Wow, I’m finally leaving the godforsaken basement office that is The Alligator. Despite my cries to never come back at the end of every semester, it is a year and a half later and I’ve finally reached the point where I truly can’t come back. As a Leo sun and Virgo rising, I’m deeply unemotional, so I don’t know how to be sentimental. Instead, I'm just going to spew a bunch of words and stop when I feel like I’ve run out of things to say as a true fire sign with a Gemini moon. 


Kylie Gurthie, 3, and a volunteer play with the newly adopted 5-month-old dog Joey during the Summer Lovin’ Adopt-A-Thon at Alachua County Animal Services on August 17.
OPINION  |  COLUMNS

Pets are great if you know how to take care of them

Getting a pet in college is a great idea. Any dog, cat, fish or chicken would make a great companion. We all need some animal affection in college, especially as finals approach. Kitten snuggles or puppy kisses might be exactly what you need at this time of year. Plus, they provide great emotional support. I recommend that every responsible college student have a pet, but think carefully before you add a tail-wagging pal to your family. If you do decide to get a furry, feathered or scaly companion, be conscious of where you are getting them from, and be certain that you are prepared to commit to this creature for the rest of its life.  


OPINION  |  COLUMNS

On not living up to expectations

This is something that’s been on my mind a lot lately. Standing at the end of the semester now, there are great obstacles to face over the next few weeks, but there are even more behind us. You may have overcome some of those obstacles successfully and failed to overcome others. And, while I’m confident we’ll all face our upcoming challenges to the best of our ability, it’s possible we might not live up to the expectations we’ve set for ourselves. But falling short of them is not just okay, it’s normal. 


OPINION  |  COLUMNS

Imposter Syndrome

Underneath your success, imposter syndrome loves to roam. It transforms your achievements into bundles of doubts. It belittles all those hours of hard work into luck that you don’t deserve. 


A shopper passes in front of a large advertisement on Black Friday at the Fox River Mall on Friday, Nov. 29, 2019, in Grand Chute, Wis. (Wm. Glasheen/The Post-Crescent via AP)
OPINION  |  COLUMNS

Black Friday deals are outdated and come with a cost

Last week saw the repetition of what is now a tradition in the U.S.’ consumer culture: Black Friday. We all know what Black Friday looks like: mobs of people in a store rushing for extraordinary deals, people camping outside to get first dibs on a cheap TV or appliance and poor employees enduring all the madness. However, while this chaotic scene may have once had some appeal, time, the evolution of the Internet and our growing awareness of environmental and consumer issues is making Black Friday an irrelevant celebration. It’s time to acknowledge that.


President Donald Trump listens during a meeting in the Cabinet Room of the White House in Washington, Friday, Nov. 22, 2019, on youth vaping and the electronic cigarette epidemic. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
OPINION  |  COLUMNS

Trump’s infamous money moves

In the first week of November, our president was ordered by a state judge to pay $2 million in damages to nonprofit groups. This came after he admitted to the misuse of funds raised by the Donald J. Trump Foundation to promote his run for the presidency, pay off business debts and purchase a self-portrait for one of his hotels. The award of damages marks the end of a legal battle that’s been taking place since 2016 when New York’s attorney general accused the Trump family of using the foundation for business and campaign purposes. The cash in question was raised at a fundraiser intended for veterans in Iowa, which Trump later acknowledged as a campaign event.


Nintendo Download: Forge a Path to Greatness in Pokémon Sword and Pokémon Shield.
OPINION  |  COLUMNS

The best Pokémon games so far

On Friday, Pokémon Sword and Pokémon Shield hit the big time on Nintendo Switch after eight months of hype. In light of this notable step for the franchise – seeing a main-series game on a console for the first time – I thought it’d be prudent to look back on some of the best games in the series so far.


OPINION  |  COLUMNS

Talking about mental health disparities in undocumented communities

Mental illnesses are colorblind, but the barriers to treatment aren’t. Previously, I wrote about some of the ways that immigrant communities were disproportionately affected by mental illnesses, which made me interested in our undocumented population in the United States. Roughly 10 million strong, they live in perpetual fear and anxiety, often without any sustainable way of getting professional help. Most conversations thus far have been focused on how to eliminate overt barriers to healthcare, but for this community’s sake, more needs to be said about eliminating the underlying psychosocial barriers. 


OPINION  |  COLUMNS

Your ideal body shape should be your own

As a society, we must stop making certain body shapes and sizes trendy. This isn’t a revolutionary or unpopular opinion, but it is something I constantly see and am affected by daily. I am imploring us, as human beings, to stop accepting unhealthy body ideals. Young women are constantly bombarded with images of thin bodies with perky breasts on social media and ad campaigns. These body types are by no means average — or even healthy — yet, women grow up desiring to look like supermodels. We must put an end to the fetishization of certain body types. We shouldn’t only praise one breast size, as this is something no one has control over. Thigh gaps aren’t an indicator of health, and plenty of healthy people don’t have thigh gaps. We should begin to promote healthy bodies, not idealistic bodies. Regardless of body shape, you should celebrate your body. 


President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump attend ceremony at the New York City Veterans Day Parade at Madison Square Park in New York, Monday, Nov. 11, 2019. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)
OPINION  |  COLUMNS

The truth behind feminism today

The fight for gender equality is ingrained in the United States’ history. Beginning in the mid-1800s with the battle for women’s suffrage, feminism has been in the spotlight of politics. Unfortunately, in today’s society, feminists’ efforts have become extreme. 


OPINION  |  COLUMNS

The stigma of going braless

What comes in pairs, is beloved by babies, but hated by the media? Nipples! In the age of the #MeToo movement and feminism, women are taking ownership over their bodies, including their nipples.  


OPINION  |  COLUMNS

Talking about mental health disparities in minority communities

According to the American Psychiatric Association (APA), ethnic and racial minorities often bear a disproportionately high burden of disability resulting from mental disorders. Yet, by 2044, models show  more than half of all Americans will belong to a minority group. Taken altogether, this seems to indicate troubled waters on our horizons, and it should speak to the importance of cultural sensitivity in mental health training. 


books
OPINION  |  COLUMNS

Avoid the temptation of all-nighters

It’s exam season at UF. Students are crowding the libraries and voraciously consuming books and study guides to prepare for the big day. Some of these students pull all-nighters to study, forgoing sleep and staying up all night to prepare. I’m here to tell you that not only are all-nighters a poor method of studying, but that there are much better options available.



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