Opinion | Letters To The Editor - The Independent Florida Alligator

OPINION | LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Letter to the Editor: Students for Justice in Palestine stands for Gaza

Nov. 21, 2019

On Tuesday, UF’s Students for Justice in Palestine organized a vigil and walkout during an event featuring former Israel Defense Forces (IDF) sergeant Yoni Michanie. The event commemorated yet another year of SJP organizers putting together a vigil to mourn those in Gaza. Year after year, Israel attacks unprotected Gaza with state of the art bombs and missiles. Following the 2014 conflict between Israel and Palestine, the United Nations came out with a report in 2018 stating that Gaza could become uninhabitable by 2020 if the conditions remained as they were.

OPINION | LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Letter to The Editor: The unspoken injustice of the modern age

Nov. 17, 2019

This piece is dedicated to Netflix’s original film “Tall Girl” and those involved in its production. Before I watched this movie, I didn’t realize I have been a part of an oppressed minority my entire life. Being a relatively tall female, I finally feel as though I am being properly represented.

OPINION | LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Letter to the Editor: The stories our father told

Nov. 12, 2019

When you grow up in a house of journalists, you are born into a world of stories. Many of them are filled with villains, heroes and impossible twists of fate. In his 40-year career in journalism that started at The Alligator, our father Barry Klein accumulated too many stories to count. He is retiring this week, and to demonstrate his commitment to critical journalistic values, we figured it’s time to tell a couple of his.

OPINION | LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Letter to The Editor: The impact of climate change on birds

By Camya Robinson | Oct. 17, 2019

As a Florida resident, the impacts of climate change on my immediate environment are not lost on me. As an avid bird watcher, the impacts of climate change on the local bird communities are also not lost on me. One of the potential effects of climate change is an increased intensity of natural disasters. In 2016, Hurricane Matthew devastated Florida’s coastline, and I experienced firsthand the changing sand and vegetation composition. Shorebirds, such as terns, were heavily affected because their breeding grounds are on these beaches.

OPINION | LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Letter to the Editor: Gator Party is Impact Party with a New Name

Aug. 29, 2019

If you read the Alligator or checked the Swampy UF memes for top ten public teens Facebook page on Wednesday, you probably heard that a “new” Student Government party was announced: Gator Party. But there’s really nothing new here. Gator Party is Impact Party—just with a different name.

OPINION | LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Letter to the Editor: Welcome to the Gator Party

Aug. 27, 2019

Hey Gators!

OPINION | LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Letter to the Editor: Grabowski fails to Inspire

By Branden Pearson | July 9, 2019

When the student senate returned for the beginning of the Summer B term, they did so with less senators and a lot more potential. Over the past few weeks, partisanship in the Senate chamber has risen to an all-time high, culminating in the departure of former senators Grabowski and Lima.

OPINION | LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Letter to the Editor: What SG and others can learn from Public Policy Career Day

Apr. 18, 2019

On March 21, Chomp the Vote hosted the Public Policy Career Day inside of the Reitz Grand Ballroom. To put on the event, Chomp the Vote partnered with the Bob Graham Center, the UF International Center, the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, Beyond 120, the political science department, the College of Journalism and Communications, the Career Resource Center and Civic Duty Florida. The event featured more than 20 universities with public policy and administration programs, such as Tufts University, Johns Hopkins University and Columbia University, as well as employers from the public and private sector. The event director and planning team within Chomp staff created this event with the intention of bringing an event on campus for students to be exposed to educational and professional opportunities within the public policy sector.

OPINION | LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Letter to the Editor: SG allows ICE presence at UF

Apr. 9, 2019

As an immigrant rights advocacy organization, UF Chispas has collaborated with Student Government to advocate for inclusive campus policies toward immigrant students at UF. Due to past cooperation with SG, our organization was shocked and disappointed to see the presence of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement at Chomp the Vote’s Public Policy Career Day on March 21. We were also hurt by the way SG entities poorly handled our concerns.

OPINION | LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Letter to the Editor: The judicial dictatorship of SG

Apr. 4, 2019

There is an important petition by Global Vote that has been filed for the reconsideration of a UF Student Government Supreme Court ruling. If successful, it would restore online voting to the Student Body constitution, along with other popular reforms. However, the Global Vote petition for reconsideration is not only a fight for online voting and other amendments, but it is also a fight for democracy in SG.

OPINION | LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Letter to the Editor: A statement from the UF Health Shands CEO

Apr. 3, 2019

Dear Alligator Editors:

OPINION | LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Letter to the Editor: To the Dance Marathon skeptic

Apr. 2, 2019

In my five years at UF, I’ve met many people who have raised similar questions to yours regarding the sincerity and efficiency of Dance Marathon’s fundraising efforts. They’re good questions. I’m sure they’re coming from a place of genuine concern. In fact, I’ve asked the same questions myself.

OPINION | LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Darts and Laurels: March 29, 2019

Mar. 28, 2019

You sit anxiously in front of your laptop watching the tiny numbers at the edge of your screen. You are waiting for the hour mark to hit 8 a.m. Sheets of papers are strewn out in front of you with highlighted phrases slashed across each page. You do your best to organize your thoughts because it’s almost go time. It’s almost time to pick your classes. A virtual tug of war awaits. You know you are going to have to fight for the classes you want.

OPINION | LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Letter to the Editor: How UF can make a big difference for a small country

Mar. 21, 2019

There’s a place in this world where nearly 1 in 4 women report experiencing sexual violence, where nearly 50 percent of its population is without reliable food, where 1,200 people were killed in 2015 and where 414,490 people were displaced from their homes. This place is Burundi. Never heard of it? Exactly.

OPINION | LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Letter to the Editor: We need to end the stigma around exploratory majors

Mar. 12, 2019

Throughout my three semesters as an exploratory major at UF, I was criticized and patronized for not knowing the exact path I wanted to follow. I had notable skills and traits, but no one field of study stood out to me as “the one.” It seemed like taking a variety of classes to see what I was passionate about would make sense, but to those around me, it didn’t.

OPINION | LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Letter to the Editor: Birthright Israel is a life changing experience

Feb. 28, 2019

The best decision I’ve made in my college career was going on a Birthright Israel trip over Winter Break. You may wonder, what exactly is Birthright? Why do I hear about it all the time? Can I go? Birthright is an organization that provides any person of Jewish lineage the opportunity to go on a free trip to Israel over Summer or Winter Break for 10 days. This is an incredible opportunity to travel, discover more about where you came from and form invaluable friendships that will last a lifetime. Every student who is eligible to go on Birthright should go.

OPINION | LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Letter to the Editor: We must keeping fighting against sexual assault on college campuses

Feb. 24, 2019

Author’s Note: If you or anyone you know has been affected by acts of sexual misconduct, please contact the University Title IX coordinator at 352-273-1094 or inform@titleix.ufl.edu or the Gainesville Police Department. Additional resources are included below.

OPINION | LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Letter to the Editor: LGBTQ+ Inspire Party members comment on homophobic social media posts

Feb. 21, 2019

In the past week, organizations, parties and groups have released statements in response to homophobic comments made in the past by the newly elected executive ticket. This letter to the editor comes from the LGBTQ+ members of Inspire Party who came together to form a response that somehow expresses the pain, fear and disappointment we and many others have experienced.

OPINION | LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Letter to the Editor: Bipartisanship is the problem

Feb. 19, 2019

From the rumors of Impact Party corruption to allegations of Inspire Party ineptitude, students will hear it in the presidential debate, Senate livestreams and each time campaign season comes around. When there are two parties, scandal and controversy ensue.

OPINION | LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Letter to the Editor: The Missteps of Ian Green

Feb. 12, 2019

It seems that our Student Body President Ian Green fundamentally misunderstands a lot of things about our Student Government and campaign climate. Ian’s most recent letter to the editor is filled with mistakes that effectively demonstrate this.