Opinion | Letters To The Editor - The Independent Florida Alligator

OPINION | LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Show some compassion for bus drivers

By JohnRussel Bove | Sep. 27, 2007

I am writing in response to Thursday's column "RTS drivers should be more punctual." Perhaps Stephanie Rosenberg should sit on a bus for 12 hours straight and see how she feels when, while trying to eat lunch, she has students like herself start whining because the driver is doing something during "their time." Some Regional Transit System drivers spend more than 12 hours on a bus every day, and the least we students can do is have an ounce of compassion. They need to use the bathrooms, they need to stretch and, Heaven forbid, they need to eat.

OPINION | LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Gator Party is human, too

By Patrick Duffey | Sep. 27, 2007

I'm responding to Thursday's letter "No progress with Gator." Ben Cavataro is right: The Gator Party isn't perfect. Like many other organizations around campus it has made a fatal blunder: It let in human beings. People try their best and fail. They exert themselves and come up short. They do the best they can and it still isn't enough. But that's life.

OPINION | LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Without a preacher, students are condemned

By Ryan Heuser | Sep. 27, 2007

I write Joey Johnsen this letter as Paul wrote the Romans, with "great heaviness and . . . sorrow in my heart." I know I speak for the entire UF community when I write that we will daily feel Johnsen's absence. What will we do without him? I am certain we shall go to hell.

OPINION | LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

No progress with Gator

By Ben Cavataro | Sep. 26, 2007

I was appalled to read Yooni Yi and the Gator Party's position that a one-party system in Student Government "isn't problematic."

OPINION | LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Jean shorts spark 'intellectual nerve'

By Benjamin Branoff | Sep. 26, 2007

There are very few subjects in our collegiate media circuit about which I've contemplated voicing my opinion. Certainly one would think police brutality, UF Playboy models or racial controversy would garner my voice. Sadly, for me, they did not.

OPINION | LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Materialism fosters apathy

By Dustin Rivas | Sep. 26, 2007

Yesterday during the SG-sponsored Student Speak-Out on the Plaza of Americas, I watched as the organizers struggled to get the numerous onlookers to voice their opinions. Some asked why this was a problem. And as I watched many students walk by with their new technologies and material assets, it became clear - materialism took precedence.

OPINION | LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Smart students don't wear 'jorts'

By EMILY FRYE | Sep. 25, 2007

As an avid jean-shorts hater, I can not thank you enough for Kyle Cox's column, "Jean shorts hurt Gators' credibility," in Tuesday's paper. Having friends who attend the University of Georgia and as a regular attendee of the Florida-Georgia game in Jacksonville, I am so sick of being ridiculed for going to a school known for wearing jorts.

OPINION | LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

UF soldier makes students proud

By MATTHEW RAPSON | Sep. 25, 2007

I just wished to express my gratitude and appreciation to Kori Frederick and the Alligator for the wonderful piece on Adam Stout. Whatever your feelings about the wars in Iraq or Afghanistan, this piece brought the reality of warfare home. As most of us lit Christmas trees on fire and climbed poles on West University Avenue, this student was protecting our liberties and serving his country. Such dedication is admirable, and I'm proud knowing that we have such moral fortitude alive within our university. So thank you for a wonderful piece, and thank you, Adam, for all your sacrifice. I look forward to reading more such stories in the future.

OPINION | LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Columbia U. commended for speaker

By Benjamin Dictor | Sep. 24, 2007

I was offended last year to hear that Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was questioning the historical accuracy of the Holocaust. On that note, I would like to take the opportunity to commend Columbia University for allowing him to address students Monday in an open forum.

OPINION | LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Brains more impressive than breasts

By Chris Cano | Sep. 24, 2007

So the Gator gals can flaunt their chests. Big deal. Not worthy of a full page story, in my opinion. Show me a woman with a brain who's changing the world with her ideas, and then I'll be impressed.

OPINION | LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Underage drinking not cause of death

By Ian Fisher | Sep. 24, 2007

UF President Bernie Machen's logic was off on blaming Andrew Enriquez's death on underage drinking. The fact that Enriquez drank while 20-years-old is not what killed him. He may, however, have been intoxicated while driving. Such was the case when Austin Wright hit Gainesville Police Department Lt. Corey Dahlem on that tragic April night.

OPINION | LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Police work hard to keep everyone safe

By Tamar Carter | Sep. 23, 2007

When I saw the aftermath of the police Taser incident, I thought to myself, something is not right. Why has this occurrence become such a huge cause to fight for? Why is this student getting all this attention?

OPINION | LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Crude language didn't warrant Tasering

By Bob Freeman | Sep. 23, 2007

"Blowjob." That's the obscenity Andrew Meyer uttered that resulted in him getting Tasered at a free-speech event.

OPINION | LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Taser incident seen from both angles

By Steven Mossburg | Sep. 23, 2007

It is true I am a retired University Police Department officer. It is also true I am a Gator graduate (class of 1975), and I can see things from a student perspective as well as from a law enforcement perspective.

OPINION | LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Meyer acted immaturely, inappropriately

By BRIAN CONNER | Sep. 20, 2007

After reading Thursday's Letters to the Editor about Tasergate, I must say kudos to the Alligator for allowing both sides to be heard and kudos to many in the student body for seeing the truth. I would think a telecommunication senior like Meyer would understand that it's not about what you say, but often about how you say it.

OPINION | LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Dahlem not related to Meyer incident

By ANITARECE YOUNG | Sep. 20, 2007

Disgusting. Sometimes it's difficult to think of a good word for something you observe, but disgusting is just perfect. The 34th Street Wall has often been a source of distraction for me, but today I stopped and turned my hazards on. Who would do something so … disgusting?

OPINION | LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Meyer coverage just what he wanted

By Ashley Pennington | Sep. 20, 2007

Torture, brutality, injustice. These are only some of the words being used to describe Monday's spat. I had a lot of reservations to overcome in writing this, knowing full well that the reaction Meyer has received locally and nationally is right up his sadistic alley. For being a punk, he has become something of a martyr.

OPINION | LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Meyer incident not a political issue

By PJ METZ | Sep. 20, 2007

It seems ridiculous that party lines have been drawn already. Those supporting Meyer are "Krishna-Lunch-eating, college-aged hippies," and those not supporting him are creating a police state. All this along the lines clearly marked on your voting ballots to be cast in a year.

OPINION | LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Meyer should have obeyed Accent rules

By Ryan Heuser | Sep. 20, 2007

Whatever all of this is, it isn't a debate about free speech. Accent shutting off Meyer's microphone violates free speech no more than your professor cutting you off in class. Just as a classroom discussion proceeds according to a protocol set by the teacher of hand-raising and turn-waiting, so too does a speech at an Accent-sponsored event follow a protocol set by the university: a protocol that stipulates, among other things, that questioners approach the microphone orderly, that they wait their turn to speak and that when and if they speak, they do so calmly and without profanity.

OPINION | LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Defaced Wall embarrasses Gainesville

By LAUREN ANGLE | Sep. 20, 2007

The tagging of the Dahlem memorial is one of the most disgusting acts of self-righteousness I have seen in my time spent at UF. I am embarrassed for the student body. This display of ignorance surely reflects poorly on the caliber of students at this university. As someone who disagrees with the actions of the University Police Department on Monday, I am appalled that students would take their frustrations out in such a disrespectful manner. Have your protests, make your signs, stand up for what you believe, but do so in a way that proves the young people of today aren't the self-righteous, spoiled punks with something to prove that we're made out to be. Stay classy, Gainesville.