Opinion | Columns
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COLUMNS
The power of imagination in a child’s mind
Nov. 8, 2016We all have our own worlds inside our minds. The amount of creativity and imagination on this subconscious realm allows us to figure out things in our daily lives, cope with complicated situations and even dissipate the adversity of the moment. The subconscious actually helps us cope with issues, confront our problems and understand the real world outside our front doors every morning.
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Reflection of our arguments is necessary, especially if they are published
Nov. 8, 2016For the past two Wednesdays, Scott Stinson wrote coupled columns titled “Secular self-reflection is necessary” in which he replied to an editorial written by the Alligator’s editorial board titled “Religious self-reflection is necessary.” Stinson remarks that Mr. Editorial’s article bases its argument on multiple empty assumptions. While Stinson is right to critique Mr. Editorial’s assumptions, Stinson’s arguments need critique as well.
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Clinton’s emails, Trump’s words aside — just vote
Nov. 6, 2016The Clinton name comes with strong connotations of scandal, and this past week just added to it with the latest email snafu about Huma Abedin’s emails being on Anthony Weiner’s computer. Even if there was no criminal activity, the announcement of an investigation so close to Election Day creates doubt. Although Election Day is tomorrow, these scandals will linger long after, perhaps throughout a Hillary Clinton presidency.
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Why vaccinations are a necessity and not a terrible idea
Nov. 6, 2016As we all know, ‘tis the season. I’m not talking about Christmas season, but that is fast-approaching. Are you ready? I know I’m not. Anyway, I digress. It is certainly election season, and fewer than 48 hours after this is published, we will know who will be our president for the next four years. That is equally cool as it is terrifying. Good luck, America. Again, I kid. I am talking about flu season.
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The problem with TV news is partisan commentary
Nov. 3, 2016On Monday, CNN announced it would be severing ties with Donna Brazile for furnishing Hillary Clinton campaign chairman John Podesta with questions that would be asked in one of the primary debates. The emails, which were provided by a WikiLeaks email dump, reveal that Brazile sent Podesta emails describing almost verbatim some of the questions Clinton would receive. While Brazile was initially hired by CNN specifically to be a Democratic strategist, her actions were, as her CNN colleague Jake Tapper put it, “journalistically horrifying.”
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False advertising: the 'No Man’s Sky' video game and consumer protection
Nov. 3, 2016Back in 2015, Sean Murray, the head developer and mastermind behind the video game “No Man’s Sky,” appeared on the late-night programs of Jimmy Fallon and Stephen Colbert to promote a game that was very far from being finished. Then, after multiple delays, the supposedly “completed” game was released in August, only to be bombarded with poor reviews and intense criticism.
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The NFL struggles to deal with domestic violence
Nov. 2, 2016The NFL has a problem on its hands.
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COLUMNS
What high-school sex ed really needs to add: a discussion about consent
Nov. 2, 2016My high-school sex education was brief and to the point. “Don’t have sex, or you will suffer severe psychological and physical trauma” was the main message, hammered to the point with vivid pictures of STDs and a video where some edgy teen discussed his misadventures with sex in very forced slang dialogue. The add-on point was “If you are being physically abused by your partner, here’s a hotline you can call.”
OPINION
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COLUMNS
Solitude in a world filled with billions of people
Nov. 1, 2016This weekend, I had the pleasure to find that the band The Last Shadow Puppets covered a Leonard Cohen song titled “Is This What You Wanted.” This song talks about a breakup and how the separation has affected one of the two people. The part that immediately resonated with me was the verse that goes: “You defied your solitude/I came through alone.”
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From your Student Body president: events for Civic Engagement Week
Nov. 1, 2016Hello Gators,
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Secular self-reflection is necessary for every single human being, part two
Nov. 1, 2016Last week I discussed at length a column that appeared in the Alligator entitled “Religious self-reflection is necessary,” in which the author (whom I will call Mr. Editorial, as the author was unnamed) took the position that the world’s religions need to come to an understanding of the social context they were born out of. I’m paraphrasing his words, but he argued we have morally progressed since the founding of Christianity, Judaism and Islam. As an example of this progression, Mr. Editorial highlighted the instance of a British Muslim school teaching its young girls that being beaten by one’s husband is morally permissible, using this to show religions need reform and need to morally improve. It is this idea of moral progression that I want to flesh out in this column.
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Halloween and the carnivalesque: defying expectations for one day a year
Oct. 31, 2016For as long as I can remember, I have touted October as my favorite month and Halloween as my favorite holiday. There wasn’t a defining moment where I decided this was the case, yet this fact has remained a minor facet of my identity I often analyze around this time of year. Perhaps it came about as a result of my adoration for vampires, horror films and sinister folklore, because Halloween allowed my otherwise-bizarre fascination to be cool for just one day. Or maybe it was because of my incessant desire to subvert the social norms of my suburban South Florida environment, as Halloween gave me a parent-approved outlet to do so.
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Appreciate single parents, because mothers and fathers can do it on their own
Oct. 30, 2016Melvin Henderson felt like a failure as a parent each time he had to wait outside of a public restroom.
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Sharing your thoughts and opinions is much better than stifling others’
Oct. 30, 2016This week, a thing is going to happen: We are going to choose our new president. Let’s take a moment to talk about the gravity of that last statement. We are going to choose our new president. Who are we to be making this decision? We’re just people. However, we live in a society in which we’ve been gifted with the privilege to elect our own leader. Although we are certainly allowed to complain about our choices and be dissatisfied, let’s not forget how truly amazing this concept is.
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Every vote matters: why I am choosing to vote this year and why you should, too
Oct. 27, 2016With the presidential election just around the corner, ‘tis the season for unsolicited arguments about political and social issues. Instead of spouting nonsense about why I think people should believe a certain way, I want to share some of my personal reasons for voting, with the hopes that they might give some of you a reason to vote in the upcoming election.
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The international farce that is the United Nations
Oct. 27, 2016The United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) ratified a resolution Oct. 18 denying the Jewish people’s deep historical ties to Jerusalem. While the resolution acknowledges the “importance of the Old City of Jerusalem and its walls for the three monotheistic religions,” the sacred hill is only referred to by its Islamic name, al-Aqsa Mosque/al-Haram al-Sharif. Not only does the resolution make no reference to its Jewish name, Temple Mount, which happens to be considered the holiest site in Judaism, but it distinctly puts quotation marks around “Western Wall Plaza,” a subtle attack on the legitimacy of its Jewish connection.
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Keep things in perspective, because the world may not be as bad as it seems
Oct. 27, 2016The world in 2016 might look and feel like a never-ending (and rapidly expanding) dumpster fire, but the reality is that the dumpster fire is not actually growing. Instead, it's slowing down.
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The UF Halloween memo and how extreme political correctness has run amok
Oct. 26, 2016We live in a world of extremes. It saturates our culture, plagues our politics. But substantive discourse often requires gray area and nuance. Yet as a society, we perpetually leave little room for it. The conversation about political correctness is no exception. This became obvious to me a few days ago.
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When everything is going wrong, focus elsewhere
Oct. 26, 2016I went on vacation two weekends ago, and almost everything that could’ve gone wrong did go wrong. It was a weekend adventure to the Desert Trip concert in California (dubbed “Oldchella,” because it was a showcase of ’70s and ’80s musicians on the Coachella grounds) with my dad and my sister, and going in, I was already nervous. I’m a naturally anxious person; my dad and my sister are not. So the week beforehand, I had called them numerous times trying to figure out what the “plan” was. As of Tuesday, two days before we left, I didn’t even know what time the flight was. The two of them just told me to relax and that they’d take care of it, which wasn’t exactly helpful to my overly anxious brain.
