Opinions - The Independent Florida Alligator

NEWS | CAMPUS

Gainesville is your city and it needs your help

Sep. 11, 2020

On Aug. 26, Dr. Michael Lauzardo gave a thoughtful answer when asked if UF’s opening would cause COVID-19 to spread, and what steps the university would take to mitigate the impact. In the two weeks since, much has changed, and my worries have only grown — COVID-19 has spread rapidly within the Gator Nation including a 23.9% positive test rate at the Student Health Center. Testimonies of dead end contact tracing, students afraid of or refusing quarantining and testing, and lack of proper guidance for positive cases have raised issues that need immediate attention, not just from UF Health and administration, but from the powerful decision makers on the Board of Trustees and the Office of the Provost Joe Glover.

NEWS | CAMPUS

I caught COVID-19 at UF. Test students weekly

Sep. 8, 2020

I am the second person to test positive for COVID-19 at Hume Hall at UF. I was exposed to the virus by another resident of Hume. Both of us were wearing masks but were not socially distanced in the Hume Library. I may have contracted the virus because we were sitting very close to each other, talking or because of the cards we were passing around. One way or another, I acknowledge that socializing that day was my decision; I am not blaming any person in particular and take responsibility for contracting COVID-19.

OPINION | COLUMNS

17,000 reasons why we should have had a graduation ceremony

Sep. 8, 2020

As a first-generation college student, I dreamt about graduation day and walking out to my family afterwards to bask in the joy of my accomplishments. I never dreamt about going to football games, basketball games or anything of the like. My academics meant more to me than anything else at UF, given they were the main reason why I was there.

NEWS | CAMPUS UF ADMINISTRATION

Fuchs: A historic (and fun) academic year

By Kent Fuchs | Aug. 31, 2020

Welcome, students!

OPINION | EDITORIALS

Opinions are back! Here’s why

By Zachariah Chou | Aug. 27, 2020

The Alligator's opinions section is back

NEWS | CAMPUS

Opinion: Don’t let “Gator Bait” chant be excused because of tradition

By Zachary Lee | June 20, 2020

UF and Alligator alumnus Zachary Lee shares his thoughts on the removal of the university's "Gator Bait" game day cheer

OPINION | EDITORIALS

Be safe and spooky this Halloween

By The Alligator Editorial Board | Oct. 29, 2019

Halloween may be fun, but sexual assault isn’t. With the number of reported incidents of nonconsensual sexual contact increasing this year at UF, we urge everyone to be careful this weekend. Try to have fun with your friends, but make sure to keep an eye out as well. Most sexual assaults reported by college women are caused by someone they know. These monsters are human.

NEWS | CAMPUS

How to be safe in an uncertain world

By The Alligator Editorial Board | Oct. 8, 2019

As college students, we’re used to neglecting our personal needs. Endless nights of studying and partying comes with the job description, and we tend to remove taking care of our health from the equation.

NEWS | CAMPUS UF ADMINISTRATION

As UF rises, what should endure?

By Kent Fuchs | Sep. 19, 2019

Several years ago at another university, I met with the faculty members in one of the university’s colleges. I was responsible for leading the search for the college’s next dean, and I wanted to hear the faculty’s input on the search.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Mental health is physical health

By Matthew Diaz | Sep. 19, 2019

Take a moment and imagine a world where spraining an ankle is a taboo subject. Where someone with a fever is too embarrassed to see a doctor about it. Now, pull back and see that this is the world we live in, not with physical illnesses, but mental ones.

In this Oct. 8, 2018 photo, Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh stands before a ceremonial swearing-in in the East Room of the White House in Washington. At least two Democratic presidential candidates, Kamala Harris and Kamala Harris are calling for the impeachment of Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh in the face of a new, uninvestigated, allegation of sexual impropriety when he was in college. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File)

OPINION | EDITORIALS

How victims of sexual assault are let down every step of the way

By The Alligator Editorial Board | Sep. 15, 2019

This week, Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh was once again accused of sexual assault during his time at Yale University. The accusation comes from Deborah Ramirez, a former classmate of Kavanaugh’s, who claims the current justice exposed himself to her. While it stands as an accusation as of now, we need to take these cases seriously no matter our politics.

OPINION | COLUMNS

College is about employability, not expanding your horizons

By Cameron White | Sep. 15, 2019

I’ve often asked why I’ve had to take so many general education classes earning my bachelor’s degree in computer science, especially those that have been entirely unrelated to my major and have taught skills seldom useful in a professional setting. You know the classes I’m talking about — History of Astronomy, Man’s Food, Age of the Dinosaurs and so on. But whenever I gripe about being forced to take these classes if I want to graduate, people echo some variation of the same response: “College is about expanding your horizons” or “College is about making you more well-rounded.” At this point, I’m sick of hearing it.

METRO | POLITICS

Darts and Laurels: Sept. 13

By The Alligator Editorial Board | Sep. 12, 2019

It’s been a long week. Actually, a long month. You decided to treat yourself (again), and hit the town with friends. After a long night of… never mind, it doesn’t matter, you flop face-first into bed and curl up in your plush comforter for some long deserved sleep. But, you don’t get to sleep in as planned.

This image released by Viking shows Chanel Miller. For years, Miller was known in legal proceedings as "Emily Doe," the woman assaulted while unconscious by Brock Turner outside an on-campus fraternity house. Her searing statement at Turner's sentencing caused a public outcry that led to the judge in the case being recalled. She identifies herself in a memoir, "Know My Name," scheduled to be released Sept. 24. (Mariah Tiffany/Viking via AP)

OPINION | COLUMNS

Chanel Miller: Know Her Name

By Lauren Rousseau | Sep. 8, 2019

Chanel Miller. If you don’t know that name by now, you should.

OPINION | COLUMNS

The psychedelic renaissance is a welcome change

By Cameron White | Sep. 5, 2019

Once upon a time, psychedelic drugs were mysterious tools of experimental psychology and psychiatry being seriously investigated for their potential applications. Studies like the Harvard Psilocybin Project and the CIA’s attempts to use LSD as a mind-control agent in its secretive MK Ultra project drew plenty of attention. But before psychedelics could gain any considerable momentum or have their effects fully understood, the federal government outlawed them by making them Schedule I drugs in the 1960s 一 substances that have “no currently accepted medical use” and a “high potential for abuse” according to the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). For the next several decades, research was scarce.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Why La Casita matters

By Matthew Diaz | Sep. 5, 2019

Arriving in Gainesville from Miami left me with a massive culture shock. As a freshman, I was overwhelmed by the feeling I had sacrificed so much of what defined my life until then. From a Cuban coffee in the morning to a shared “buen provecho” at dinner, a lifetime of Hispanic and Latinx traditions were lost to me. There was a comfortable sense of familiarity in hearing Spanish regularly and visiting my local panadería every other day — a routine I never realized the significance of until it was gone. In its place was a town that I first characterized as unfamiliar and unwelcoming.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Running from our problems: beginner exercises to help you destress

By Matthew Diaz | Aug. 29, 2019

From a marketing perspective, I think that exercise has been criminally mismanaged. If there were a drug that could do for human health everything that exercise can, it would likely be the most valuable pharmaceutical ever developed. The problem comes from the idea that exercise must be really taxing and time-consuming to be effective. While I’m not suggesting that you’ll be an Olympian by doing 30 minutes of exercise every other day, I think most people would be surprised by just how beneficial a few movements can be, not just physically but mentally.

OPINION | DARTS LAURELS

Darts and Laurels

By The Alligator Editorial Board | Aug. 29, 2019

“Yes, Mom. I am prepared for the hurricane. Yes. Uh-huh.” You roll your eyes and shift your cell to the other ear.

An indigenous woman shows her hands painted in red, representing blood, during a protest in defense of the Amazon while wildfires burn in that region, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Sunday, Aug, 25, 2019. Experts from the country's satellite monitoring agency say most of the fires are set by farmers or ranchers clearing existing farmland, but the same monitoring agency has reported a sharp increase in deforestation this year as well. (AP Photo/Bruna Prado)

OPINION | COLUMNS

Bolsonaro’s selfishness is destroying the Amazon, but can international cooperation save it?

By Jason Zappulla | Aug. 25, 2019

By now, you’ve likely seen it all over the news and your social media feeds, but I’ll give you a quick reminder anyway: the Amazon rainforest is on fire.

OPINION | EDITORIALS

Time doesn’t heal all wounds, and that’s OK.

By The Alligator Editorial Board | Aug. 25, 2019

Grief does funny things to you. Not the “ha ha” type of funny, but a “food doesn’t taste the same, and colors look different” type of funny. There are as many responses to grief as there are loved ones who have died. Some people throw themselves into their work, some throw themselves into their bed and some become obsessed with collecting Disney memorabilia. When Richard Kraft’s big brother David died, he responded in the latter way. Over two and a half decades, Kraft amassed a collection of more than 750 pieces of Disney history. He used to go to Disneyland with his brother and parents, and collecting the pieces reminded him of those happy moments. We all hold onto things that remind us of the loved ones we’ve lost, though such an extreme collection is rare. A less rare, but still unusual expression of remembrance is to have the ashes of a loved one turned into a synthetic diamond. Couples have even used such stones as their engagement rings or wedding bands.