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Saturday, March 28, 2026

Opinion

Florida Alligator
Opinion

Take It Easy Police: partygoers should think before acting

“They think Gainesville is their personal toilet... coming from behind shows what kind of garbage they are.” These are the words that Gainesville Police spokesman Keith Kameg used to describe five individuals arrested for attacking police at a Fest after party on Nov. 1. He went on to describe these individuals as a “fringe element” who only visited Gainesville looking for a place to stay.


Florida Alligator
Opinion

Public must take interest in polluted site

The Cabot-Koppers Superfund site is at the corner of Northwest Sixth Street and Northwest 23rd Avenue. For those of you who don’t know about this, let me enlighten you. This property has been used since 1916 for wood treatment. Chemicals from this site have been found seeping into the groundwater and surface water, including arsenic, copper and nine other chemicals found to cause cancers and other health problems. According to EPA testing in 2006, harmful chemicals have already started reaching the upper portion of the aquifer (not good, considering nearly 100 percent of the drinking water in Florida comes from the Floridan aquifer). As bad as all this sounds, it might surprise you that nearly 19 years after a cleanup approach was signed, no action has been taken besides a few trenches being dug.


Florida Alligator
Opinion

Proposed public option destined to fail

This letter is in response to statements made by the UF College Republicans’ chairman, Bryan Griffin, and the Florida College Democrats’ president, Ben Cavataro, in Tuesday’s article “Locals react to House vote.”


Florida Alligator
Opinion

Florida teens should get life in prison

This letter is in response to Tuesday’s editorial, “Cruel Courts.” The teens in South Florida who threw rubbing alcohol on a young boy should not only be tried as adults, they should be put in prison for life without parole. These teens knew exactly what would happen when they threw the match: extensive physical and psychological damage and, most likely, death.


Florida Alligator
Opinion

Teens knew what they were doing

I’m writing in regards to Tuesday’s editorial, “Cruel Courts.” While I agree that the judicial system should rethink how it tries teens for certain crimes, I was shocked that you defended the three teens charged as adults for lighting another on fire.


Florida Alligator
Opinion

Republicans aren’t actually conservative

In response to Tuesday’s letter to the editor “Republicans aren’t too conservative,” Ms. Kilic really drops the ball. She says Mr. Christ “attempts to pigeonhole” Republicans by claiming that they are all “‘Bible-thumping,’ overzealous patriots.” She further claims that Republicans are hurting for straying from party principles. Well, what are those principles? What goals does the Republican party have? Banning abortion? Keeping gays out of the military? Making sure that Obama fails, no matter what he is doing?


Florida Alligator
Sports

Tebow’s path to win second bronze statue

Shortly before last year's Academy Awards, I remember listening to an NPR broadcast that featured a panel of respected film critics discussing who would take home the top honors.


Florida Alligator
Opinion

WUFT-FM should rethink change in format

In a report compiled in June, consultants advising John Wright, the dean of UF's College of Journalism and Communications, suggested a format change to WUFT-FM would only lose $52,000 in membership dollars the first year ($26,000 per semester). Sadly, this semester's drive fell short. It represented a loss of more than $49,000 compared to fall 2008. That is a nearly a 40 percent reduction in pledge dollars; the number of pledges fell by 40 percent as well. The fall pledge drive brought in 29 percent less than the much weaker spring 2009 pledge drive.


Florida Alligator
Opinion

Republicans aren’t too conservative

Matthew Christ needs to learn a thing or two about the political ideology of Americans before he writes another column. In his latest one, "Republicans should move away from fringe," he seems to be under the impression that this country leans moderate to left, and therefore the Republicans lost the presidential election. With every column of his I read, I find myself questioning his understanding of what a conservative is. He seems to think that we are all "Bible-thumping," overzealous patriots, and I for one resent his attempts to pigeonhole us.


Florida Alligator
Opinion

Guest column captures patriotic spirit

Bravo to Daniel Rood for his thought-provoking column in Wednesday's Alligator, "Remember the 5th of November." Dan has certainly captured the pulse of the patriotic movement in our nation at this time. I gasp when I think of what could happen in the near future if our constitutional rights are not restored soon. The Bush/Obama/Federal Reserve takeover of our country has been swift and decisive. I believe the revolution to come will be decisive, as well.


Florida Alligator
Opinion

Library doesn’t need stricter rules

I wonder how Don Kershaw expects the libraries to regulate incoming users. Should everyone enter single-file while some hapless student worker swipes IDs and holds up the line writing down identifying information of those without a coveted Gator 1 Card?


Florida Alligator
Opinion

Republicans should move away from fringe

Conservatives are like a group of elephants being led in circles by circus masters. Slowly, they sway back and forth, huffing and puffing, only to gain little ground after completing a circle.



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