Opinions - The Independent Florida Alligator

OPINION | EDITORIALS

Editorial: Lecture halls in the time of smart phones

Oct. 28, 2015

It is a familiar sight to anyone who has ever stepped foot in a lecture hall: a sea of faces looking anywhere but the center of the room. Sure, you might have 10 or so students who actually pay heed to the knowledge being imparted by their lecturer, but we’d bet dollars to doughnuts those same students are the kinds of dweebs who still take notes with pen and paper (Just kidding. For those of you that do, we have no doubt you have a bright and financially lucrative future ahead of you — please give us jobs).

OPINION | COLUMNS

You have one life in one body: Embrace it and do not be ashamed of it

Oct. 28, 2015

I’ve always been afraid of going to the lake or the beach. First off, I identify as a male; my privilege protects me from understanding how having "the wrong body type for Abercrombie" or having a natural thigh gap might make a woman feel. Still, I’m always anxious during occasions when others might see me, or worse, when I might have to see myself.

OPINION | EDITORIALS

Editorial: As far as ethics and morals go, we need to reflect

Oct. 27, 2015

Following national outcry, the FBI and the Department of Justice announced Tuesday that they have opened up an investigation into the violent arrest of a black high-school student by a white sheriff’s deputy in Columbia, South Carolina. Officer Ben Fields arrested the student after forcefully yanking her out of her desk by wrapping his arm around her neck. Having flipped the student and her desk, Fields then dragged her to the front of the classroom. This came after she refused to leave her seat and had already ignored requests from her teacher and other school administrators to do so. A second student, Niya Kenny, 18, was arrested soon after for taping the encounter. Her arrest was justified under the premise that she was “disturbing school.”

OPINION | COLUMNS

Gender-neutral pronouns and evolving language

Oct. 27, 2015

CNN recently published an opinion piece by Columbia University linguist John McWhorter entitled “Goodbye to ‘he’ and ‘she’ and hello to ‘ze’?” which dealt with the state of gender-neutral pronouns in the English language.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Colleges don’t kill dreams — midterm scores do

Oct. 27, 2015

It’s been awhile since any of us have walked down a kindergarten hallway. Yet, across the country and the span of time, and as long as coloring and finger painting have been staples in the golden years of our lives, so has finishing the daunting sentence, “When I grow up, I want to be…”

OPINION | EDITORIALS

Editorial: It’s not the end of meat as we know it and we feel fine

Oct. 26, 2015

The World Health Organization announced Monday it had classified processed meats as a cancer hazard. The WHO reached this conclusion after the International Agency for Research on Cancer conducted an exhaustive study of pre-existing literature on the subject. Processed meats — which include bacon (sorry, America), sausage and ham — have been labeled under the "Group 1" classification by the IARC, meaning they are established carcinogens. Under these standards, processed meats occupy a comfortable position alongside cigarettes, alcohol and, most tantalizingly, asbestos.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Democratic Republic of the Congo: violence, hip-hop

Oct. 26, 2015

The Democratic Republic of the Congo: a country we tend to think of so little that many would struggle to identify it on a map. Many Americans remain unaware of the political corruption and militia violence that ravages the lives of Congolese civilians and refugees residing in the DRC. (Do not fret: I only just learned all this while producing this piece.)

OPINION | COLUMNS

Life lessons learned from flip phones

Oct. 26, 2015

It was an impressive run. Several weeks ago, my iPhone 4S remained uncased, unbent and unbroken. Hubris and the want for less cumbersome technology in my pocket drove my decision to abandon the armor that was my OtterBox. It was inevitable, then, that my iPhone’s demise would arrive with irony. Having survived the many boredom-induced lobs, flips and saturnalias, it would ultimately meet its screen-shattering end by dropping just a foot from the edge of the nightstand.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Going back home: the reality check

Oct. 26, 2015

Coming back home after living somewhat independently in our college-town bubble has always been an interesting, if not perplexing, experience for me.

OPINION | EDITORIALS

Editorial: Even on the dance floor, we’re all wallflowers now

Oct. 25, 2015

In 2006’s "Whoo! Alright – Yeah… Uh Huh," Luke Jenner, singer of the now-defunct dance-punk band The Rapture, bemoaned the state of club culture: "People don’t dance no more (what!)/They just stand there like this (uh huh)/They cross their arms and stare you down and drink and moan and diss (that’s right!)." If Mr. Jenner were to write this song today, we can’t help but think the refrain would be a little less cheeky and a lot more critical.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Allies will always be critical in the fight for equality

Oct. 25, 2015

It is easy to feel detached and uninvolved in issues involving discrimination if you’re not in one of the communities affected. However, everyone has a part to play in these issues. The definition of an ally is just that: standing by a community that you are not a part of and working to support them regardless. Allies are necessary for change, no matter the issue, and they can make a sizable difference.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Georgetown professor talks queers, ethnic drag

Oct. 25, 2015

Katrin Sieg is a professor of German and European studies at Georgetown University. She has published three books on 20th-century German theater and performance, which explore nationality, race and gender.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Presidential debates deserve more credit

Oct. 25, 2015

While many Americans are aware baseball season is ending, football season is reaching a sort of midway point and hockey season is just starting, the nation does not seem to fully appreciate that we are currently in the thick of the presidential debate season. The nation has watched three debates — two Republican and one Democratic — and is mentally preparing itself for another Republican debate Wednesday.

OPINION | DARTS LAURELS

Darts & Laurels 10/23/2015

Oct. 23, 2015

Darts & Laurels? With school in high gear, more like Charts & Quarrels, are we right? But seriously, thank goodness Halloween is right around the corner, because we could all use a break. Even though we still have a week to go, in the meantime you can hold yourself over with this week’s edition of… Darts & Laurels.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Nazism is more than a buzzword - Take it seriously

Oct. 22, 2015

On the internet, no one knows you’re not a Nazi.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Consent lessons: not as hurtful as rape

Oct. 22, 2015

Last week, a pretentious dude refused to learn about consent, thus teaching us all why consent is important.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Coming out: sometimes, it gets bitter

Oct. 22, 2015

Every year, folks in the gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender and queer communities observe National Coming Out Day in the month of October.

OPINION | EDITORIALS

Editorial: The Wild West of the Internet is slowly but surely getting settled

Oct. 21, 2015

On Wednesday, YouTube — or Google; let’s just call it like it is — announced a new ad-free subscription service, Red. Red offers YouTube users the same convenience they experienced in the halcyon days of 2005, before content creators and public relations personnel caught on to how profitable the service really could be.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Must we let racists spoil ‘Star Wars,’ too?

Oct. 21, 2015

Most Monday nights I’m holed up in my apartment, elbow-deep in a bag of family-sized Ruffles, spending intermissions between episodes of "Roseanne" on Netflix visiting my ex-girlfriend’s Facebook page (she is so much happier than I am). But this past Monday night was time for a change, and it was the Force that guided me from the dark, damp and Dagobah-like state of my bedroom to the buzz of Mother’s Pub and Grill just a block away. You know, the Force. The thing that gives a Jedi his or her power. That energy field created by all living things. The thing that surrounds us, penetrates us and binds the galaxy together.

OPINION | COLUMNS

The real winner of last week’s debate: Anderson Cooper and the moderators

Oct. 21, 2015

While everybody was busy on social media waging a war over who did better in the Democratic debate, I was in the middle of a caffeine-filled all-nighter for a group project that prevented me from watching the debate live. However, missing out on the initial viewing of the debate proved to be an advantage, as I was able to sit down and actually take my time watching the debate over the weekend. I did not have to bother live-tweeting it or looking out for others doing it. Instead, I could pause whenever I wanted without fear of missing anything. And this capacity for reflection allowed me to realize who the real winner of the debate was: Anderson Cooper and, to a lesser extent, the rest of the moderators.