Opinion | Editorials - The Independent Florida Alligator

OPINION | EDITORIALS

Editorial: Sure, we have Pokemon, but...

July 18, 2016

Over the next week and a half, the political elite of both major parties will evolve themselves from the primaries to the general election. Afterward, the candidates will ready themselves for battle in the gym we call America, and the two political parties will find themselves, according to The New York Times, $150 million in debt to the private entities (gym leaders) that will write checks for the conventions this year — all the more reason for our representatives to prioritize donors over constituents.

OPINION | EDITORIALS

Darts & Laurels: July 14, 2016

July 13, 2016

“Most people think/Great God will come from the skies/Take away everything/And make everybody feel high. But if you know what life is worth/You will look for yours on earth: And now you see the light/You stand up for your rights. Jah!” — To quote the late great former singer of the Wailers and beloved symbol of weed and reggae himself. There’s a lot of wrong in these times we live in. Our country needs healing — and not the kind where we stop at hoping and praying for the best. Far too long we’ve been complacent in the red. Now, in the spirit of completely abrupt and random transitions…

Dallas Police Chief David Brown answers questions during a news conference, Monday, July 11, 2016, in Dallas. Five police officers were killed and several injured during a shooting in downtown Dallas last week. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

OPINION | EDITORIALS

Editorial: Black lives and police officers

July 11, 2016

This past week’s trauma is no secret.

OPINION | EDITORIALS

Darts & Laurels: July 7. 2106

July 6, 2016

Some of you have reached out to the Alligator asking our position on the recent Supreme Court ruling.

This artist's rendering provided by NASA and JPL-Caltech shows the Juno spacecraft above the planet Jupiter. Five years after its launch from Earth, Juno is scheduled to go into orbit around the gas giant on Monday, July 4, 2016. (NASA/JPL-Caltech via AP)

OPINION | EDITORIALS

Editorial: Juno what we are saying?

July 4, 2016

So much news has happened. We can’t get to everything, but we’ll touch on a lesser-known thing and then a something-that-should-be-discussed-more thing.

OPINION | EDITORIALS

Darts & Laurels: June 30, 2016

June 29, 2016

So, here we are, dear readers: the end of June. For those of you experiencing your first few days here at UF, we at the Alligator would like to welcome you. And for those returning for Summer C, sorry break was only a week. We realize our opinions editor failed to greet you all warmly and probably frightened you a bit Tuesday by jumping straight into a bleak look at the political scene… Damn it, David… you had one job. Anyway, in the words of The Black Eyed Beans — or whatever they’re called — “Let’s get it started (ha).”

OPINION | EDITORIALS

Editorial: Apocalypse now — but, like, for real this time

June 27, 2016

The end of the world: We tease the idea here in the opinions section every now and again. Like in our opening editorial of Summer A and C—we mentioned an apocalypse was sure to come because Ted Cruz and John Kasich dropped out of the Republican presidential primary. Well, here’s the thing: We may have cried wolf a little bit.

OPINION | EDITORIALS

Darts & Laurels: June 16

June 15, 2016

How do we have a Darts & Laurels today, while we still grieve over those we lost in Orlando, while we painstakingly hold our breath for those still in recovery. The rest of the country can move on, but how do we? It happened right here at home. How did those in Newtown, Connecticut, or Charleston, South Carolina, move on when mass murder devastated their lives?

Sarah Schumaker, 23, leads a group of mourning Orlando residents and visitors in lighting candles at the vigil held at Lake Eola Park on Sunday.

OPINION | EDITORIALS

Editorial: How long will this go on?

June 13, 2016

Twenty first-graders attending school in Newtown, Connecticut. Then, it was a family and pedestrians in Santa Monica, California. Twelve more at a Washington, District of Columbia, naval yard. Three at Fort Hood, Texas. A long-planned mass-murder at Isla Vista, California.

OPINION | EDITORIALS

Darts & Laurels: June 9, 2016

June 8, 2016

Dear readers, we’re nearing the end. Five weeks into Summer A. It’s already almost over: crazy, right? It’s time to hit the books and try to pull some miracles in these classes so that we can all go back to enjoying what summer is truly about… never-ending rain?

OPINION | EDITORIALS

Satire: Save money, live better... Build drones?

June 6, 2016

Well, dear readers, this is it. We’re calling it. The end is nigh — and not the cool kind of Nye we all know and love from probably the only thing we liked in elementary school more than recess: “Bill! Bill! Bill!” (If this reference went over your head, you need some more science and bowties in your life!) But for real, the coming months are basically life-or-death… or move to Canada.

OPINION | EDITORIALS

Darts & Laurels: June 2, 2016

June 1, 2016

If you’re on the lookout for some life coaching, Dr. Ben Carson awoke from his slumber, yet again. Let’s see what message he brought to Fox News on Memorial Day: “America right now is like a cruise ship that is about to go off of Niagara Falls with tremendous carnage and death.” Hmm… Never mind. This sounds more like some nightmare he had after seeing “Titanic.” Anyway, we at the Alligator would never do you like that. We’d never give you up, let you down or run around and desert you. So, relax and fade away into our latest segment of…

U.S. President Barack Obama lays wreaths at the cenotaph at Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park in Hiroshima, western Japan, Friday, May 27, 2016. Obama on Friday became the first sitting U.S. president to visit the site of the world's first atomic bomb attack, bringing global attention both to survivors and to his unfulfilled vision of a world without nuclear weapons. (AP Photo/Shuji Kajiyama)

OPINION | EDITORIALS

Hiroshima: a sobering reminder of then and now

May 30, 2016

On Friday, President Barack Obama made a remarkably historic visit to Hiroshima, Japan, calling for a “moral revolution” and a “world without nuclear weapons” in his address. If this rhetoric sounds at all familiar, that’s because, well, it is.

OPINION | EDITORIALS

Darts & Laurels: May 25, 2016

May 25, 2016

It’s that time of year, dear readers: The days are getting hotter, the sun’s growing brighter, the list of your friends on wild summer vacations is getting longer and longer. Don’t worry: You may be shaping up for exams now that Summer A is halfway over, but this Summer here in Gainesville is still fire. Traffic is super light, the lines to the clubs are nearly non-existent and there are fewer people around to clog up your Wi-Fi when you’re on an all-night gaming spree. Most of all, you’re in for a treat: our senseless ramblings, our assessment of life’s deepest concerns, our latest segment of…

Thousands of people gather at the Paris casino in Las Vegas for the Nevada State Democratic Convention on Saturday, May 14, 2016. They are picking delegates to send to the national convention in July. (AP Photo/Michelle Rindels)

OPINION | EDITORIALS

What happens in Nevada... But seriously, what happened?

May 23, 2016

By now, most of you have probably heard about what happened at Nevada’s state Democratic caucus on May 14. Violence, chair throwing, verbal harassment, a California senator fearing for her life: At least, this is what happened according to many Democratic officials and major media.

OPINION | EDITORIALS

Darts & Laurels: May 19, 2016

May 18, 2016

Hear ye, hear ye, dear readers. We’re already nearing the end of our second week this semester. How does time pass so quickly? Are we to learn that the Earth is rotating on its axis at faster rates? Is the very fabric of spacetime in jeopardy as the possibility of a Mein Drumpf presidency becomes evermore plausible? No matter: We invite you to take solace and pleasure in our latest segment of…

OPINION | EDITORIALS

The Democratic National Convention: evidence of oligarchy

By Alligator Editorial Staff | May 16, 2016

We know this election cycle’s been hanging over your heads for what seems like forever, though probably still not as long as it’s been since you’ve returned your grandma’s voicemails. (Give her a call back, for heaven’s sake!) In so many ways, though, we’re just getting started. The general election is steadily approaching, and for weeks, all we’ve been hearing about is the need for party unity.

OPINION | EDITORIALS

Editorial: Livin’ on a prayer, 2016 edition

May 9, 2016

Welcome back, readers. Welcome home. We hope you enjoyed that little sliver of vacation. How did it come and go so quickly? It seems just yesterday we were in the heap of finals week, shamelessly praying to the gods to save our GPAs. No matter: time to trudge on through another season of classes. Treasure this semester, dear readers. It looks as though it may be our last.

OPINION | EDITORIALS

Editorial: Myths Un-Mythed - reality versus imagination

Apr. 18, 2016

We live in a world full of myths. Never mind the tales of a big, green, gamma-radiated “Avenger” who, for some reason, seems to break through every article of clothing except his shorts, or the tales of a “hell week” that drain all happiness and restfulness from students as they descend in a Walking Dead-like fashion upon their neighborhood libraries and Starbucks, indiscriminately feasting on raw study guides and fresh coffee.

OPINION | EDITORIALS

Editorial: Do not go gentle into that sleepless night - motivation for finals week

Apr. 17, 2016

Dear readers, this beautiful Monday marks our collective descent into the abyss. Many of us students find ourselves waking up to the academic reality we’ve been trying to ignore since Spring Break. Papers, finals, deadlines: It all comes down to these next two weeks.