Opinions - The Independent Florida Alligator

OPINION | COLUMNS

Capitalistic college sports must change

Oct. 26, 2014

Recently, a decades-long academic scandal at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill was uncovered. The systematic academic fraud was orchestrated by student services manager Deborah Crowder. Crowder has been accused of creating "paper classes" — registering sections of fraudulent independent study credit and classes that never actually met because they never existed. One source states that more than 3,100 students benefitted from these classes, receiving A’s and B’s for classes they didn’t take and preventing their GPAs from tanking.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Two candidates for governor, one clear choice

Oct. 26, 2014

Early voting is now underway in Florida, and it is very important that everyone who is registered perform their civic duty and vote in this election.

OPINION | EDITORIALS

Increasing police overreactions form bad trend

Oct. 26, 2014

On Tuesday, 18-year-old Shaquielle Olmeda was arrested in Manatee County. According to the Bradenton Herald, police "used patrol units, dogs and helicopters to set up a perimeter" and eventually apprehended and arrested Olmeda.

OPINION | DARTS LAURELS

Politico, Marvel and Guilfoyle in Darts & Laurels 10/24/2014

Oct. 23, 2014

There was a lot to talk about this week. We watched as our gubernatorial candidates exchanged personal insults and faced awkward disagreements. Then, university officials released 175 pages of documentation surrounding the sexual assault allegations against Gators quarterback Treon Harris. Here’s your whew-what-a-week edition of...

OPINION | COLUMNS

Pot grants the right to forget

Oct. 23, 2014

"Yes, I still remember everything.” Thus begins my grandmother’s autobiography. At age 89, she is proud of her detailed memory, but she is also cursed by it.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Ferguson: not solved with black voters

Oct. 23, 2014

The Georgia Democratic Party wants black voters to turn out in droves in the upcoming November election. This is primarily because the senatorial election between Democrat Michelle Nunn and Republican David Perdue is one of the races to watch in determining which party will control the U.S. Senate for the next two years. To encourage voter turnout, the Democratic Party of Georgia created and released fliers featuring images of black protesters in Ferguson outraged over the murder of teenager Mike Brown. The fliers read “If you want to prevent another Ferguson in their future — vote. It’s up to you to make change happen.” This was an obvious attempt to pull on the heartstrings of black Democrats who sympathized with the Brown family and the Ferguson movement.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Female opinions on male genitals vary

Oct. 23, 2014

Weddings are usually a fun affair — an excuse to eat, drink and be merry.

OPINION | EDITORIALS

Scott’s handling of execution is telling of office

Oct. 22, 2014

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OPINION | COLUMNS

‘GamerGate’ latest in online harassment

Oct. 22, 2014

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OPINION | COLUMNS

Basic white girls literally can’t even handle fall season

Oct. 21, 2014

It’s fall, y’all. The season of pumpkin spice lattes, candy corn, pumpkin carving and a very occasional nip in the air — after all, this is Florida — has fully descended upon us.

OPINION | EDITORIALS

Proposed travel restrictions fuel baseless Ebola fear

Oct. 21, 2014

Americans are in a panic about the recent Ebola cases in Texas. On Sept. 30, Thomas Eric Duncan, a Liberian who was visiting family in Dallas, was diagnosed with Ebola. On Oct. 8, Duncan died of the virus. Two health care workers who treated Duncan, Amber Vinson and Nina Pham, were also diagnosed with Ebola and are currently being treated.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Don’t fear after college: best years ahead

Oct. 21, 2014

There comes a time in every college student’s life when a strange, unwelcome thought suddenly flashes through their mind: I am growing up.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Ebola fears show U.S. unpreparedness

Oct. 20, 2014

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OPINION | COLUMNS

‘That is Enough’ — It is time for us to focus on humanities

Oct. 20, 2014

Consider the following two events that transpired during UF’s Homecoming week. First, the UF Board of Trustees selected Dr. Kent Fuchs to be the university’s next president. Second, I attended a UF-based talk which, among other things, alluded to the “innovative” research that could possibly be going on in the area of creating apps to remind people to brush their teeth. Let’s now juxtapose these two aforementioned events that happened on the UF campus last week with three history-making events that happened in the broader U.S. society in the same time frame. First, the deadly Ebola virus made its way to the U.S. Second, gas prices fell to levels not seen since 2010. Third, our stock market dropped by as much as 460 points. What a week!

OPINION | COLUMNS

Scott’s Ebola conference masks public health cuts

Oct. 19, 2014

Gov. Rick Scott held a press conference Friday to discuss the recent Ebola cases in Texas. Fears about an outbreak in Florida were heightened after a plane carrying one of the nurses diagnosed with Ebola stopped at the Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Looking other way will not end racism

Oct. 19, 2014

Last week, Nick Eagle wrote a column in which he argued we should all “just be proud to be Americans.” Although Eagle’s proposal is a noble one, it is rooted in misconceptions and ignorance.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Don’t buy into minimum wage myths this election

Oct. 19, 2014

Every few months, a new issue takes prominence on the political scene, and most people quickly embrace a solution before considering any of its consequences. The latest political trend to gain popular support has been increasing minimum wage from its current federal rate of $7.25 an hour to $10.10 per hour. Supporters of a minimum wage increase often frame such a proposal as a cure-all for what ails the U.S. economy.

OPINION | DARTS LAURELS

Fangate, Chris Brown and HBO GO in Darts & Laurels 10/17/2014

Oct. 16, 2014

It’s that time of the week again. From fan-blocked debates, too much Ebola in the news and a new UF president elect, this week has had its fair share of odd, good and frightening news for this week’s I-hope-we-don’t-lose-another-homecoming-game edition of....

OPINION | COLUMNS

Vatican views of LGBT: a good start

Oct. 16, 2014

I have been a Roman Catholic all my life. For 18 years, I went to church almost every Sunday without fail. While attending Mass, I realized that Catholics are especially resistant to one thing: change. I have experienced the same liturgy, the same teachings and the same traditions year after year with little hope of something different. The various popes have always looked the same and represented the same values. That is, until the selection of the current pope.

OPINION | LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Letter to the Editor

Oct. 16, 2014

I appreciate the Alligator’s coverage of peta2’s “I, Chicken” virtual reality exhibit and would like to point to a correction in the article. Due to the inclement weather Tuesday, our team had to take down the exhibit.