Opinions - The Independent Florida Alligator

OPINION | COLUMNS

Islam: Is there a need for reformation?

Nov. 2, 2015

In light of all the strife and tragedy that has emerged from the Middle East, many people look to Islam as the foremost cause of all this. Comedian and late-night talk show host Bill Maher professes quite frequently that Islam’s dogma is uniquely violent and backward. "When there’s this many bad apples, there’s something wrong with the orchard," Maher recites on his show.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Courage and the fear of movie theaters

Nov. 2, 2015

Since my mother’s application of the Mozart effect to me in utero, I’ve come to fruition as a reasonable man in most aspects of my life. I find a symmetrical existence in the virtues of temperance, modesty and magnanimity to name a few. (I took an ethics class one time, and I own a thesaurus.)

OPINION | COLUMNS

The Fest vs. Florida-Georgia: Not so different after all

Nov. 2, 2015

Our day-to-day lives are filled with divisive choices: Library West or Marston Science Library? Midtown or downtown? Each choice, while seemingly innocuous, comes with its own set of die-hard advocates that keep these meaningless rivalries alive.

OPINION | EDITORIALS

Editorial: Mutual respect ought to trump differences

Nov. 1, 2015

Last week, The Atlantic published a video titled, "What Will This Era Be Remembered For?" as one part of a series of videos covering last month’s Washington Ideas Forum 2015. In the video, policy leaders such as U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch and Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Julián Castro responded to the question by expressing hope that their respective areas of political interest would undergo meaningful progress.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Why study the humanities? There’s a good reason

Nov. 1, 2015

"También No-hacer es creador, pues no sólo de hacer vive el hombre"- -Gonzalo Arango

OPINION | COLUMNS

Controversial Ann Coulter must speak at UF

Nov. 1, 2015

I want to make my intentions perfectly clear: I want Ann Coulter, the conservative firebrand and provocateur, to speak at UF. In fact, the event should be required for everyone to attend. If a student values his or her education, listening to Coulter speak is a must.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Classroom assault highlights another discussion about race

Nov. 1, 2015

Assaulting a student should never be a disciplinary measure, especially when the offense is as harmless as using a cellphone in school. And yet, a police officer saw it fit to flip a girl’s desk over. Police officers are meant to keep people safe, so what went wrong?

OPINION | DARTS LAURELS

Darts and Laurels 10/30/2015

Oct. 29, 2015

Halloween is a time when ghouls, ghosts and ghastly figures prowl the streets and mischief rules above all else. By most accounts, Oct. 31 is the spookiest day of the year. We don’t really see how that’s possible, given the third Republican debate aired on Wednesday. OH! *cue Andrew Dice Clay hand motion* With that cheap jab out of the way, it’s time for this year’s scariest edition of…

OPINION | COLUMNS

Sixty-nining sucks — pun very much intended

Oct. 29, 2015

A long, long time ago, someone realized people were wasting time performing oral sex individually and it might be a good idea to combine these acts into one time-saving sex position.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Police violence and censoring art

Oct. 29, 2015

Quentin Tarantino, the director of "Pulp Fiction" and "Django Unchained," is not unfamiliar with controversy. I realize this is a very I’m-20-years-old thing to say, but the man is one of the best directors out there. He took his passion for cinema and turned it into a successful career by writing and directing many of the most celebrated films of the last 25 years. His work is known for its fast-paced, witty and profane dialogue; its fantastical homages to other films and film styles (the Dirty Dozen, Spaghetti Westerns, Blaxploitation cinema) — and for his films’ often extreme violence.

OPINION | COLUMNS

The 'chill girl' stereotype needs to stop

Oct. 29, 2015

I think I’m pretty fun. I know how to relax, and I like beer. But I am not the "chill girl," I never will be and that’s OK.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Bernie Sanders and the socialist label problem

Oct. 28, 2015

Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont has breathed life into a campaign season that once seemed highly predictable. In an election cycle that once appeared to be a victory lap for centrist Hillary Clinton, Sanders has offered a true challenge for the Democratic presidential nomination. But Bernie Sanders faces a huge problem that could possibly be a deathblow to his campaign: his self-identification as a socialist. Before you hastily type a letter to the Alligator, I know Sanders considers himself a "democratic socialist," and it differs from other branches of socialism. From where I’m standing, however, he isn’t much of a socialist at all.

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.