Opinion
‘#BlackLivesMatter’ is used for a reason
Nov. 30, 2014One week ago, it was announced Darren Wilson would not stand trial for the death of an unarmed black 18-year-old named Michael Brown.
Opinion
Sports
Johnson’s Journal: In rivalry tilt both teams did what they do best
By RICHARD JOHNSON | Nov. 30, 2014TALLAHASSEE — As Treon Harris lined the Florida offense up with fourth and the ballgame to go, I scanned the crowd of 82,485 at Doak Campbell Stadium. My eyes met briefly with a female Florida State fan, and she smiled at me. It wasn’t one of those happy smiles, it was a nervous one, an "oh crap there’s still a chance we might lose this game," kind of smile. I just assumed she was new around these parts. Perhaps she had woken from a coma last Sunday and this was her first FSU game this season.
Opinion
Thanksgiving ‘14: Be grateful, don’t shop, give back
Nov. 24, 2014For most people, Thanksgiving is all about the three F’s: food, family and football. The image of a family gathered around the table with a large turkey in the middle is one of America’s most iconic scenes.
Opinion
Universities need to fight sexual assault
Nov. 24, 2014Recently, Rolling Stone magazine published a story exposing the University of Virginia’s extreme lack of attention to the dangers of sexual assault its students face.
Opinion
Debunking all the pit bull-y myths
Nov. 24, 2014One summer night two years ago, a dog named Lilly lost a leg and saved her owner’s life by dragging the unconscious woman off a set of train tracks to avoid an oncoming freight train.
Opinion
Florida campaign finance needs fixing
Nov. 23, 2014On most political issues — the economy, health care and climate change — Americans are more polarized than ever before. However, there is at least one subject on which the vast majority of Americans agree: the enormous and inappropriate role that money plays in American elections.
Opinion
Black Friday: The madness needs to stop
Nov. 23, 2014The glorious day of Thanksgiving is almost upon us. Nothing tops dedicating a whole day to eating platefuls of food, drinking wine and watching football. Thanksgiving is a timeless holiday where we take a moment to slow down, be with the people we love and be thankful for everything we have. Unfortunately, some people are not thankful for what they have. They just want more, which in turn, has cast a dark shadow over Thanksgiving, rendering it less meaningful. This shadow is caused by none other than the dreadful day after Turkey Day: Black Friday.
Opinion
Keystone XL pipeline is lesser of two great evils, needs compromise
Nov. 23, 2014[The views expressed here are not necessarily those of the Alligator.]
Opinion
Sex education needs normalization
Nov. 20, 2014Forget math, science and history — students and parents are more concerned about sex in the classroom.
Opinion
Reflecting on a tragedy
By Alligator Editorial | Nov. 20, 2014As you have probably noticed by now, we normally go casual on Fridays with a quirky, tongue-in-cheek “Darts and Laurels” summing up the best and worst of the week. But on Thursday night, the Alligator staff was in no mood to chide silliness and applaud reason. Anything we could have written in this space feels trivial compared to what dominated Florida State University students’ thoughts, prayers and social media newsfeeds in the past 24 hours.
Opinion
Life lessons for millennials: Be yourself
Nov. 20, 2014Millennials have a bad reputation for being emotionally distant, lazy and unfulfilled. During my time here at UF, I have tried to counteract this generalization.
Opinion
Uber’s flippant attitude disconcerting
Nov. 19, 2014The year 2014 has seen dozens of definitive moments — particularly those in technology — that will no doubt set the tone for the rest of the century.
Opinion
Florida senators wrong to oppose NSA reform bill
Nov. 19, 2014On Tuesday evening, the U.S. Senate held a vote on a bill that would have curtailed the extensive and likely unconstitutional data collection programs of the National Security Agency.
Opinion
Political discussions with family over Thanksgiving could use student input
Nov. 18, 2014In eight days, many students will gather around tables and eat all kinds of delicious, artery-clogging foods with family members and friends.
Opinion
Liberalism is about more than just spending
Nov. 18, 2014Clay Olsen’s column, “Democrats mistake government spending for kind-heartedness,” was a conservative attempt to define liberalism as willy-nilly government handouts to the poor. He cites Lyndon Johnson’s “War on Poverty” and declares it a failure without mentioning its success before former President Ronald Reagan gutted the program. He mentioned Medicare liabilities without mentioning that President Barack Obama and U.S. Rep. Paul Ryan proposed to cut the same amount from the program. The big difference in the cuts is that Obama targets fraud on the supply side of Medicare, whereas Ryan proposed exclusively consumer-side cuts, which would increase the copay of every American.
Opinion
Bondi’s new RAGA position deepens corrupt ties
Nov. 18, 2014Last week, the Alligator published an editorial about Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi’s close ties to the Republican Attorneys General Association — RAGA. The organization is heavily supported by donations from interest groups supporting large corporations and from corporations themselves. RAGA has handsomely repaid the investments made by these corporate groups, fighting against environmental protections, financial regulations and labor rights, all of which threaten corporate profits.
Opinion
Fellow students, go the f*** to sleep
Nov. 18, 2014Recently, I have gotten less than 10 full hours of sleep every week.
Opinion
Time to take Thanksgiving literally
Nov. 17, 2014Once again, we are approaching the glorious American holiday known as Thanksgiving. Millions of Americans will travel to visit friends and family, gorge themselves on delicious food and watch football. Millions of other Americans will shovel their Thanksgiving meals into their mouths as quickly as possible in order to join the frenzy of shoppers at their local malls.
