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Tuesday, December 30, 2025

Opinion

Florida Alligator
OPINION  |  COLUMNS

Smoking ban encroaches on rights

There is something very unsettling in the way modern society is beginning to parallel the fictional worlds presented by writers such as Orwell, Huxley and Rand. From the disturbing similarities between contemporary texting language and Orwell’s Newspeak to the health care battles that still continue to rage in Congress, it is undeniable that, at some point in the last 50 years, the line between fact and fiction began to blur.


Florida Alligator
OPINION  |  EDITORIALS

Soccer Sham

The break between summer semesters was quite eventful if you were a soccer fan. The U.S. team made it out of group play and into the Round of 16 in the World Cup before falling to Ghana in an elimination game.


Florida Alligator
OPINION  |  COLUMNS

Obama fumbles response to gulf spill

The recent Gulf oil spill has become more than a tragedy, and the Obama administration has more than botched the response. This crisis illuminates the administration’s lack of leadership. Unfortunately for Americans, we see a president too tangled in a web of bureaucracy, ego and inexperience to appropriately handle the situation. It was well-worded in a recent column by Mark Steyn: “He has grand plans for ‘the environment’ - all of it, wherever it may be. Why should the great eco-Gulliver be ensnared by some Lilliputian oil spill lapping ‘round his boots?”


Florida Alligator
OPINION  |  LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

‘Good Life’ course serves a purpose for freshmen.

The Editorial Board misunderstood the purpose of the course, ‘The Good Life.’ The course would challenge students’ views about what ‘the good life’ is and to think about whether it exists. The class doesn’t just “give incoming freshmen a chance to bond over coursework” but has the noble goal of making students reflect on their commonly held notions.


Florida Alligator
OPINION  |  LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Cutting post-doctoral health care benefits will hurt research

We are writing as current postdoctoral associates and concerned members of the UF family to communicate concerns about the upcoming change in postdoctoral health care benefits. We believe this represents a step backward in UF’s mission to become a top-tier research institution. Cutting postdoctoral benefits will make UF much less competitive in attracting the best and brightest researchers. Postdoctoral associates are the driving force behind all aspects of research, including research training for undergraduates and graduates. Postdoctoral associates complete a majority of the research that brings millions of dollars in federal research grants, and they write a significant portion of those grants.


Florida Alligator
OPINION  |  EDITORIALS

Sunscreen is a pool party must-have

My friend and I ventured to one of those notorious apartment pool parties last Saturday. We're not exactly regulars, but we wanted to check out the festivities and meet new people. As soon as we arrived, a guy gravitated toward - our sunscreen. Before even introducing himself, he asked to borrow the spray-on sunscreen we were covering ourselves with.


Florida Alligator
OPINION  |  LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

City commissioner stands by underage drinking ordinance

Tuesday’s editorial asks the question about underage drinkers caught in bars: “Why doesn’t the city implement a huge fine and prohibit them from going into a bar again?” The answer is simple: in Florida, only the state legislature can make laws such as these, not local government. Local government can only do two things: regulate the hours, and regulate whether the bars can admit 18-20 year olds or if they have to be 21 and up. Only the state can take away a liquor license through an administrative proceeding or make harsher punishments for violating state laws.


Florida Alligator
OPINION  |  EDITORIALS

Ice, ice, baby

We never thought we would see the day when the drink of choice on 1:55 a.m. beer runs would be one of the many flavors of Smirnoff Ice, but the malted beverage has been flying off the shelf due to it being the main ingredient in a new viral drinking game.


Florida Alligator
OPINION  |  COLUMNS

Conservative arguments made in Griffin’s column not true

Bryan Griffin’s article “Individual action key to conservation” seems to strongly evoke his Republican role model, Bobby Jindal, the governor of Louisiana, and his limp response to President Obama’s State of the Union address. In his piece, he manages to convey such base ideas as “Liberals bad” and “Regulation bad.” OK, so you can’t blame him for paraphrasing the GOP manifesto. But beyond the standard partisan hackery, Mr. Griffin offers several gems that are simply too precious to ignore.


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