Opinion | Columns - The Independent Florida Alligator

OPINION | COLUMNS

An honest review of my experience with Watson Realty

May 31, 2017

I’d like to preface this by saying that by no means am I attacking Watson Realty Corp. I am merely recalling events and experiences with Watson Realty that my roommates and I had throughout our 15-month contract. I have attempted to avoid as much hyperbole as I can, so the facts in this column may remain facts, regardless of storytelling.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Trump’s foreign policy puts America's interests first, at home and abroad

May 29, 2017

President Donald Trump took his first trip abroad last week and gave his first international speech in front of a coalition of more than 50 Muslim-majority countries in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Many Americans voiced concern about how Trump would be received abroad, especially in the Middle East, because of his notoriously harsh campaign rhetoric. The warm reception for his speech should alleviate those concerns. Overall, the speech sent a clear message to these countries — and the world — that the foreign policy of the U.S. is going to be entirely different than it was under former President Barack Obama.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Don’t oppress those who are different from you

May 29, 2017

History is written into our education, and it cannot be erased — I’m looking at you, “Old Joe” supporters. White privilege is taught, and that’s not just in the U.S. I’m half white — my mother is the last generation in her Portuguese family. But racists, white supremacists or really any other person who doesn’t ask wouldn’t know that. I wear my colors proudly, and I have consequently been taught from birth that this skin color defines me.

OPINION | COLUMNS

A request from UF law students, staff or graduates

May 24, 2017

Before I get into the column, there are two things I must preface: One, I’m writing this column two days in advance, so things may develop that I cannot predict; and two, I am by no means well-practiced in law. I merely did some research to satisfy my inquiries.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Dissectible interactions with smart men

By Karla Arboleda | May 22, 2017

I don’t mean to say the sayings included in this article are things that female, nonbinary or trans people have never said, but I think it’s important to identify the condescending language that men use to establish masculinity. “Masculine” and “feminine” are two words that have become problematic in the gender spectrum, but I’ll tackle that issue in another 600 words or so. For now, I’ll discuss the type of behavior that makes some cisgender, heterosexual men feel stronger in this incredibly heteronormative world. Behold: mansplaining.

OPINION | COLUMNS

China can’t understand the US ‘white left’

By Jack Story | May 22, 2017

Former President Barack Obama had high praise for many of the traditional adversaries of the U.S. during his eight years in office. From Cuba to Iran, Obama tried to mend past differences and bring former enemies to the negotiating table through generous rhetoric. Obama singled out one country above all others in his praise: China.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Please support the fight against global poverty

May 17, 2017

I am interning for an organization that helps alleviate global poverty called The Borgen Project. The project, according to their website, “is an innovative, national campaign that works with U.S. leaders to improve their response to the global poverty crisis.” Or, in other words, it is probably the opposite of what you’re imagining. Typical poverty relief groups are “boots on the ground” types of organizations that directly improve the living conditions of communities through physical projects, such as building wells, buildings, etc. However, The Borgen Project focuses on directly alleviating global poverty by lobbying representatives in government to vote on policies that would increase the budget for financial aid.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Finding the best playoff team to bandwagon

May 17, 2017

If you’re like the average sports fan, any leagues' playoffs are a confusing time for you. As more teams fall throughout the postseason, you find yourself not really caring about many of the matchups. Either your team has already been eliminated from the chase for this year’s championship, or you couldn’t care less about who wins. In case you find yourself in this position, I’m about to tell you exactly who you should be rooting on for the rest of this year’s NBA playoffs.

OPINION | COLUMNS

UF must reconsider free subscriptions to The Times

May 15, 2017

Did you know being a UF student entitles you to a free, yearlong digital subscription to The New York Times?

OPINION | COLUMNS

Tag yourself, I’m literally just trying

May 15, 2017

As 2017 nears its half birthday, it is only fair for people to reach a progress report-type summary of successes and failures. Society collectively established 2016 as a bad year, even though life as a whole is a photo of us with a radial blur filter. The only ones who truly decide this fate of perpetual misfortune are us.

OPINION | COLUMNS

To try for a country in trouble

May 10, 2017

The phrase my mother consistently used to persuade me to clean my plate at dinner gradually became more personal as I got older and as our country started entering hysteria. That phrase was, “There are starving children out there.” These children are not those we are appropriated to believe come from charity commercials. These children take the form of my family and other oppressed people in Venezuela.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Firing Comey: A move that was long overdue

May 10, 2017

President Trump fired FBI Director Comey, a move that was long overdue

OPINION | COLUMNS

Understand the impact your words can have

May 8, 2017

If you’ve scrolled through social media recently, you’ve probably seen references to a new television show. It’s called “13 Reasons Why.” Now, before you aggressively leap to a positive or negative reaction to those three words, hear me out. I’m not going to spoil anything other than the general premise, so if you haven’t watched the series, don’t worry about me ruining it for you.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Don’t be afraid to waste time

May 8, 2017

I have heard many times that “time” is one of those things you cannot get back. I also find myself occasionally repeating this same message when giving advice. It makes sense that time won’t be given back to you, and you should cherish it, but I feel people abuse the saying — even for the smallest of things.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Good Writers and Good People

Apr. 19, 2017

The hallways of The Carolina Inn on the campus of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill are filled with photographs and paintings of people who made a difference in the university’s 228-year history. After staying in the inn for three nights last month, I felt like I had a sense of how UNC was influenced by the two centuries of faculty, staff and alumni whose likenesses lined the halls.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Before I go: a message from your editor-in-chief

Apr. 18, 2017

My faded black Jimi Hendrix T-shirt was drenched in sweat as I walked across UF’s campus on a blistering August day.

OPINION | COLUMNS

We’re all just looking for the damn light switch

Apr. 18, 2017

With graduation nearing, you might be feeling a bit stressed.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Signposts on the path to utopia

Apr. 18, 2017

I love science fiction. My favorite works come from the ‘60s and ‘70s, when novels like “Childhood’s End” and “Stranger in a Strange Land” crystallized the genre, pioneered by writers like Isaac Asimov, of utopian speculative fiction. Don’t get me wrong, “Alien” and “Blade Runner” hold a special place in my heart, but there was an optimism in “Star Trek” that seems to have been fading since writers like William Gibson and Philip K. Dick popularized stories of a grim, dystopian future.

OPINION | COLUMNS

My contradictory life: Balancing nutrition, health with death-defying stunts

Apr. 17, 2017

Due to the increasing pervasiveness and equal awareness of obesity as a health problem, especially in the U.S., it has become a truism today to inform the public about caring for themselves and their bodies. I’m quite aware of this beneficial trend in fitness, and I’m a firm believer in the idea that “your body’s a temple, and you should worship it.” However, in a quasi-paradoxical fashion, I also believe you should go out into the great unknown and destroy yourself if you must.

OPINION | COLUMNS

A thank you letter from one nostalgic graduate

Apr. 17, 2017

Nearly two years ago, I received a text from the newly appointed Alligator opinions editor while on a Greyhound bus full of potential sorority girls barreling down Museum Road toward Pi Beta Phi. It read, “Hey. Do you want to have a column in the Alligator?” Immediately, I thought to myself, “Hell no.” Yet for some unbeknownst reason, I texted back, “Sure, when do I start?”