opinion - The Independent Florida Alligator

Opinion

Letter to the Editor: The fight to restore online voting

Sep. 5, 2016

Today at 5 p.m. in room 285C of the Levin College of Law, Tyler Richards and I will argue before Student Government’s Supreme Court and make the case to restore the remote-online-voting amendment the Student Body passed last Spring. During Summer, the court recalled this amendment and three others after re-interpreting the vote-tallying language in the Student Body constitution, arguing those who voted in the elections for president or Student Senate but abstained from voting on the amendment should be counted against the 60-percent approval required to pass.

Opinion

Our fragile America needs repair, truth

Sep. 5, 2016

The human being is a fragile specimen, subject to the prying hands of time. Our bodies endure much wear and tear: weather, injuries, inopportune falls. Bruises lay over the fine canvas of our skin, fading one day and returning the next. In enough time, should you allow such bruises to fester, they consume your existence.

Opinion

For collegiate Floridians, hurricane parties are dangerous yet necessary

Sep. 5, 2016

To this day, I’m still amazed by the colorful range of responses that an approaching hurricane will bring forth from Floridians. Non-native residents frantically plan for the looming apocalypse by stocking up on nonperishables, flashlights and bottled water. Concerned parents beg their college kids to stay indoors, avoid power lines and charge their cellphones.

Sports

alligatorSports Picks Column: Week 1

Sep. 1, 2016

SITE: The Swamp (cap. 88,548)

FILE - In this Dec. 2, 2000, file photo, Florida head coach Steve Spurrier is carried off the field by Mike Pearson (71), Kenyatta Walker (78) and Gerard Warren (61) after the Gators downed Auburn 28-6 in the SEC Championship NCAA college football game at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta. Florida is renaming its football field after former coach Steve Spurrier. The university's board of trustees approved the change Thursday, June 9,2016, making it Steve Spurrier-Florida Field at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium. (AP Photo/John Bazemore, File)

Sports

Column: With Spurrier back in The Swamp, UF needs to make statement

By JORDAN MCPHERSON | Sep. 1, 2016

Steve Spurrier put Florida football on the map.

Opinion

Darts & Laurels: September 2, 2016

Sep. 1, 2016

Not even two weeks into classes, and we get hit with Hermine, the first hurricane to hit Florida in 11 years. Maybe this is a sign we shouldn’t have come back to school to begin with? Or maybe Mother Nature is just sick of all the “Florida Man” stories and finally decided to pull the plug on our state altogether. Well, Florida, it was fun while it lasted. So as you curl up by the fireplace app on your smartphone and avoid the apocalypse going on outside today, please enjoy our roast of the week, our lighthearted musings, our stormy-day edition of…

Opinion

Colombia could be a case of peace in our time

Sep. 1, 2016

Lately, Latin America has seen a lot of drama — the impeachment of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff, the Mexican president’s Twitter duel with Donal Trump. But thankfully, there’s some good news, too.

Opinion

Can men cheering from the sidelines really be considered feminists?

Sep. 1, 2016

A week ago, it hadn’t occurred to me it would be a disadvantage for men to support the feminist agenda, but when I started to thinking about it, I couldn’t get over it.

FILE--In this Nov. 8, 2015, file photo, San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick sits on the sideline during the second half of an NFL football game against the Atlanta Falcons in Santa Clara, Calif. A northern Nevada airport is getting an earful about a decorative display that, in part, highlights Kaepernick, a treasured product of the University of Nevada's football program who in recent days has been in the spotlight over his decision to sit down during the national anthem. (AP Photo/Ben Margot, File)

Sports

Column: Kaepernick shows that in sports and social issues, subtlety doesn't exist

By Ethan Bauer | Aug. 31, 2016

You’re probably sick of hearing about Colin Kaepernick not standing for the national anthem.

Opinion

Hermine, Louisiana, rising sea levels: a ticking time bomb

Aug. 31, 2016

Did any of you Gators go surfing over the summer? Well, bust those boards back out and buy an extra pair of swimming trunks, because we’re about to get some serious rain over the next couple of days. Tropical Storm Hermine is set to hit the Big Bend area (aka armpit) of our not-so-Sunshine State today at about 1 p.m.

Opinion

The right to sit during the national anthem doesn't mean you should

Aug. 31, 2016

America is experiencing racial tension. It’s no secret.

Opinion

The letdown of next time: not dwelling on the past

Aug. 31, 2016

When I was very young, my father’s family (and by that I mean my immediate family, my grandparents, my aunt’s family and my father’s uncles’ families — a good chunk of my paternal side) would spend a few weeks in Montenegro, in the house where my grandfather and his brothers grew up. The house was built on a hill, and the lower level no longer belonged to our family. The other two levels and the guest house were divided among my grandfather and his two brothers.

Opinion

Dear engineers: Don’t fall for the Elon Musk facade, try something new

Aug. 31, 2016

How does one become Tony Stark?

Former NFL quarterback, Tim Tebow finishes his work out for baseball scouts and the media during a showcase on the campus of the University of Southern California, Tuesday, Aug. 30, 2016 in Los Angeles. The Heisman Trophy winner works out for a big gathering of scouts on USC's campus in an attempt to start a career in a sport he hasn't played regularly since high school. (AP Photo/Chris Carlson)

Sports

Column: Don’t quit your day job, Tebow

By Patrick Pinak | Aug. 30, 2016

Let me start by saying Tim Tebow was one hell of an athlete.

San Francisco 49ers quarterbacks Colin Kaepernick, left, and Blaine Gabbert stand on the sideline during the second half of an NFL preseason football game against the Green Bay Packers on Friday, Aug. 26, 2016, in Santa Clara, Calif. Green Bay won 21-10. (AP Photo/Tony Avelar)

Sports

Column: Dear Colin Kaepernick: Stand now, before you’re sitting on the bench

By Ray Boone | Aug. 30, 2016

The NFL regular season is almost here. And with it comes yet another fresh set of controversies.

Opinion

Oh, say can you see the nonsense

Aug. 30, 2016

It’s time we have the talk: not the momma-bird, poppa-bird talk you were warned about in elementary school (hopefully), but rather, the Colin Kaepernick talk. For those of you who don’t know, the San Francisco 49ers quarterback sparked some serious outrage when he unapologetically refused to stand up during the playing of the national anthem during Friday’s game between the 49ers and the Green Bay Packers.

Opinion

How to deal with stress: mastering your emotions

Aug. 30, 2016

Your brain. Your ideas. Your emotions.

Opinion

How we are becoming ‘drunken peasants’ with extreme behaviors

Aug. 30, 2016

As a college student, I have to say, one of the most intriguing behaviors I have noticed among my comrades is their rather libertarian philosophy. By libertarian, I mean specifically the social ethos that preaches, “If it feels good, do it.” I am curious: Where did this philosophy come from? I think past generations bullied people who lived by the creed we hold dear; in fact, they created a name for them: hippies. And what were the hippies but a group of cultural rebels, openly revolting against the conservative Christian traditions and norms of their parents with a jovial hedonism? It seems, then, our most cherished philosophy blossomed from the seeds of rebellion. What can account for this pattern?

Opinion

Sex with an ex: reflections and lessons from going back to that special person

Aug. 30, 2016

Last Spring, I was crushing on a bespectacled girl with green hair in my European literature class. I asked her out on a Wednesday, and she told me she had a boyfriend. I felt terribly sorry for myself the rest of the day. I got home and furiously moped to The Smiths in my bedroom for several hours. Then I moved to scribbling short stanzas of melodramatic verse, like: “Your hair is greener than the grass I want to lie in with you while we f---.”

Opinion

Myths Un-Mythed: old age

Aug. 29, 2016

We live in a world full of myths. Never mind the tales of Japanese-born mutant animals that enticed millions of us to actually leave our homes over the Summer and systematically enslave them within our smartphones or the tales of food items having wild sex orgy parties in supermarkets. (Don’t make the same mistake as our opinions editor and watch “Sausage Party” with your parents, thinking it’s only a comedy flick.).