Opinions - The Independent Florida Alligator

OPINION | EDITORIALS

Editorial: Although a time-honored tradition, cramming is counterproductive

Sep. 15, 2015

lthough it feels like it was only yesterday many of us migrated back to Gainesville to begin yet another Fall semester, we are now in our fourth week of classes. In college, the passage of time is accompanied by both the accumulation of knowledge and the piling up of assignments, both of which are indicators that, yes, exams are right around the corner.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Column: Wine blends are an abomination

Sep. 15, 2015

The ancient Romans said it well: in vino veritas. "In wine, there is truth." If you’re drunk, you’re not going to be telling any lies; as they say, drunken words are sober thoughts. Today, I’ll be telling the truth about wine, specifically about wine blends.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Guest Column: Want to graduate with an excellent credit score? Get a student credit card

Sep. 15, 2015

There is already enough going on among school, friends, family and daily activities that you don’t want to worry about finances and how you are going to handle them after you graduate. You are in college, for one thing, to earn a degree so that you can get the job you want — a job that will earn you a paycheck that you will try to make the most out of. But, if you graduate with little to no credit history or a bad credit score, then you could find your paycheck might not go as far as you want it to.

OPINION | EDITORIALS

Editorial | While climate change is here to stay, deniers need to go away

Sep. 14, 2015

In 2006, former U.S. vice president and one-time presidential nominee Al Gore released a documentary and book called "An Inconvenient Truth." Both the film and the book framed climate change as the result of man-made greenhouse gases, all delivered by Gore’s amazing ability to make a PowerPoint presentation compelling. Although climate change has been studied since at least the 1930s, the success of Gore’s documentary propelled climate change to the forefront of people’s minds.

OPINION | COLUMNS

UF has more to offer than just football

Sep. 14, 2015

Speaking personally, football season at UF is the most fascinating phenomenon I’ve ever witnessed. The campus transforms overnight into an entirely new atmosphere, complete with elaborate tailgates, massive tides of orange-and-blue-clad families and endless optimism. Everyone’s a little friendlier and anyone sporting Gator memorabilia is automatically a new friend. These Saturdays have an almost religious undertone as students, alumni and fans alike come together to invoke the holy name of Gator football.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Hey Krishna, can I have some more?

Sep. 14, 2015

Vegetarianism: It’s practical, and when done with panache, can be both good-tasting and good for your body. Magnanimity: While less practical for college students, it feels good and is also good for others.

OPINION | EDITORIALS

Editorial | Hangovers over the ages: Drinking responsibly in college

Sep. 13, 2015

Hangovers. A considerable portion of students here in Gainesville get them, and those who do are intimately familiar with what they entail: the premature awakenings brought about by intense thirst at 7 a.m., the searing pain in the left hemisphere of your brain and the lingering pangs of regret that bob around in your head as you shower off the sweat from the night before.

OPINION | COLUMNS

While intertwined, race and ethnicity are distinct

Sep. 13, 2015

As discussions of race and ethnicity permeate the coverage of the presidential elections and refugee crisis, it is clear many people remain unaware of the basic definitions that inform the conversation.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Political correctness not a bastion of good

Sep. 13, 2015

Recently, an Alligator editorial apologized for a column the newspaper published. In the appropriately titled column, "Mediocre Advice," the writer joked, because it is difficult to get a tan in Gainesville due to the daily downpour of rain, being "pale is better."

OPINION | COLUMNS

An inside look at Ottomans, Islam, Syria and Turkey

Sep. 13, 2015

Emrah Sahin is the Turkish studies lecturer at UF’s Center for European Studies. For our full interview on Ottomans, Islam, Syria and more, visit ceseurogator.blogspot.com/.

OPINION | DARTS LAURELS

Darts and Laurels 09/11/2015

Sep. 10, 2015

Acclaimed poet Busta Rhymes, the man who delivered the best verse on A Tribe Called Quest’s seminal album "The Low End Theory," once wrote that "My making it is a combination of grinding, grinding, grinding and being lucky enough to finally get a shot."

OPINION | COLUMNS

Unpaid Internships: Experience vs. Exploitation

Sep. 10, 2015

ost internships, paid or unpaid, are incredibly beneficial. They are a chance to learn and make valuable connections. More importantly, they allow you to test-drive a career and gain work experience. Even if you ultimately decide you don’t want to pursue a job in your internship’s field, many of the skills you honed will be useful in a different position down the road. While unpaid internships can have many of the same positive attributes as paid ones, they can also be problematic. Depending on the internship length, type of work, hours and chances of employment, they range from being a helpful learning experience to outright exploitation.

OPINION | COLUMNS

How to make me come: by asking

Sep. 10, 2015

A few weeks ago, my poor, innocent mother asked me the dreaded question: "What is Tumblr?" Considering how long the blogging platform has been around, it’s odd that we had avoided talking about it up until this point. I walked her through the basics, but I felt bad when I left her unprepared for the things she might stumble upon when browsing the site for scrapbooking ideas.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Anti-immigration activists provoke immigration crisis in Europe

Sep. 10, 2015

In the current news cycle, the issue of immigration is drawing more attention than usual. This is partly due to what is going on in our own country, namely, our upcoming presidential election. It doesn’t help that the current GOP frontrunner is the most explicitly nativist public figure since Daniel Day-Lewis’ character in "Gangs of New York."

OPINION | EDITORIALS

Editorial: A mea culpa and a teachable moment

Sep. 9, 2015

This past Tuesday, we ran a column titled “Mediocre Advice: Fair skin, bedroom advice.” The column engendered a fair amount of controversy over the columnist’s assertion “pale is better,” in response to an inquiry from a woman asking how to get a tan despite Gainesville’s rainy weather.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Kentucky clerk Kim Davis is only the beginning

Sep. 9, 2015

As noted in last week’s Darts & Laurels, a Kentucky clerk has been jailed for refusing to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples. She appealed her case all the way to the Supreme Court — who ruled this summer that marriage is a right to be enjoyed by all — and was denied an appeal. Despite being effectively ordered to do so by the highest authority of law in the U.S., she still refused to issue licenses.

OPINION | LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Letter to the Editor 09/10/2015

Sep. 9, 2015

Dear UF Students,

OPINION | EDITORIALS

Editorial: Polarization of police politics is no excuse for violence

Sep. 8, 2015

On Sunday, two police officers in Las Vegas were shot at with a semi-automatic handgun while sitting at a stoplight. Thankfully, both officers made it out alive, with one suffering only a bullet to the hand. The suspect was apprehended, although no motive has been released to the public.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Reflection on 9/11 and terror

Sep. 8, 2015

As we take pause Friday to reflect on the horrors of terrorism and to commemorate the victims of the Sept. 11 attacks, our outrage and grief are morally obliged to cross national boundaries. The tragedies of Sept. 11 provide an opportunity for us to reflect on human cruelty, as well as the role the U.S. plays on a geopolitical scale.

OPINION | EDITORIALS

Editorial: Facebook browsing little more than navel-gazing

Sep. 7, 2015

Earlier this year, Forbes published an article titled "Facebook Was The One Network People Used Less In 2014." In the article, author Parmy Olson noted a worldwide decline in Facebook usage and observed that "Facebook has become more of a passive hub for underlying social connections than a place to actively share our thoughts…(people) often only check in for short periods anyway, leaving little time to do more than browse and maybe ‘like’ a photo or two."