OPINION
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COLUMNS
Thank you for the endless supply of anecdotes
Dec. 8, 2015A few weeks ago, I ran into an old classmate from high school.
Opinion | Columns
OPINION
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COLUMNS
Goodbye and thanks to the squad I finally found
Dec. 8, 2015If there’s one thing college taught me besides how to be a journalist, it’s that you can’t force friendship.
OPINION
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COLUMNS
Column: Country and football, viewed necessarily in that order
Dec. 8, 2015Let’s go back to Sept. 8, 2011. The U.S. unemployment rate is around 9 percent and President Barack Obama has called a joint session of Congress to address the nation on what the U.S. government is going to do to improve the economy. Millions of Americans at the time were struggling to make ends meet while unemployed, scraping together what they had just to make it by. That night, Obama had the answer to the fear and struggle of many Americans. But this wasn’t the priority for most: That night it was Thursday Night Football.
OPINION
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COLUMNS
The end of the semester is a time for reflection
Dec. 7, 2015For the next week, any room with a Wi-Fi connection and four walls will be overrun by over-caffeinated undergrads frantically typing, highlighting or scribbling. Most conversations will be haunted by looming deadlines, libraries will be filled to capacity and everyone in your life will claim to be "burnt out." With the end of the semester comes not only a heightened state of anxiety, but also the opportunity to reflect on any lessons learned in the last four months (and the chance to successfully procrastinate at the same time).
OPINION
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COLUMNS
Guest Column: Undergrads face grad bargaining issues
Dec. 7, 2015In the Alligator’s coverage of UF graduate assistants’ struggle for fair pay, UF Provost Joseph Glover is quoted as saying, "(Graduate Assistants United’s) position is they want a lot of weight for people on the lower end," referring to GAU’s proposal to redistribute student fees. In this model, GAs with the lowest income would pay proportionally less in fees, and GAs with more income would pay proportionally more in fees. According to Glover, this "would be unfair to the people who are working hard, who are at the higher end of the pay scale." Presumably, this means Glover is working extremely hard, since he’s paid over $300,000 a year and doesn’t have to pay fees to work at UF. Plus, there’s his $50,000 raise in 2010. Compare this to the 2-percent raise for GAs currently offered by negotiator Bill Connellan. (In case Connellan doesn’t know, a 2-percent increase in poverty is still poverty.)
OPINION
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COLUMNS
Column: Goodbye, Gainesville, and all of its lessons
Dec. 6, 2015Proust once wrote memory isn’t contained within us, but all around us, in the seasons that come and go and remind us the world goes on. And so every winter, I remember the winters previous, going back to the first one when I came to Gainesville, on the edge of beginning my so-called real life.
OPINION
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COLUMNS
GOP Primary race is like Midtown
Dec. 6, 2015As a supporter of the presidential candidate Gov. Jeb Bush, I am frequently asked about the polls that show outsiders out-pacing establishment candidates by ever-increasing numbers. As well as the anti-Washington rhetoric of the election and about the throngs of people who show up to Trump-mania rallies. How can all of this be?
OPINION
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COLUMNS
Column: Legal guns are used in crimes, too
Dec. 6, 2015Mass shootings have become so frequent it is difficult to keep track of them. With the San Bernardino shooting, the U.S. has seen 355 shootings this year according to The Washington Post. What distinguishes this shooting from the rest of them is the shooters’ association with the terror group Daesh.
OPINION
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COLUMNS
A retort to concealed-carry advocates
Dec. 3, 2015On Monday morning, I read a piece in this very section by Michael Beato, a genuinely great guy with a stronger grip on style and common sense than I could ever hope for. I have a lot of respect for him, a sentiment made stronger by the fact we hardly ever agree on anything political. I haven’t had too many conversations with the guy, but, based on previous experience, I’d much rather spend an hour — or even an afternoon — shooting the political shit with Michael than any college Democrat in the area.
OPINION
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COLUMNS
STEM subjects are not the only important paths to pursue in college
Dec. 3, 2015Toward the end of my freshman year, I decided to switch my major to economics. I found its unique blend of social science and math fascinating, and I was excited to pursue a degree in it. When I told one of my friends in the College of Engineering about my decision, he laughed at me. "Economics?" he said. "What a joke. You should pick something that matters if you want to get a job someday." I nodded and smiled while making a mental note to demote him from "friend" to "mild acquaintance."
OPINION
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COLUMNS
Going out with a bang: It’s been a pleasure
Dec. 3, 2015In January 2014, I walked into the Alligator office for its open house. I was a sophomore at the time, and I went straight to the then-opinions editor with, "I’d like to write a sex column."
OPINION
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COLUMNS
Print is not dead — it’s making a comeback
Dec. 2, 2015If you are even remotely interested in a career path that involves the written word on paper — journalist, writer, librarian, editor, etc. — this has probably happened to you.
OPINION
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COLUMNS
What ignoring women in film really means for women in reality
Dec. 2, 2015Our favorite thing to tell toddlers is how unique they are, that each and every one of them is a special snowflake. Although they are each made of the same stuff, ice and air, their bodies, personalities and experiences are individualized. Then, for the lives of a good half of them, we find ways to make them feel less so.
OPINION
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COLUMNS
Don’t dismiss the verb ‘be like’ — praise it
Dec. 1, 2015"And you touch me and I’m like…ooh ooh" — "Empire" by Shakira.
OPINION
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COLUMNS
Guest Column: Animal welfare cannot be dismissed
Dec. 1, 2015On Tuesday, the animal rights network Direct Action Everywhere released an exposé of a top-rated Whole Foods turkey supplier that found thousands of birds in cramped, filthy sheds with open sores and crippled legs. This investigation confirms my personal experience searching for "humane" animal products: When you look behind the closed doors of animal agriculture, you will find violence and cruelty that companies strive to keep hidden from the public.
OPINION
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COLUMNS
You should care about other countries
Dec. 1, 2015Do you know someone who could tell you the capital of Venezuela? Or someone who knows where Iraq is on a map? It would be extremely difficult to find an average American who could point out more than two African countries on a map, if even that. On the other hand, I’m sure it would be easy to find someone who not only knows where France or Germany are located, but also wants to visit one of these countries.
OPINION
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COLUMNS
A tale of two Thanksgivings: food insecurity in the US
Nov. 30, 2015With Thanksgiving now in the rearview mirror and the weight of finals looming heavily over us all, we students will likely degrade into a cluster of anxiety as opposed to reminiscing fondly on this past holiday.
OPINION
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COLUMNS
FSU Hate Week: beloved, but not PC
Nov. 30, 2015As we all reveled in Thanksgiving Break by taking endless pictures of our dogs, skillfully dodging questions about our futures and binging on relaxation, something else loomed eminent on the horizon. Interspersed among social media proclamations of being #thankful were posts of a much different nature. It was "FSU Hate Week," and there was no escape.
OPINION
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COLUMNS
Domestic terrorism is more frightening than anything from the Middle East
Nov. 30, 2015The possibility of successfully navigating an asteroid field is approximately 3,720 to 1. The odds of an American being killed in a terrorist attack (including terrorist attacks carried out overseas) are 1 in 20 million. C-3PO enlightened us with the former cosmic fact in 1980, while The Washington Post gave us the latter just two years ago. Despite the data, more than most on the campaign trail, including plenty who hold power in Washington, D.C., vie for further increases in discretionary spending for defense and cite the threat of terrorism (specifically attacks carried out by radical jihadists) as the primary reason for this necessity.
OPINION
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COLUMNS
The increasing danger of anti-liberal liberalism
Nov. 29, 2015Say what you will of the political right, but at least they are politically consistent. From the decrepit-moderate branch to the slow-people bible study group that controls the most powerful country in the world, Republicans just want to hurt people. Jeb Bush is fine with "stuff" happening to the poor and disadvantaged, and Ted Cruz needs women to suffer for their chromosomal sins. Our left doesn’t know what it wants, especially in our generation, and it only wants to point out the ideological sins of its compatriots.
