UF’s College of Liberal Arts and Sciences commencement ceremony was briefly interrupted by three of our student organizers during the college’s second go at a proper commencement.
Most of us can agree climate change is a problem, and the Earth is facing a crisis, but unfortunately, there are also a lot of people who don’t agree. Recently, you may have seen a little video called “Earth” by Lil Dicky which, as we’re writing this, has 26 million views in just four days. The video is a modern day “We Are the People,” with famous singers like Ariana Grande, Justin Bieber, Snoop Dogg and many more singing about saving the planet. The video features cute animated animals and bold colors, but the message behind it is serious: If we don’t start doing more for the environment now, climate change will become irreversible. We’d say things are getting pretty serious if an artist named Lil Dicky has become one of our greatest environmental proponents.
Easter, a day of celebration for Christians all over the world, turned into a day of mourning after three churches in three Sri Lankan cities were torn apart by bombs, wreaking havoc on families and friends in worship. The bombings have killed at least 207 people and injured 450 people. Officials believe the attacks, which also included bombings at high-end hotels in Sri Lanka, were carried out by suicide bombers in a coordinated act of terrorism.
If you’re a student at UF, you received an email from UF President Kent Fuchs encouraging students to fill out a campus climate survey on sexual assault and misconduct. It’s a survey that attempts to better understand sexual assault and sexual misconduct on college campuses. There are 33 universities conducting the survey, which is being conducted by the Association of American Universities, including UF.
A few weeks ago, the editorial board was invited to take a tour of UF Health Shands Hospital, specifically the pediatric units after we wrote the editorial, “What does it mean to do it ‘For The Kids’?” In the editorial, we posed questions we felt were not readily available to the general public concerning Dance Marathon at UF, such as how exactly money raised by DM is utilized. As a result, Shands representatives reached out to give us these answers and provide more transparency on how the money is spent in the children’s hospital.
You’re in your car scouring a UF parking garage in hopes of finding a gloriously empty parking spot. You have looked for a spot on three floors already and things aren’t looking good. But you have a meeting in 10 minutes that you have to get to, so the search must continue. Then you see it, an empty spot perfectly nestled between two shining cars. You quickly whip into it, claiming the spot as yours.
April is the beginning of the end for major pop culture phenomenons, namely “The Avengers” franchise (at least for now) and “Game of Thrones.” Both franchises have captured the attention of audiences across the globe and have facilitated conversations involving speculation and commentary. They have spawned parody skits, elevated people to A-list stars and created entire worlds people have spent hours recapping and analyzing. The franchises may have multiple spin-offs planned for both franchises, but we wonder if they will spawn the same fan response as their original predecessors.
Since 1948, April 7 has been celebrated as National World Health Day. This day is a celebration of the implementation of the constitution of the World Health Organization. It was adopted during an International Health Conference in New York, held on June 1946 and later signed by 61 States on July 22, 1946. The constitution, which can be read on the organization’s website, was implemented on April 7, 1948.
We, the editorial board, wanted to address the last editorial published Monday entitled, “What does it mean to do it ‘For The Kids’?” Since its publication, we’ve received a number of questions regarding some of the topics we addressed. In addition, we received answers to some of our own questions posed in the editorial. We did not reach out to UF Health Shands Hospital specifically for Monday’s editorial; however, we received an email Tuesday from Shands spokesperson Rossana Passaniti after we reached out to her earlier that day. In the email, she provided a statement from the CEO of Shands, Ed Jimenez, who responded to the board’s editorial, which will be published in full on our website. He addressed some of our previous questions, namely where the money from Dance Marathon goes and how the Miracle Children are helped. These Miracle Children are patients at the Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals. DMUF’s Miracle Children have profiles provided on DMUF’s website. These are the answers Jimenez provided:
“For The Kids.” It has a nice ring to it.
With only a few days left of Women’s History Month, we thought we’d discuss the topic of feminism and what it means in respect to today’s current social and political climate. Feminism is often a misconstrued word, but its most basic definition is equality for all sexes in any social, political and economic sphere. Feminism’s history is extensive and has seen multiple phases all aimed at achieving different goals; however, in most of its history, it has left out key minority groups. In today’s phase, the fourth phase, this is changing.
![MaKenzie Woody, 6, a first-grader at a DC Prep elementary school in Southeast Washington, has been through multiple lockdowns this year because of nearby gun violence. [Bill O’Leary/The Washington Post]
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Most of us grew up with lockdowns. They usually consisted of a teacher flicking off the lights, maybe even blacking out a window with dark paper and pointing the entire class to a corner of the classroom, where we’d sit in agonizing silence until an administrator came to give the “all clear.” The Columbine shooting was when people first really began to talk about school shootings. However, only in recent years were school shootings constantly in the news and talked about in legislation.
There’s a special recipe involved in the making of the infamous Florida man stories. They usually involve an alligator, body of water, drugs or nudity and, if we’re really lucky, Taco Bell. The headlines for these stories are eye-catching, to say the least: “Naked Florida man baking cookies on George Foreman grill responsible for fire,” or “Florida man makes beer run with gator in hand.” (All real headlines.)
The system of checks and balances is as fundamental to the U.S. as the Constitution itself. However, in recent decades, the lines between the government’s branches have blurred. On Friday, President Donald Trump issued the first veto of his presidency, an act many presidents before him have used. This act is within his constitutional power, but what sets it apart from any other presidential veto is his manipulation of executive power.
If you’re anything like us, your cleaning habits have improved considerably over the past few weeks – and we have Marie Kondo to thank. Kondo is a Japanese best-selling author who recently came out with a show on Netflix called “Tidying Up With Marie Kondo” on Jan. 1. It’s quite possibly the most relaxing show since the days of Bob Ross. In each episode, Kondo shows people fundamental skills that allow them to clean up their lives both physically and mentally.
Everyone’s a critic. This phrase has never been truer than it is today. The internet is a breeding ground for comments, critiques and unsolicited opinions. On every social media platform or website, comment sections fall at the end of the page.
What would you do if someone handed you about $150,000? You could buy yourself a house, maybe even a Tesla, and still have some money to spare. You could choose to pay off all of your student loans. These scenarios are things people spend decades saving money for, but at the Oscars, all 25 nominees for acting and directing will receive a gift “bag” valued at nearly that amount of money, around $148,000.
Editor’s Note: The Alligator’s editorial board met with representatives from the Impact and Inspire parties on Friday night and Sunday afternoon. We discussed their party platforms and each candidate’s goals if they were to be elected. Our endorsement resulted from these meetings.
Despite our best efforts, life after the Parkland shooting hasn’t changed for the majority of us.
American women received the right to vote in 1920, and exactly 100 years later, the 2020 election is breaking records for women. Sen. Amy Klobuchar from Minnesota became the sixth Democratic woman to put in her bid for the Democratic presidential nominee when she announced her candidacy on Sunday. She follows Sens. Kirsten Gillibrand, Kamala Harris and Elizabeth Warren, along with Rep. Tulsi Gabbard and author Marianne Williamson. Collectively, they’re making this upcoming presidential race the first in history to have that many women running at one time for the Democratic presidential nomination.
Solutions by The State News
