Disregard the talking heads: Five real issues facing Gators
By MATT WATTS | May 16, 2011Spring football practice is over, so they tell me. And the Orange and Blue Debut came and went unspectacularly.
Spring football practice is over, so they tell me. And the Orange and Blue Debut came and went unspectacularly.
In a clumsy attempt to salvage its ever-decaying name, the Roman Catholic Church released a letter Monday assuring the world that despite its proclivity for maneuvering through tripwires of legal culpability, it's willing to play ball when it comes to its darkest secret.
Editor's Note: Across the world, millions struggle with addiction to alcohol and drugs. These are the stories, as best as he can remember them, of one of those compulsive personalities.
They're really obscure. You've probably never heard of them.
As most of you know, a devastating storm system swept across the South on April 27, 2011, bringing with it some of the most destructive tornadoes in our nation's history. Tuscaloosa, Ala., home to the University of Alabama, was one of the most severely impacted areas. As of May 1, 2011, 40 Tuscaloosa residents had been found dead, with over 350 still missing.
We got him: a man whose evil changed the world and defined a young generation. He was a figurehead of evil, and he was the serpent in the garden. On that day in September, our vision of evil was changed from the likes of Captain Hook to the realities of true unforgiving atrocities. Our young generation experienced more real death and more real fear than any young person should ever have to endure. Almost ten years after his most infamous attack on innocent lives, the people who he affected most, the generation of children who lost their loved ones and lost their innocence, can celebrate for the first time in their lives.
Standing on top of his soapbox in cyberspace, former U.S. House Speaker Newt Gingrich officially announced on Facebook and Twitter Wednesday his intention to seek the Republican nomination for President in 2012.
About two years ago, I decided to do what millions of college-aged kids have done since the days when Jesus and the Dirty Dozen toured as a traveling family band: print out a resume, put on the greatest pseudo-smile Monopoly money can buy and apply for a job.
In a month’s time, Titletown U.S.A. — or just Gainesville as the rest of the country refers to it — could be drowning in hardware once again. Florida athletics are at an all-time high. Any number of teams could bring a championship back to The Gator Nation.
"Hey man, aren't you from New York? A plane just hit the World Trade Center."
During my four long years of college, I developed a least favorite question.
Sports weren’t always a passion of mine.
For all the time we’ve spent poking fun at the religious nuts on Turlington during our time at UF, now we’re the ones saying, “The end is nigh.”
I feel obligated to respond to Laura Ellermeyer’s Tuesday column on “study pills.” While I applaud her for denouncing their use, I feel she took the matter too lightly. I have ADHD and take Concerta (a form of Ritalin) and suffer the side effects she spoke of, but there are worse side effects as well. All the drugs she mentioned can cause chronic headaches (which I suffer from) as well as loss of appetite, heartburn, vomiting. And that’s just the mild symptoms. Worse symptoms include seizures, depression, heart trouble and sudden death, especially in adults with heart defects or previous heart problems. This can all be found on the PubMed Health website. There have been documented cases of children dying from a Ritalin dose their own doctor prescribed.
Anything to relieve stress: It’s scotch and smokes one night, the gym the next.
Tomorrow marks the one-year anniversary of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. Although a year has passed, BP PLC still has some serious damage control to do. Of course, the oil giant focused on keeping its company’s name and reputation in tact during the crisis, which left many of us staring, mouths agape at video of oil spewing out of the Earth. Scientists and economists are giving us varied feedback on the outcome of the disaster.
Here’s the situation: Your exam is on Saturday and, let’s be honest, you never actually watched those Statistics lectures. You did most of the quizzes, attended various labs and it’s all coming down to a careful calculation that says you must score at least an 85 on the final for a B in the class. What’s the game plan? Wouldn’t it be nice if there were a pill that gave you a super brain blast allowing for hours of cramming without any of the pain? Forget getting a B, this pill would let you score high enough on the final to reach a nearly-impossible A. Well, that pill exists. In fact, many of those pills exist, and they go by various names such as Adderall, Vyvanse and Ritalin. The day is finally here, folks. Tomorrow marks the end of the 2010-2011 school year at UF, and the light at the end of the tunnel is so bright it’s almost blinding. Freshmen like me end our first year of college while seniors bid their college years adieu. For all of us, however, one pesky word separates us from our summers, and it starts with an F and ends with INALS. Library West is braced for stuffing to max capacity, and Starbucks has stocked its strongest espressos. No. 2 pencils at the ready UF; it’s finals time. How will you navigate these treacherous waters?
You’d think it would be important to get the numbers right when you’re making a presentation about a budget of any kind. But when that argument is taking place in front of the Florida Supreme Court, and the money amounts you’re throwing around are in the millions and billions, any “minor” mistake becomes a huge one.
In response to Bob Minchin’s column on Friday, I find it surprising that one who is appalled by intrusive government agencies and overbearing regulation believes government intrusion and regulation is necessary in the case of unwanted pregnancy. I guess I was wrong to assume a “true conservative” is actually conservative and not just a shill parroting the Republican party line.
I would like to say thank you to Bob Minchin for sharing his views in Friday’s column “Abortion stance key to conservatism.” His extremely well-written dialogue not only exposes the shallow and inhumane actions of the “pro-choice” movement but also calls conservatives to act with passion and conviction.