Opinion | Columns - The Independent Florida Alligator

OPINION | COLUMNS

Column: Scattered thoughts about Scalia, Cruz, checks and balances

Feb. 21, 2016

When I first saw the Politico breaking news alert informing me of the death of U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia last week, I felt like someone punched me in the gut. For conservatives in the U.S., Scalia was more than an intellectual, consequential jurist and opera buff — Scalia was someone who championed the Constitution and our founding principles to their rightful extremes. The news of his death was tough for me.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Guest Column: To the Alligator's 1105 W. University Ave. building, with love and memories

Feb. 18, 2016

While on a rooftop in Iowa at the wedding of one of my editors, I decided to get an Alligator tattoo.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Column: Suz Webz is indeed president

Feb. 18, 2016

Today we have a new president.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Column: Graffiti, orgo and weed-out class theory

Feb. 18, 2016

What frustrates a student enough to deface university property? Organic chemistry, apparently.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Column: Bernie Sanders needs to be criticized

Feb. 17, 2016

After his large win in New Hampshire, America seems to be “feeling the Bern” like never before. Many, including Hillary Clinton, had never thought that Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., could or would make it this far; and yet, here we are. Sanders is running a campaign espousing progressive policies that would ostensibly better this country, which has garnered largely positive reactions to his candidacy. However, good vibrations aside, it is important he receives valid criticism just as much as any other candidate in the race.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Column: Africa is not a country; African is not a language

Feb. 16, 2016

When I tell people I spent the summer in Tanzania learning Swahili, it usually elicits a degree of confusion. “Is that a click language?” “How does one learn Swahili?” “Why would you waste your time learning a language no one speaks?” “Who speaks Swahili?” “Is Swahili even a language?”

OPINION | COLUMNS

Column: I invite you to celebrate Library Lovers' Month

Feb. 16, 2016

February is Library Lovers’ Month! Who decided this? I have no idea, but I’m in full support of such a thing. As college students, we should all be familiar with the library. Whether you go to Marston Science Library for the 24/5 mass-produced study space or you hole yourself up in Library East because the ceiling of the reading room reminds you of Hogwarts, we each have a unique relationship with the many libraries on campus. UF has the biggest library database in Florida, with six libraries and a constantly growing digital collection.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Column: Gap between the world and the scientific community

Feb. 16, 2016

On Thursday, a team of scientists at the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory detected gravitational waves. In measuring the sound of two black holes colliding, one of the last points of Einstein’s theory of relativity was proven correct. However, this triumph is not just a triumph for the sake of discovery; it was a triumph for the scientists who dedicated decades of their lives to proving this research. The time spent toward the study was worth it.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Column: Only YOU can prevent oligarchy

Feb. 15, 2016

Last year was different.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Column: UF admissions decisions - it's a family affair

Feb. 15, 2016

Like so many other students, I spent the majority of last Friday worrying about impending admissions decisions and whether I’d be sharing a campus with my brother yet again. At 6 p.m. sharp, my family and I sat around our living room, eagerly watching him refresh the page over and over. Our phone started ringing, with a parent frantically asking questions about his or her child’s admission to UF’s Pathway to Campus Enrollment program, most of them derivatives of “What the hell is a PaCE program?” While my mom made an attempt at consolation, my brother finally triumphed over the UF server.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Column: Be Ted Cruz, not Bernie Sanders or Elizabeth Warren

Feb. 14, 2016

As the sole conservative columnist of the Alligator, I bravely lead my “wolf pack of one” each week to advocate a conservative point of view and dispute my liberal colleagues in the opinions section.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Column: It's time for young voters to engage in politics

Feb. 14, 2016

With the upcoming voter registration deadline Tuesday, now is the time to become politically engaged. With increased voter turnout, young voters can show they care about politics and actually want their voice to be heard. While issues like Social Security and Medicare are important, young Americans won’t have to confront these for quite some time. In fact, it’s not just far off in terms of years: Many young people think it’s irrelevant to them because these programs likely won’t be around when they are older. Despite this, decisions made by politicians enter every facet of our lives, whether the impact is direct or not. According to a poll conducted by USA Today and Rock the Vote, “Only a third say they’re likely to vote in the Republican primaries. Four in 10 say they’re likely to vote in the Democratic primaries. Six in 10 say they are likely to vote in November.”

OPINION | COLUMNS

Column: Choose your own presidential candidate

Feb. 11, 2016

The path to choosing the most powerful person in the free world, by all indications and a considerable consensus, is a mess. Not that the process itself is in shambles — though that seems to be a popular refrain every four years; I just don’t trust anyone who says they fully understand it. However, because this year will be the first time I and many other college students will be voting in a presidential election, I will publicly attempt to grapple with and make sense of the primary election for the education of the Alligator readership and, more importantly, myself.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Column: Don't be rude in the name of comedy

Feb. 11, 2016

"It’s because you’re a woman.”

OPINION | COLUMNS

Guest column: February updates - elections, online voting task force

Feb. 11, 2016

Hello, students!

OPINION | COLUMNS

Column: Reshaping the college admissions process

Feb. 10, 2016

For me, high school was not the environment that movies and television shows painted it as. There were no jocks with letterman jackets sitting in the hallway during class, chatting it up with cheerleaders. Not once did I see a straight-A student mocked or ridiculed for being academically focused. Friday afternoons lacked the aura of youthfulness and adolescent adventure that supposedly surround a rivalry football game that evening. Yes, we were all young, squinting as we desperately tried to see the future ahead of us, but I cannot help but feel that the culturally fabricated atmosphere of high school has been long gone.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Column: Why is the book always better than the movie?

Feb. 10, 2016

To quote one of my favorite authors: “It is a truth universally acknowledged that when it comes to quality, the book is better than the movie.”

OPINION | COLUMNS

Column: Yes, 'aks' is a real, legitimate English verb

Feb. 9, 2016

Few pronunciations in English are as controversial as that of the verb ‘aks.’ The top-rated definition for ‘aks’ on Urbandictionary.com puts it bluntly, summarizing all the critiques I’ve heard: “What retards say when they don’t know how to pronounce the word ask,” citing the hypothetical example, “Yo dogg… I gotta aks you a question.”

OPINION | COLUMNS

Column: Do pastors really need protecting?

Feb. 8, 2016

As enticing and accessible as the 2016 presidential election is, there are other issues we Floridians ought to concern ourselves with. I’m speaking in particular of the Pastor Protection Act, which would absolve pastors of any liability to perform marriage ceremonies for same-sex couples.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Column: Book lovers and the Amazon expansion

Feb. 8, 2016

As an English major, it goes without saying that books are a huge part of my life. They pile up on any and every flat surface in my apartment, slowly accumulating and overtaking my space. With my meager Ikea bookshelf packed to the brim, I’ve started using bedside tables, coffee tables, dressers and desks in an effort to contain them. I roll my eyes at anyone who dares suggest I buy a Kindle and wring my hands when my mother mentions our family history of hoarding. There are books worn and dog-eared from frequent readings, books I’ve only half-read, books I promise myself I’ll read one day (hello, “Infinite Jest”), and books that, let’s be honest, are just there for aesthetic purposes.