Opinion | Columns - The Independent Florida Alligator

OPINION | COLUMNS

Navigating the meme-conomy

By Stephen Chamberlin | May 30, 2018

If you spend enough time on the internet, you learn the language of memes. It’s a market-driven tongue; memes go in and out of fashion frequently. They balloon, they bubble and they burst unexpectedly. If you’re not careful, you might find yourself in a lurch, trading in low-value memes. This is as important as any college course — learning to navigate the meme economy can make or break your online presence. Irrelevance, to any self-respecting, red-blooded citizen of the internet, is a fate worse than death.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Power over paper

By Sophie Feinberg | May 30, 2018

Society is propelled by technology or a battery. Everything is faster and at your fingertips.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Lowering your expectations allows you to enjoy life more

By Layla Soboh | May 30, 2018

I’m going to paint the scene. It’s around midnight, and you’re craving a snack. You open the fridge and disappointment ensues. You close the near-empty fridge, displeased. After walking around the house, you return. This time when you open the fridge, you’re a little more honest with yourself. You’re desperate. Standards have hit rock bottom. With a renewed expectation, you finally select something. Although it may not have been your first choice, your hunger is subsided.

OPINION | COLUMNS

So about that Bright Futures Summer textbook stipend…

By Zachariah Chou | May 30, 2018

I like to get my facts straight. Part of it is five years of Speech and Debate. Another part is being a journalism major, where a fact error can automatically cut your grade in half.

OPINION | COLUMNS

With Fenty Beauty, Less is More

By Layla Soboh | May 28, 2018

It’s no secret that Rihanna’s “Fenty Beauty” line has been a huge success since its launch in September 2017.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Motorcycles are dangerous — I might buy one anyway

By Stephan Chamberlin | May 28, 2018

Through the window of a Regional Transit System bus, you longingly stare at the motorcyclist next to you. Clad in black gear, he takes off at a red light and speeds toward campus. “Stop requested. For your safety: if crossing the street...” You tune it out and daydream of a reality without buses.

OPINION | COLUMNS

What not winning the lottery taught me about growing up

By Layla Soboh | May 28, 2018

Something happened February 17, 2016 in my hometown of Melbourne. Something I couldn’t stop thinking about and still think of from time to time.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Please don’t put your emotions in a box

By Layla Soboh | May 28, 2018

If I had to describe the American side of my family in one scene from a TV show, it would definitely be from “Desperate Housewives” season four episode 14.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Just be positive

By Sophie Feinberg | May 23, 2018

Mental health carries a long series of symptoms that can be different for everyone. However, sometimes people not personally dealing with a mental health diagnosis themselves can dictate recovery options or advice, despite having no degree or experience.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Ode to Florida and its weather

By Stephan Chamberlin | May 23, 2018

Oh, Florida! Land of sunshine and sea spray, with your miles of beaches and acres of swamp, how I have loved your climate in times both warm and slightly less warm. The bountiful depths of your balmy seas are perturbed only by visiting vagabond hurricanes; your peaceful air troubled only by the wind of mosquito wings; your clouds are as lofty and gray as the pristine God himself. For all the trouble you cause, we love you more and more ardently.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Let’s destigmatize mental health

By Sophie Feinberg | May 21, 2018

“I’m so OCD” is a phrase you can hear when someone is tidying up a mess.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Changing tides of time

By Stephan Chamberlin | May 21, 2018

My Preview counselor did a great job of laying out a roadmap for being a UF student. She told me about what college will be like going forward: how I’d build a work ethic and collegiate-level study habits, find a group of friends that I’d keep for a lifetime and develop myself professionally and spiritually. Preview readies you for changes you’ll see to your student persona. What it can never prepare you for is seeing your hometown change right out from underneath you.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Making the invisible visible

By Sophie Feinberg | May 19, 2018

Weekends are often seen as a time to relax, hang out or get caught up on homework.

OPINION | COLUMNS

On “decorous” graduation ceremonies

By Zachariah Chou | May 8, 2018

UF got a black eye over the weekend when black students were aggressively forced out of their strolls while walking during graduation. Strolls, in case you aren’t familiar, are traditional, celebratory dances that originated with historically black Greek organizations. They’re a lot more meaningful than the usual dabs that we often see.

OPINION | COLUMNS

From the editor-in-chief: Journalism ain’t dead. Chill.

Apr. 24, 2018

This is supposed to be the moment where I look back at my time at The Alligator and reflect.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Dream. Then work hard for your dreams.

Apr. 24, 2018

A dime holed up inside a pocket of his pants was the only thing my grandfather carried with him the day he left Cuba.

OPINION | COLUMNS

The Alligator helped me find my voice.

Apr. 24, 2018

It’s easy to lose your voice.

OPINION | COLUMNS

What I learned at The Alligator: The scope of humanity through my lens

Apr. 24, 2018

May 5th marks the end of my journey at UF, but it also marks the beginning of my unexpected journey here.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Goodbye Gainesville: What four years of entertainment taught me

Apr. 24, 2018

For someone who considers the written word much easier to compose than the spoken one, this goodbye column was surprisingly difficult to complete.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Farewell column: This is how you start to let go

Apr. 22, 2018

I’ve never been good at goodbyes. I much prefer a quick hug and a “see-you-later” to a drawn-out adieu. It’s not because I’m not emotional; on the contrary, it’s because I’m afraid I’ll start to weep as soon as I meet your eyes with that “Well, this is it” look we’ve all seen before.