Opinion | Columns - The Independent Florida Alligator

OPINION | COLUMNS

Legalizing marijuana is still a challenge for the Sunshine State

Feb. 15, 2015

Colorado has had recreational marijuana legalized for one year now, and its effects are still hard to determine. Many questions still remain: Did it bring in expected tax revenue? Were there any devastating unexpected consequences? Should other states follow suit and legalize pot? Many in Florida are looking into Colorado’s experiment to find support for legalizing marijuana, but the evidence may not be totally available yet.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Being Mountain Ridge Little League: from loss to ‘win’

Feb. 15, 2015

They were losers. They lost. But in a twisting turn of events, they won.

OPINION | COLUMNS

“Fifty Shades” shouldn’t be on your Valentine’s to-do list

Feb. 12, 2015

Put away your candy hearts and flowers and pull out your floggers and whips — “Fifty Shades of Grey” is here.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Idiots threaten the United States’ safety and future

Feb. 12, 2015

For a country that urges young people to get educated in order to get ahead, we’re quickly becoming a nation of idiots. Perhaps the Mike Judge film “Idiocracy” accurately predicted a future America in which everyone is a dunce, where any idiot who time travels to the future is automatically the smartest man in the country. Whatever the cause, our collective idiocy could undo all that our country has accomplished, and that should terrify everyone out of their pants. Sure, we can pride ourselves on American exceptionalism or believe that a 230-year-old constitution will save the day, but something is amiss in the U.S., and we need an urgent course correction.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Straight outta Bahston: Mark Wahlberg, the Oscars and American greatness

Feb. 12, 2015

As a culture, Americans have long been fixated on the idea of being “the best.” As any cultural anthropologist could tell you, this phenomenon is the natural by-product of being “the best” country the world has ever seen. Naturally, our esteemed privilege has often led us to debate who or what is “the best” in their respective fields. “The best” president. “The best” college football team. “The best” Kardashian. “The best” flavor of Doritos to go with your Mountain Dew. “The best” instance of Rob Schneider yelling “You can do it!” in an Adam Sandler film. It is these debates, rational and nuanced as they are, that have helped to keep American civil discourse the respected, revered institution that it is.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Obama’s ‘strategic patience’ is misleading and ineffective

Feb. 11, 2015

The world is coming undone. Chaos, violence and disorder are spreading quickly.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Improvement in UF SG: a how-to guide

Feb. 10, 2015

For those who missed out, last week I wrote a column detailing our Student Government representatives’ lack of visibility. In an attempt to highlight the disparities in SG presence during election time as compared to that of the rest of the year, I mentioned that Swamp Party has a recurring pattern of abandoning their social media platforms after elections. Thankfully, Blake Murphy, SG director of external affairs, wrote a letter to the editor informing me of an election code that prohibits political parties from making posts outside of election cycles. Murphy also brought attention to another YouTube account, one of three unverified ones, that releases “SG TV” episodes. He went on to mention that SG hosts dozens of events because visibility and transparency are their priorities.

OPINION | COLUMNS

GOP: There’s nothing ‘beautiful’ about rape

Feb. 9, 2015

A Republican state lawmaker insulted women and sexual assault survivors nationwide Thursday when he spoke about rape exemptions in a bill that would ban abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy. During West Virginia’s House Health Committee meeting, delegate Brian Kurcaba argued that rape and incest victims shouldn’t be exempt from the ban because even pregnancy from rape has a silver lining.

OPINION | COLUMNS

President Obama’s speech calls for religious tolerance

Feb. 9, 2015

Each U.S. president since Dwight D. Eisenhower has attended the National Prayer Breakfast, an annual event started in 1953. President Barack Obama is no different in this instance, and he gave a speech at the breakfast last week. This speech marked Obama’s seventh attendance at the breakfast, and while the speech was uplifting in its hopeful message, it also raised a few eyebrows and has resulted in a lot of backlash from conservative politicians and organizations.

OPINION | COLUMNS

What ever happened to Michael Sam?

Feb. 8, 2015

I was watching the NFL Draft in May when history was made.

OPINION | COLUMNS

New single-sex restroom bill in Florida House is discriminatory

Feb. 8, 2015

In the Florida House last week, a bill was manufactured by Republican Frank Artiles that gives a whole new meaning to discrimination. HB 583, entitled “Single-Sex Public Facilities,” would make it so a person must use a public facility that aligns with the sex they were assigned at birth.

OPINION | COLUMNS

How much difference will advances in science make?

Feb. 8, 2015

Life is full of unexpected happenings, and many people have been quoted at the end of their lives about the things they regret not doing. Wouldn’t you love to know how much life we have left? It’s amazing — or terrifying, depending on where you stand — that science is actually getting close to being able to determine how long each of us will live.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Don’t kick out those semi-welcome guests

Feb. 5, 2015

On “Curb Your Enthusiasm,” comedian J.B. Smoove plays Leon Black, the brother of Loretta Black, a woman who ends up moving in with Larry David in Los Angeles after being displaced from New Orleans by a hurricane. Despite already having a home in L.A. — not to mention not even being formally invited into Larry’s house — Leon moves in, and quickly becomes a key player in Larry’s antics. When Loretta finally moves out, Larry gestures to Leon, “I guess this means you’ll be…” obviously meaning to ask him to leave as well. When Leon quickly replies that he’ll be “Going upstairs to eat this f****** Chinese food,” pausing to take a sip of soda, “in my f****** room,” Larry can’t even muster the energy to debate the point.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Bruce Jenner’s gender isn't our business

Feb. 5, 2015

I was at the grocery store on Tuesday waiting to pay for my buy-one-get-one Cheez-Its when some magazine headlines caught my eye. The cash register line was a little long, so I had some time to look around at the multiple magazines covering the same subject: Bruce Jenner.

OPINION | COLUMNS

The growing problem of male body image

Feb. 5, 2015

Last year, I overheard a conversation between two men at the gym. “Yeah, if I didn’t have class I’d lift for two hours in the morning, do cardio at lunch and then do two hours of core at night.” I turned around, curious to see what kind of person would ever want to do that. What I saw didn’t seem to be a person at all, so much as a rippling ball of hypervascularized muscle. His arms were so huge that they hung limply like a T. rex’s, and his legs seemed to buckle under his frame. If I didn’t have my glasses on, I probably would have mistaken him for The Thing.

OPINION | COLUMNS

In education debate, Catholic schools win

Feb. 4, 2015

Debates revolving around education are always contentious. This issue, unlike other high-profile issues of our time, induces strong emotional responses. For some reason, parents’ choices are solely limited to either pro-school choice, pro-teacher, pro-public schools or pro-charter schools. What this narrow and emotional debate leaves out is the role that religious schools, Catholic schools in particular, play in our society.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Meninism: a movement of misogyny and contradiction that sets back women’s rights

Feb. 3, 2015

As issues concerning feminism become increasingly popular and hotly debated, a faction of its opponents attempt to match that growth and diminish feminism’s lasting effect. The men’s rights movement — or meninists, as they so cutely call themselves — represents the loudest organized voices against feminism, bemoaning a neglect of men they believe remains unaddressed. At best, this movement is a redundant protest of issues that feminism already seeks to address. At worst, meninists are making a misogynistic mockery of true activism and misguidedly placing blame.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Experimenting with the effectiveness of dreamcatchers

Feb. 3, 2015

I ate some salad, double-checked my alarm — set for every three hours — closed my eyes and tried to worry about upcoming exams. I wasn’t asking for a next-day headache; I wanted to prove dream catchers couldn’t stop bad dreams.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Hip-Hop: the Grammy’s black sheep

Feb. 2, 2015

As the Staples Center sets up to host the 57th Grammy Awards, the public continues to tear down the show for its nominations in the rap categories. The criticism primarily stems from the decision to include Iggy Azalea’s “The New Classic” as a nominee for Best Rap Album. Iggy Azalea has been accused of profiting off the gentrification of hip-hop culture by a number of hip-hop-based media outlets. She has replied to most accusations hurled her way with social media.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Bears shouldn’t be punished for problems with Fla. development

Feb. 2, 2015

In the midst of public safety concerns and complaints, Florida’s ban on black bear hunting might be lifted for the first time in two decades. Several reported bear attacks and an increase in bear sightings have prompted the Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission to introduce the possibility of a bear-hunting season. The commission will begin discussing the issue Wednesday.