OPINION
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EDITORIALS
Fore-give and Fore-get
By Alligator Editorial Board | Apr. 11, 2010Apparently adultery is more forgivable than it used to be.
Opinion
OPINION
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LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Reader angry over obnoxious letter concerning shooting
By NINA MARTINEZ | Apr. 11, 2010I’d like to congratulate Chase Adler, author of the incredibly juvenile and insensitive letter to the editor this past Friday, for submitting the most idiotic note I have seen at my time at UF. We apologize that this whole hoopla over Kofi is “tiring” you. It must be hard to sit around all day and read about the obnoxious details of an innocent man’s inhumane treatment at the hands of an officer with a track record of racist acts. It’s apathy like yours and an unwillingness to gain insight on the facts (for one, a mental health crisis does not call for five armed police officers, but rather a trained professional who can properly assist in the situation) that perpetuates and enables crimes such as police brutality. Rather than make a sweeping claim that “There is no such thing as police brutality,” take off your stupid college kid blinders and attempt to really educate yourself on the case and the realities that others who are not so privileged as yourself face.
OPINION
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COLUMNS
Democrats drop like flies in upcoming congressional election
By Brittany Fox | Apr. 11, 2010Though I’ve never fully understood the expression, congressional Democrats are keeping true to the English idiom and dropping like flies. Most recently on the no-go list for November is Rep. Bart Stupak (of “Stupak Amendment” fame). Let’s have a walk down memory lane, shall we? By last December 10 House Democrats had artfully announced their early retirement. With the new year, announcements from the esteemed Senate had come in: former presidential hopeful Chris Dodd, North Dakota’s Byron Dorgan and Evan Bayh (former governor of Indiana and rumored 2008 presidential contender).
OPINION
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LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Embracing Confederacy means celebrating self-government
By KENNETH RINGLER | Apr. 11, 2010Paul Murty, to say all people who embrace the Confederacy are racists is a racist statement in itself. I have two Confederate flag bumper stickers on my truck, and I am far from a racist. To me that flag means that the states were not going to let the federal government tell them how to govern. Was slavery a big part of that? Yes, but that does not mean I fly that flag or put it on my truck to say that I want that part of history to change. It just means I don’t want the federal goverment to tell me or my state what I can and can’t do, like making me buy health care if I do not want helath care. It’s my choice to make.
OPINION
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EDITORIALS
Unclean Coal: Mining tragedy reflects bigger problem
By Alligator Editorial Board | Apr. 11, 2010The April 5 explosion that led to the death of 29 miners in West Virginia was horrific. It was traumatic. And even to Gators more than 600 miles away, it was heartbreaking.
OPINION
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LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Reader: naive columnist uses weak examples
By Rob Myers | Apr. 11, 2010It is unfortunate that Paul Murty would choose to proliferate the “conservatives are racists” narrative, and to do it with such a weak example. Poll after poll shows that a majority of Americans (especially independents) are opposed to the power grab that is the tragic “health reform” bill. The left has found it imperative to label opposition racist as opposed to arguing against the substantive points that dissenters put forth. After all, who cares what one has to say once that person has been branded a bigot, homophobe, racist, etc.?
OPINION
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COLUMNS
Bagram, Kandahar stops on Lame Train
By Ryan Spencer | Apr. 11, 2010If you’ve been hearing a low rumble or seeing a faint column of smoke off in the distance, perhaps traveling in the direction of Afghanistan, be alarmed.
OPINION
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COLUMNS
Student Body should be more open minded toward peers, life
By Will Penman | Apr. 11, 2010Walking around campus last week, you may have been confused. Is it Turlington Plaza or a war zone? Is it the Reitz Union North Lawn or no man’s land? Humans vs. Zombies has invited students to see things in a different way. The Student Body has, for the most part, declined the invitation.
OPINION
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LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Romance separates chivalry from good manners
By SHANNON MCGEE | Apr. 11, 2010Thank you Rosette Charles. Chivalry is not dead, but that is not the issue here.
OPINION
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LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Student Body deserves explanation from UF administration
By PETER LAUMANN | Apr. 11, 2010During my four years at UF, it was obvious that Bernie Machen’s administration had zero concern for the Student Body. When Andrew Meyer was Tasered, when the Graduate Assistants United asked for slightly higher pay to teach classes, and when entire programs were cut without student input, the administration stood squarely against the students. Maybe it is fortunate that the worst offense to the Student Body came the year after I graduated and migrated north. Even if the brutal maiming of Kofi Adu-Brempong was somehow justified, it is the administration’s duty to stand up for its students. The University Police Department exists to protect the Student Body, and when a student is left with gruesome injuries at the hands of a UPD officer, the Student Body deserves an explanation and an investigation. Machen and the UF administration have once again failed the Student Body; blessing a handful of students with a meeting is not enough to fulfill the obligations that Machen is handsomely paid to perform. It has never been more clear that this university needs a new direction and new leadership. We need a university president whose loyalty and responsibilities don’t end with collecting a massive paycheck, and we need justice for the UF Student Body.
OPINION
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COLUMNS
Americans should not forget the past
By PAUL MURTY | Apr. 8, 2010Race relations in the United States are not perfect, nor will they ever be. Since the election of Barack Obama, the problems seem to be increasing.
OPINION
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LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
PETA thanks AAA for hosting VegFest
By Drew Winter | Apr. 8, 2010I would like to compliment the Animal Activists of Alachua (AAA) for once again hosting a successful VegFest event (“500 Try Vegan Pizza, Ice Cream at VegFest,” Thursday).
OPINION
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EDITORIALS
Darts and Laurels
By Alligator Editorial Board | Apr. 8, 2010Get excited, people – the end of the semester is on the horizon. But beware because there’s something else lurking on the surface of the calm waters. And that something has taken the form of an exams-project-and-paper iceberg that will take that optimistic steamboat of yours down if you’re not careful.
OPINION
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LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Columnists should be more serious
By David Gallo | Apr. 8, 2010I am writing to lodge a complaint against Tommy Maple and Ryan Spencer. A column is an opportunity to make people think about ideas and issues in a way that other sections of the newspaper can’t. I believe the two of you often squander this opportunity in an effort to sound humorous and smart. As an avid reader of The New Yorker, where high-brow, and often convoluted language ultimately serves as a flourish to a more important point, I encourage Maple and Spencer to have a little more respect for their readers. I often finish one of their columns and find that thought-provoking substance occupies a marginal space, and the remainder is a weekly exercise in the stringing together of forced metaphors. Now, I know that these columns are supposed to be humorous, and I think they both have a talent for humor. I only ask that if you’re going to write a column with a subject matter of importance, that the subject matter get a little more airtime next to the humor.
OPINION
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LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Reader tired of people defending student in shooting incident
By CHASE ADLER | Apr. 8, 2010I’m tired of everyone standing up for Kofi. You only have a problem because he is a student like you. You have no reason to defend him. In case you didn’t know, he had been sending e-mails to staff accusing them of wanting to kill him. He was also under the impression he was going to be kidnapped and taken to Africa and slain. He was either on drugs or completely insane. The police officers who broke into his apartment were in the right. They did exactly what they were trained to do. There is no such thing as police brutality. The police are trained to do whatever it takes to subdue a problem. People just blow it out of proportion. Stop defending Kofi, and stop trying to fight the police officers.
OPINION
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LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Protesters should consider officers’ perspective in shooting
By DANIIL SHABASHVILI | Apr. 8, 2010I feel the public is ignoring one side of the graduate student shooting incident, probably because it is easier to identify with the student and not with the police officers. People say things like “I feel like this could happen to me,” or “This should have been handled by mental health professionals,” without really thinking about the situation.
OPINION
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LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Chivalry is alive and kicking
By ROSETTE CHARLES | Apr. 8, 2010A gentleman is as gentle as the woman he wishes to impress or pursue. When we see chivalry as a long-forgotten, dusty corpse, it means that somewhere inside we have murdered it. The problem with our generation is not that we don’t know how to court, but that women have forgotten how to be women and men have become utterly confused as a result.
OPINION
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COLUMNS
Judd Apatow-style underdog movies aren’t one-size-fits-all
By Julia Tilford | Apr. 7, 2010There’s been a recent trend in mainstream cinema that thrusts schlub guys into the spotlight. They’re normal, everyday dudes who drink, smoke pot, look like your neighbor and have lame jobs, if they have jobs at all.
OPINION
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EDITORIALS
No Question: There is such a thing as a stupid question
By The Alligator Editorial Board | Apr. 7, 2010Going against the tradition of bringing in intellectual “heavy hitters” such as Meghan McCain, Andy Samberg and the ever-esteemed, generic “Real World” cast member, our beloved high council of white sepulchres at Accent were able to lure religion experts Dinesh D’Souza and Christopher Hitchens to campus Tuesday night.
OPINION
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LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
UF suffers zombie-hater infection
By Sean Mallon | Apr. 7, 2010There is a vast hoard arising at UF. It is recognizable by the hoard’s pasty, livid complexions. You can spot them a mile off by their awkward, stumbling, limp gaits. However, the best way to spot one of these bastion’s life-sucking buggers is to get up close and personal, so you can see the dead, hopeless gaze in their eyes.
