OPINION
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COLUMNS
Trump campaign coming apart at the seams after no pivot
Sep. 18, 2016“President Barack Obama was born in the United States. Period.”
Opinion | Columns
OPINION
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COLUMNS
Column: Leisurely reading in college is rare, but it's certainly worth the time
Sep. 15, 2016Change is natural. Change is good. There are not many emotions greater than the anticipation of change. It gives us everything we can want in life: something to look forward to, to desire. Plans held into the not-too-distant future help us trudge through the monotonous present, giving us an attainable shift out of our current boredom and into something new.
OPINION
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COLUMNS
Column: The Republican Party can learn adaptability from David Cameron
Sep. 15, 2016On Monday, former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom David Cameron announced his resignation as a member of Parliament for the Conservative Party, three months after the Brexit referendum. While he may be remembered for years to come as “the man who accidentally caused Britain to leave the European Union,” Cameron also leaves a powerful legacy behind — perhaps one that American Republicans can learn from.
OPINION
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COLUMNS
The danger of the Manic Pixie Dream Girl and wrongly stereotyping women
Sep. 14, 2016If you’re not familiar with the term Manic Pixie Dream Girl, let me give you a refresher. The term, coined by film critic Nathan Rabin, is used to describe spirited, quirky female characters (usually written by men) that inspire the brooding male hero to find joy in life. It is an overdone trope that devalues female characters, reducing them to plot tools for the more complexly written male characters.
OPINION
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COLUMNS
The chemistry of betrayal
Sep. 13, 2016As individuals in a complex society, we feel comfort by putting labels or stereotypes on people. It gives us a sense of safety. As members of the mammalian species, we don't like to relate to situations or things we are not able to recognize. Therefore, we will always fear the unknown and avoid the feeling of uncertainty. Sadly, this comes at a price. When we learn and gain knowledge about something, we will do anything in our reach so we don’t lose control over it. Therefore, when eventualities get presented in our life, we are unable to manage them in the best way possible. Who hasn’t met someone, enjoyed his or her company and then unexpectedly gotten disappointed after a while? For example, I meet an incredible guy who I had a crush on for years. After many years of friendship, we began a relationship filled with shenanigans, jokes and a lot fun. A few months later, my heart got broken when I realized his priorities didn’t include me. He was making decisions that jeopardized the trust I invested in him. I never thought he would be capable of executing such betrayal, but he was.
OPINION
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COLUMNS
Falling in love with your roommate
Sep. 13, 2016(This is part two of a two-part column. Last Wednesday, we ran part one. To read the full story, visit alligator.org.)
OPINION
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COLUMNS
Technology is the wrong form of escape
Sep. 13, 2016The famous French and Christian philosopher Blaise Pascal once said, “All of humanity’s problems stem from man’s inability to sit quietly in a room alone.” Pascal seems to be flirting with deep philosophical truths in this insight, but I want to tamper with Pascal’s statement: A good number of our problems today stem from our unwillingness to sit quietly without a phone in a room alone. Why do I — and Pascal — believe this behavior is a problem?
OPINION
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COLUMNS
SpongeBob Squarepants examiner: part three
Sep. 12, 2016In my past two columns, I discussed both the visual and audio design of "SpongeBob Squarepants" and how they influence its comedy. The show's gone south since season four, and the changes to its animation and sound are pretty clear and indicate a pretty solid drop in quality. So, for this final column, let's talk about two things: the characters and the jokes.
OPINION
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COLUMNS
Tracing the Origins of Political Correctness
Sep. 12, 2016What is it about the term “politically correct” that manages to put everyone on high alert? Some blame the term for infringement on their First-Amendment rights, others use it as a justification to inflame Facebook comment threads, but mostly we avoid uttering it altogether to avoid the accompanying controversy. These two simple words have expanded to become intrinsically linked to an abundance of other concepts such as safe spaces and trigger warnings, but even beyond that it has taken on a connotation of triviality and ridicule.
OPINION
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On the use of the word ‘retard’
Sep. 12, 2016Words are heavy. Every letter of every phrase carries a weight that we as speakers tend to overlook. Diction is an influential tool, made powerful not by the mouths that voice it but rather by the ears that receive it. No matter what, somebody is always listening.
OPINION
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COLUMNS
Gender is more than just a pronoun
Sep. 11, 2016What outfit do you want to be buried in when you die? Go on; really think about it. You’ll probably want something nice and flattering. Above all, though, you’ll want something representative of the person you were when you were alive. This might seem easy for some of you. But for someone whose gender identity is nonconforming, this is a heavy question.
OPINION
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COLUMNS
Dear returners: own your experiences, and own this year
Sep. 11, 2016Hi, friends! You may not recognize my name. That’s because I am brand spanking new to the opinions section! Let me introduce myself. I’m Taylor Cavaliere, and I am so excited to be writing to you all as a columnist this semester! I’d also like to thank you from the bottom of my heart: If you’re reading, then my worst fear (that literally not one person will read my column) has not come to fruition.
OPINION
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COLUMNS
Kaepernick and radical social justice
Sep. 8, 2016When San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick protested the national anthem before an NFL preseason game Aug. 26, I felt the ensuing outrage was overblown. I agreed with President Obama’s response — it is Kaepernick’s constitutional right to protest what he sees as a problem of racism and police brutality in America. By the same token, it is also the right of those who disagree with him to criticize him for his method of protest. As far as I was concerned, the discussion ended there.
OPINION
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COLUMNS
Slow down and love life around you
Sep. 8, 2016I didn’t have many friends growing up. The few friends I did have were only made because we were stuck together for X number of hours every day from elementary school until high-school graduation. Most of them didn’t stick around too long after the classrooms no longer held us together. I realized shortly after graduation I would be going into college entirely alone in a completely new city, and I was terrified. But now Gainesville feels more like home than my hometown ever did. I feel like I belong here, and I’ve found my niche. I’m able to surround myself with people whom I genuinely care about and who genuinely care about me. What scares me, though, is that this is a town where a solid chunk of its population is constantly in transit, so it’s almost impossible to tell how long these people will be in my life.
OPINION
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How LA police use football for change
Sep. 7, 2016For the second time last Thursday, San Francisco 49ers backup quarterback Colin Kaepernick refused to stand for the national anthem before an NFL preseason game. In his own words: “I am not going to stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses black people and people of color. To me, this is bigger than football, and it would be selfish for me to look the other way.”
OPINION
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Reflections on 9/11
Sep. 7, 2016It’s hard to believe that it’s been 15 years. I can still remember sitting in my first-grade classroom as the routine morning announcements played on the television, just as they had every day. Nothing unusual. When the announcements were over, my teacher turned on a local news broadcast. Maybe she had heard what was happening. Maybe it was a coincidence. I don’t remember.
OPINION
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STEM versus humanities: the war that shouldn’t exist
Sep. 7, 2016On the off chance you’ve been paying attention to my byline, you may have noticed I have two very different majors: English and computer science. I can already tell that your reaction is probably one of two things: complete, utter confusion or a strange, hesitant sense of awe — maybe even some combination of the two. Whatever it is, I get it. Even though people who are good at both artsy things and tech things exist (and are actually far more common than you’d believe), it’s rare that someone decides to take the leap and actually do both things. But trust me, we’re around. I know someone double majoring in mathematics and art and someone else who is a pre-med English major. And I’m sure others like us are out there.
OPINION
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Two sides of the same coin: my thoughts on this election
Sep. 6, 2016One thing this presidential election has brought out in the general public that I cannot stand is the peculiar habit of people to air their opinions as frequently as CNN mentions Donald Trump. Seriously, if you watch 15 minutes of CNN, you’ll think Trump is Dr. Evil from “Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery.” It seems to me this behavior, namely the obsessive instinct to break down every single word and deed from both candidates, has trickled down into our everyday conversations. To be honest, I am tired of reading and hearing the banal, repetitive and cliche opinions that have been passed around as frequently as a cute puppy since last year.
OPINION
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COLUMNS
Roommates, part one: Is it possible to not fall in love with them?
Sep. 6, 2016Last year I moved into an apartment with three of my close friends: Jessica, Lizzy and Mara (all pseudonyms). I fell in love with Mara at the beginning of the Spring of my sophomore year.
