Opinion | Columns - The Independent Florida Alligator

OPINION | COLUMNS

Column: English accents and the importance of /r/ sounds

Jan. 19, 2016

In the 10 minutes I could bear to watch Sunday’s Democratic debate, I was struck by Bernie Sanders’ speech – namely, his accent. Apart from his distinct pronunciation of a few vowels and his intonational and rhythmic patterns typical to New York English, Sanders’ speech mostly perked up my ears because of one feature: its lack of the sound /r/.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Column: One last look at Zadroga and the up-hill battle

Jan. 18, 2016

For those of you who read my column regularly — hi, Mom and Dad! — you know the James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Reauthorization Act is a piece of legislation I kept close track of last semester. Well, on Dec. 18, the Zadroga Act was finally reauthorized via its inclusion in the omnibus bill, the spending agenda Congress crafts for the following year.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Column: Junior year, the academic limbo

Jan. 18, 2016

As far as religious doctrines go, I don’t remember much from my eight-year stint in Catholic school. The lessons occasionally flash bright in my mind, triggered by some sort of stimulus, like an evangelical billboard on the highway or a literary allusion. Yet, one concept has always stuck with me: limbo. Something about that transitional state, not quite hell but not quite heaven, struck me as the worst possible fate.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Column: Gainesville can do more recycling

Jan. 18, 2016

Before Yoda — the force-sensitive and elderly cousin of Kermit the Frog — effervesced into the great beyond in 1980, he left us with this peerless wisdom: “Do or do not. There is no try.”

OPINION | COLUMNS

Column: Gainesville should honor fallen legend

Jan. 14, 2016

On Monday morning I was rolled up in my blankets, all of my extremities icy, waiting on the motivation to get out of bed. It was in this state that I shut off my phone alarm, looked through my missed texts and learned that David Bowie had died.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Column: Professors would like to hear from you

Jan. 14, 2016

The atmosphere on the first day of a big lecture class, at least before the professor arrives, is something akin to a rock concert that’s going to immediately sour. Everyone has some semblance of a clue as to why they’re there, but no one has an idea of what this event — the performance of entertaining the attention of as many as 600 students — is really going to be like.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Column: Counseling and Wellness Center leaves much to be desired for students

Jan. 14, 2016

I suffer from generalized anxiety disorder and depression. I’m not ashamed of it, and I don’t let it define me. I’ve done as much as I can to educate myself on my illnesses so I’m properly equipped to keep them managed as much as possible. However, there are times when it feels like I’m losing the battle, and that’s when I seek outside help.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Column: Trees combat climate change

Jan. 13, 2016

It’s more likely than not every person in the world has, at least once, seen a tree. As human beings, we cannot live without trees: They clean our air, provide oxygen, conserve energy, save water, prevent water pollution and soil erosion, offer food and healing and create economic opportunities. I could go on, noting how they create a canopy and habitat for wildlife, provide wood and combat climate change. This last one is particularly critical, as the Paris Climate Change Conference attested to it. As stated by Trust for Public Land, a nonprofit organization dedicated to conserving land, “a single grown tree can release enough oxygen back into the atmosphere to support two human beings.”

OPINION | COLUMNS

Column: Why we need to be wary of value placed on polls

Jan. 13, 2016

If this election cycle will be remembered for anything, it will be not only for the amount of candidates, but also for the sheer amount of polling conducted. The average news watcher is bombarded with percentage points on a daily basis when reading or watching the news. The only other place you could get this many numbers is when Bernie Sanders talks about economic reform and taxing the one percent.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Color me happy: the rise of adult coloring books

Jan. 12, 2016

I’d like to thank everyone who emailed me last week about my column’s new literary focus. I greatly appreciate the support and the interest. In the future, if you’d like to email me with column suggestions, please direct your emails to sbg_column@aol.com.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Column: Adults have power, children decide

Jan. 12, 2016

Do you remember the first few weeks of elementary school? Because, when looking at the other side of the globe, it seems like some leaders forgot life lessons taught to them when they were children.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Column: Language is all about our choices

Jan. 12, 2016

"You like potato and I like potahto,

OPINION | COLUMNS

Vaping is not only unhealthy, but also remarkably uncool

Jan. 11, 2016

Being like-minded with those who sought a fitness renaissance in the New Year, I went to a sporting goods store last week and purchased a dorky pair of running shoes. The half-off marking, coupled with the promise of a more efficient and healthy respiratory system, had my head and hopes high. Leaving the store, box of Asics in hand, I passed by a panderer who was making his last pleas before the night set in. It was less empathetic and more in the spirit of karmic rectification that I gave the man a few dollars in spare change. During the rummage I happened upon a pack of Marlboro 27’s in my pocket and, once again being altruistic, opted to donate the rest of my rather full pack to the strip-mall nomad who wanted for so much.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Column: The U.S. and ISIS: How do we salvage victory?

Jan. 11, 2016

Any successful strategy against ISIS will ultimately require both a military and political campaign. On the one hand, our military campaign has proven relatively successful. On the other, our political opposition to ISIS needs considerable improvement. Before going any further, let’s establish some context.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Column: Paris conference was a bunch of hot air

Jan. 10, 2016

As Jan. 1 neared, many media outlets published articles that reviewed and ranked the most noteworthy events of the past 365 days. For many left-wing publications, the event that gained the most praise was the 2015 United Nations Paris Climate Change Conference. This event, apparently the most important and consequential event of the past year, was magnificently monumental in nature. Because of the hot air emissions created at the talks and coupled with the negotiators’ unduly self-praise, the media declared that all of the polar bears clinging onto nearly liquid glaciers can rest easy.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Column: No one is forced to like Shakespeare

Jan. 7, 2016

"Nothing is true; everything is permitted.”

OPINION | COLUMNS

Column: Instagram celebrates superficial lifestyles instead of actual lives

Jan. 7, 2016

I don’t have an Instagram. I’d like to pretend it’s because I’m too subversive for social media, but the truth is I’m too lazy for it. After witnessing my friends pour hours into photo capturing and filter selection, I decided it wasn’t worth the effort. Putting on makeup for a first-day-of-school selfie? Please.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Guest Column: Planning on flying your own drone? Read this before you're cleared for takeoff

Jan. 6, 2016

If you’re one of the lucky people who got a drone as a holiday gift, don’t strap on your flying goggles just yet.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Column: The cultural significance of "Auld Lang Syne"

Jan. 5, 2016

"We two have run about the hills

OPINION | COLUMNS

Column: New year, new column, new books

Jan. 5, 2016

Happy January! It’s the beginning of a new year and a new semester. Here’s to saying goodbye to Winter Break, a glorious time of rest, relaxation and stuffing myself with home-cooked food. It was good while it lasted. Does anyone else feel decidedly underprepared for this semester? Coming to school in the fall often feels exciting and full of promise, but the (semi) cold, dreary air of spring has a habit of sucking the enthusiasm for school right out of me. Luckily, there are ways to stay positive about rolling out of bed and trundling to class this week.