Opinion | Columns - The Independent Florida Alligator

OPINION | COLUMNS

Keep an open mind when someone tells you about different countries

Sep. 28, 2016

As someone who was raised by immigrant parents and has traveled abroad multiple times in her life, I am acutely aware of the average American’s geographic and cultural ignorance. This shouldn’t be a surprise to most people; after all, it is a subject of self-deprecating humor on late-night talk shows. We seem to be aware that the Average Joe can’t differentiate Iraq from Iran and thinks all Asian food comes from the same place. We laugh at him and take comfort in the fact that we know our Pad Thai isn’t Chinese, thank you very much. But are we really much better?

OPINION | COLUMNS

Have a different conversation: America's problems run deeper than guns

Sep. 28, 2016

It seems like each time I turn on the news, incidences of gun violence flood the screen. They happen with such frequency that they no longer feel unusual. Sometimes they are not even considered nationally newsworthy. Yet one this week caught my attention.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Checking in with your Student Body president

Sep. 28, 2016

Hello Gators,

OPINION | COLUMNS

Where would our society be without discrimination?

Sep. 27, 2016

Often, I like to ask people: How would the history of humanity have been different if discrimination never exited?

OPINION | COLUMNS

After finally turning 21, I realized I wanted to become an adult too quickly

Sep. 27, 2016

I was a baby for the first 20 years of my life — or at least it felt that way. There was always something I wasn’t old enough to do: drive, buy cigarettes, join the Army, gamble, drink or enter a bar. You see, I had always wanted to be treated like an adult, ever since I consciously understood there were legal differences based on age.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Stamp your passport, but check your American privilege when you do

Sep. 27, 2016

The best thing about studying abroad in China was the food. I ate everything my stomach could fit — and then some. I ate a different kind of ice cream almost every day, and each one cost less than a dollar. Trying street food became a hobby. While I often went to different cafes to study at night, one thing they all had in common was their low prices. I could knock back three cappuccinos topped with cute foam art for the price of a single grande pumpkin spice latte.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Comedy and world-building: ‘Homestar Runner’

Sep. 26, 2016

The internet has done weird things for comedy. Good things, but certainly weird things. Video-sharing websites like YouTube, Newgrounds and Vine have paved the way for all sorts of art: mediums like sketches, animations and music. The internet digitized the formerly newspaper-dominated comic strip with works like “Penny Arcade” and “xkcd.” And beyond this, the eldritch phenomenon that is memes has introduced audiences to meta-humor and explored the darker side of the human psyche. Memes are spooky stuff.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Student, sometimes customer: When is education a business transaction?

Sep. 26, 2016

Whether it was due to a class discussion on the “student as customer” debate or a fellow columnist’s musings on Rate My Professors or simply my own preoccupation with funding graduate school, my mind keeps coming back to the ways in which higher education and the market economy intersect. Over the past few years, higher education has been increasingly characterized as a business transaction in which the student is the customer “purchasing” a degree and entrance into the job market. It seems innocuous enough, treating college students as valued customers, but despite the increased bargaining power this conceptual shift gives us, it undeniably warps the way we approach our education.

OPINION | COLUMNS

The only world that exists: Some thoughts on technology, the need to unplug

Sep. 26, 2016

Last week, in the middle of my creative writing class, my teacher stepped out to use the bathroom during our 10-minute break. This is usually a good time to crack light jokes with your neighbor or try and make small talk. Instead, every person except me and another guy was on his or her phone. The only reason I wasn’t looking down at mine was because it was plugged into the wall, charging. There was total silence in the room; nobody even glanced up or attempted to connect with another human being. And then our teacher walked back in and we resumed class. Is this just a minute instance of a current phenomenon I plan on stretching out of proportion? Possibly.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Parrott right to show support by urging students to attend demonstration

Sep. 25, 2016

On Thursday, David Parrott, the vice president for Student Affairs, sent out an email urging students to go to the Enough is Enough Peaceful Demonstration on Friday. Parrott wrote, “It is incomprehensible that violence against Black people across the nation continues.”

OPINION | COLUMNS

It’s not about who matters more; it’s about who matters now

Sep. 25, 2016

#BlackLivesMatter. #BlueLivesMatter. #AllLivesMatter.

OPINION | COLUMNS

US media is making the same mistake UK did

Sep. 22, 2016

Browsing the various news websites online has become an arduous task in 2016. Watching news stations on TV is even more unpalatable. Trying to stay informed is important, but a very fine line has developed between awareness of current issues and receiving the massive media spin on everything. Has 2016 really been that bad a year for the world? No, but I believe we’re not only becoming far more aware of the terrible things, but also fascinated by them. For the majority of Americans, their news comes through their preferred syndicated source’s filter, as they are simply being spoon-fed whatever that news station decides is important that day.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Controversial or not, UF administration should let Milo Yiannopoulos speak

Sep. 22, 2016

A few weeks ago, the conservative UF organization Turning Point announced plans to invite Milo Yiannopoulos to speak later this semester on campus. Yiannopoulos is a Breitbart News contributor, notorious Twitter troll and vocal critic of feminism, Islam and political correctness. Some even consider him to be an emerging spokesman for the “alt-right,” a nationalist, nativist and anti-multicultural alternative to mainstream Republican conservatism.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Life is a (metaphorical) highway: an analysis of driving habits and life

Sep. 21, 2016

I love my mother, and I hate stereotypes about Asian women, but I’m going to come clean and say this: She is not a good driver. I, unfortunately, have inherited this trait from her.

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Surprise: The 2016 election actually has precedent

Sep. 21, 2016

We are amid the most unusual presidential election of our lifetime. It features a career politician against a Washington outsider; a liar versus a loose cannon. Hillary Clinton, the Democratic Party’s preferred choice, and her candidacy are unsurprising. And this time last year, few expected Donald Trump to be the Republican Party’s nominee. His rise has rocked the political landscape.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Giving up freedom for the sake of security: analyzing Snowden's decision

Sep. 21, 2016

Oliver Stone’s movie “Snowden” came to theaters Friday. The true-story drama follows the lead-up and fallout surrounding the infamous NSA contractor’s decision to release thousands of top-secret documents and flee the country to avoid prosecution by the U.S. government.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Stop grammar shaming: We all drop letters every once in a while

Sep. 20, 2016

Throughout elementary school, I — like many others — was taught to say “John and I went to the store,” and not “me and John.” You shouldn't say “I ated the sandwich” or forget that you’re you (and that’s your bag). And never, ever start a sentence with a conjunction.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Support each other and help change society

Sep. 20, 2016

As a 22-year-old female college student, certain things are expected of me.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Thoughts on Rate My Professors' ‘Hotness’ rating

Sep. 20, 2016

Oh, ratemyprofessors.com, my darling, my muse. How I long for your infinite wisdom during add/drop week. You show me the level of effort I will have to put into each of my courses before I even enroll. You save me money on textbooks by assuring me that my Western Civilization professor won’t use it.

OPINION | COLUMNS

One more SpongeBob column

Sep. 19, 2016

This week, I wanted to talk about “SpongeBob SquarePants” again. I also wanted to talk about slapstick, but I feel like I didn’t waste enough of your time explaining exactly why I wanted to delve so deeply into a show geared toward kids. So, I’m going to explain that: why exactly I want to delve so deeply into a show geared toward kids. Let’s go.