Opinion | Letters To The Editor - The Independent Florida Alligator

OPINION | LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

T-shirts do not degrade women

By Erik Nyberg | Nov. 16, 2009

This is in response to Desi Krell’s letter to the editor on Friday, “T-shirt displays offensive messages.” As a supporter of feminist causes, I’m a little more than embarrassed to see that you’ve chosen an establishment that is so non-threatening toward women to attack and boycott. The T-shirt in question shows a woman wearing underwear, which you failed to mention, implying that she was nude. You also completely ignore the fact that the shirt is mocking tentacle porn, which was created in Japan.

OPINION | LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

E-cigarettes shouldn’t be banned

By Stephen Clay | Nov. 15, 2009

I support the campus smoking ban and free cessation classes for employees, but proposed regulation UF 2.022 should not ban e-cigarette usage for simply looking like smoking.

OPINION | LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Obama’s hesitation deserves acclaim

By Mark Spivey | Nov. 15, 2009

An Associated Press article Thursday stated that Barack Obama’s hesitancy on Afghan war buildup implies weakness. I wish world leaders had more of that kind of weakness. President Obama does not want to send soldiers into harm’s way without a clear goal, a solid plan and an exit strategy.

OPINION | LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

T-shirt displays offensive messages

By Desi Krell | Nov. 12, 2009

On Tuesday night, The Laboratory, a local bar/cafe on University Avenue, unveiled its new promotional T-shirts. One of the T-shirt designs was offensive and misogynistic, portraying a woman’s buttocks (her face was not shown) as she was entangled in tentacles. The accompanying caption read, “The Laboratory: more fun than a night in Japan!”

OPINION | LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Kava can cause liver damage

By Terry Polevoy | Nov. 12, 2009

Kava can cause liver damage

OPINION | LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Herbal tea can react with prescriptions

By Crystal Mason | Nov. 12, 2009

As a third-year pharmacy student, I wanted to remark on your article concerning kava. Many patients don’t believe herbals and supplements are medications, so they fail to tell their doctor that they are taking them.

OPINION | LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Letter generalizes conservative principles

By Sean Gellis | Nov. 12, 2009

In response to Frederic Spieler’s letter, “Republicans aren’t actually conservative,” Spieler asks what the conservative principles are. I would like to try to answer that. Conservatism operates off the ideas of personal freedom, limited government interference in the daily lives of its citizens and a strong capitalist society. It also stands for fiscal responsibility and strong national defense. The government shouldn’t help those who aren’t willing to help themselves. Sorry to bust your ideological bubble, but there are people who, no matter how much help you give them, will continue to be self-destructive, make bad decisions and contribute nothing to society. They should not be given a free ride on everyone else’s dollar.

OPINION | LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Alligator balances fraternity coverage

By Albert Berdellans | Nov. 12, 2009

I am writing this letter to commend the Alligator on the way in which it reported the story “Fraternities charged with providing alcohol to minors.” Contrary to the way in which stories involving the Greek system are typically reported, this article displays the relevant conflicting viewpoints inherent in any news story. Hopefully the level of journalistic quality present in this story will continue to be present in all of the Alligator’s future news articles, particularly stories regarding events that are crucial to the daily lives of hundreds of young men. I applaud the effort to contact each of the relevant organizations.

OPINION | LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Public must take interest in polluted site

By CHRIS MOODY | Nov. 11, 2009

The Cabot-Koppers Superfund site is at the corner of Northwest Sixth Street and Northwest 23rd Avenue. For those of you who don’t know about this, let me enlighten you. This property has been used since 1916 for wood treatment. Chemicals from this site have been found seeping into the groundwater and surface water, including arsenic, copper and nine other chemicals found to cause cancers and other health problems. According to EPA testing in 2006, harmful chemicals have already started reaching the upper portion of the aquifer (not good, considering nearly 100 percent of the drinking water in Florida comes from the Floridan aquifer). As bad as all this sounds, it might surprise you that nearly 19 years after a cleanup approach was signed, no action has been taken besides a few trenches being dug.

OPINION | LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Republicans aren’t actually conservative

By Frederic Spieler | Nov. 11, 2009

In response to Tuesday’s letter to the editor “Republicans aren’t too conservative,” Ms. Kilic really drops the ball. She says Mr. Christ “attempts to pigeonhole” Republicans by claiming that they are all “‘Bible-thumping,’ overzealous patriots.” She further claims that Republicans are hurting for straying from party principles. Well, what are those principles? What goals does the Republican party have? Banning abortion? Keeping gays out of the military? Making sure that Obama fails, no matter what he is doing?

OPINION | LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Florida teens should get life in prison

By Kathryn Beaty Ivey | Nov. 11, 2009

This letter is in response to Tuesday’s editorial, “Cruel Courts.” The teens in South Florida who threw rubbing alcohol on a young boy should not only be tried as adults, they should be put in prison for life without parole. These teens knew exactly what would happen when they threw the match: extensive physical and psychological damage and, most likely, death.

OPINION | LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Proposed public option destined to fail

By Clay Hughes | Nov. 11, 2009

This letter is in response to statements made by the UF College Republicans’ chairman, Bryan Griffin, and the Florida College Democrats’ president, Ben Cavataro, in Tuesday’s article “Locals react to House vote.”

OPINION | LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Teens knew what they were doing

By Abigail O’Connell | Nov. 11, 2009

I’m writing in regards to Tuesday’s editorial, “Cruel Courts.” While I agree that the judicial system should rethink how it tries teens for certain crimes, I was shocked that you defended the three teens charged as adults for lighting another on fire.

OPINION | LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

WUFT-FM should rethink change in format

By Frank Bracco | Nov. 9, 2009

In a report compiled in June, consultants advising John Wright, the dean of UF's College of Journalism and Communications, suggested a format change to WUFT-FM would only lose $52,000 in membership dollars the first year ($26,000 per semester). Sadly, this semester's drive fell short. It represented a loss of more than $49,000 compared to fall 2008. That is a nearly a 40 percent reduction in pledge dollars; the number of pledges fell by 40 percent as well. The fall pledge drive brought in 29 percent less than the much weaker spring 2009 pledge drive.

OPINION | LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Republicans aren’t too conservative

By Jenna Kilic | Nov. 9, 2009

Matthew Christ needs to learn a thing or two about the political ideology of Americans before he writes another column. In his latest one, "Republicans should move away from fringe," he seems to be under the impression that this country leans moderate to left, and therefore the Republicans lost the presidential election. With every column of his I read, I find myself questioning his understanding of what a conservative is. He seems to think that we are all "Bible-thumping," overzealous patriots, and I for one resent his attempts to pigeonhole us.

OPINION | LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Goldstone Report includes firsthand evidence of war crimes

By Christine Schoellhorn | Nov. 8, 2009

Because good journalism always tells two sides of the story, and Friday's guest column by Yoav Mor was less than half of one side, allow me to clear up a few inaccuracies printed in the Alligator. This time, let's err on the side of fact rather than rhetoric.

OPINION | LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Guest column captures patriotic spirit

By Jote Thompson | Nov. 8, 2009

Bravo to Daniel Rood for his thought-provoking column in Wednesday's Alligator, "Remember the 5th of November." Dan has certainly captured the pulse of the patriotic movement in our nation at this time. I gasp when I think of what could happen in the near future if our constitutional rights are not restored soon. The Bush/Obama/Federal Reserve takeover of our country has been swift and decisive. I believe the revolution to come will be decisive, as well.

OPINION | LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Library doesn’t need stricter rules

By Nicola Hill | Nov. 8, 2009

I wonder how Don Kershaw expects the libraries to regulate incoming users. Should everyone enter single-file while some hapless student worker swipes IDs and holds up the line writing down identifying information of those without a coveted Gator 1 Card?

OPINION | LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

PETA offers debate with grill group

By Ryan Huling | Nov. 5, 2009

In response to the Alligator article "College Republicans hold 'PETA Barbecue'" that ran on Wednesday, it was surprising to read that members of the student group claimed that "loving animals does not exclude you from eating meat." I surely hope they don't love the dogs they share their homes with the same way they "love" the pigs and chickens they served on the Plaza of the Americas.

OPINION | LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

UF should limit library access

By Don Kershaw | Nov. 5, 2009

One doesn't have to look far to see a growing number of incidents involving the general public and university resources. In the last week alone, we have had a man threaten to throw coffee on students in the Marston Science Library and an alleged public masturbator. God knows what else goes unreported.