Opinions - The Independent Florida Alligator

OPINION | EDITORIALS

Reuse cities' plans to reduce waste

By the Editorial Board | Jan. 9, 2008

The popular joke that you turn 21 years old when you move to Gainesville is something many UF students have taken literally at some point or another. Whether it's letting your friend buy you a drink and sneak it to you in a crowded bar or, more boldly, ordering a drink while cleverly making sure your wristbanded-less arms don't show, it's an all-too-common practice. But that doesn't make it legal.

OPINION | EDITORIALS

Underage, under arrest

By the Editorial Board | Jan. 9, 2008

Homeowners looking to reduce their energy consumption can take advantage of the rebates Gainesville Regional Utilities offers for solar water heaters. Commuters looking for a way to conserve fuel can use the new Web-based Alachua County carpool program. These are just a few of the latest ways Gainesville residents can go green. And it's our guess, judging by the growing number of Toyota Priuses driving around town - along with UF's growing commitment to sustainability - that this trend is one that's here to stay. However, local government may be overlooking one of the most fundamental ways to protect the environment: recycling.

OPINION | COLUMNS

'Student-athlete' often an oxymoron

Jan. 9, 2008

While high-school seniors all over the country are struggling to achieve nothing less than a 4.0 to get into their top-choice university, the star quarterback of their graduating class is receiving a full ride to wherever his heart desires. Admissions officers don't even glance at his grade point average.

OPINION | COLUMNS

'Subprime' not a worthy selection

Jan. 8, 2008

I feel misrepresented. I feel cheated. It's downright wrong.

OPINION | LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Pakistan not important for everyone

By Warren Rhea | Jan. 8, 2008

In response to Anuradha Pandey's column Tuesday, so what? I happen to be one American who knows what's happening in Pakistan, and that's why I support those who don't care. Your generalizations about most Americans being close-minded and careless aside, I'm sorry some of us don't reel in shock after hearing about yet another country plagued by fundamentalist Islamic terrorism.Please stop trying to make us all feel bad because you think you're the only one who is informed about the world. There are others. And please stop berating Americans about their political knowledge by assuming foreigners know our domestic politics better than we do.

OPINION | EDITORIALS

Vote despite partisan primaries

By the Editorial Board | Jan. 8, 2008

While political pundits and election experts painfully regurgitate the results from Iowa and New Hampshire and supply their own twisted analyses, Florida is gearing up for its earliest primary ever.

OPINION | EDITORIALS

Have opinion, will write

By the Editorial Board | Jan. 8, 2008

Ah, writing your very own Alligator column. While it may not get you to the front of the line at your favorite club or even so much as a free beer, it will give you a chance to voice your opinion and reach out to the UF and Gainesville communities. Oh, and you even get your picture in the paper. In fact, thanks to a little thing called the Internet, you may one day achieve worldwide fame for your perfect prose. The opportunity is yours.

OPINION | EDITORIALS

RIAA losing digital war

By the Editorial Board | Jan. 7, 2008

Just when you thought it couldn't get any lower than suing single moms for thousands of dollars, the Recording Industry Association of America has taken its fight one step further.

OPINION | EDITORIALS

UF can't keep repeating LSU's mistake

By the Editorial Board | Jan. 7, 2008

Following the massacre at Virginia Tech last April, the university's officials were criticized for the amount of time that passed between the first time Tech student Seung-Hui Cho opened fire and the time students were sent e-mails warning them to stay off campus.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Interest in Pakistan too little, too late

By ANURADHA PANDEY | Jan. 7, 2008

At last, another one of the Bush administration's foreign policy blunders has been placed under scrutiny: the protection of Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf at all costs. I'm willing to bet that most Americans hadn't even heard Benazir Bhutto's name until she was assassinated, let alone had known that she was Pakistan's prime minister under a power-sharing agreement with Musharraf that the Bush administration orchestrated.

OPINION | LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Trustees wrong to give Machen more

By Benjamin Dictor | Jan. 7, 2008

It is completely irresponsible for the UF Board of Trustees to approve nearly ,300,000 in performance bonuses for President Bernie Machen while the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences remains in crippling debt.

OPINION | EDITORIALS

Still In Doubt

By the Editorial Board | Jan. 6, 2008

On Thursday, a Leon County circuit court judge tossed out a lawsuit intended to clarify who has the right to control tuition - the state Legislature or the Board of Governors, the governing body of Florida?s public universities.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Lost phones make for lots of stress

By VINCENT MASSARO | Jan. 6, 2008

There are two kinds of people in the world: those who lose their cell phones and those who do not.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Machen shouldn't get bonus

Dec. 4, 2007

So UF President Bernie Machen got almost ,300,000 in bonuses from the UF Foundation right before Christmas. It was approved by the UF Board of Trustees.

OPINION | LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Paul wants U.S. to withdraw from UN

By Brad Ibach | Dec. 4, 2007

All this talk about Ron Paul is stupid. Yes, he wants to withdraw from Iraq immediately (along with Dennis Kucinich and Mike Gravel.) Yes, he opposes the war on drugs. And yes, he opposes the USA Patriot Act. But one issue trumps everything else: Mr. Paul wants to withdraw from the United Nations.

OPINION | LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Salary understandable when compared

By Michael Hall | Dec. 4, 2007

I was surprised at some of my friends' reactions to the article on UF President Bernie Machen's salary.

OPINION | LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Abortion laws must be consistent

By Mark LaBelle | Dec. 4, 2007

I am writing in response to Tuesday's letters to the editor. Wylie Green's proposal that "we can have it both ways" when it comes to abortion is ridiculous. Anti-abortion Americans and abortion-rights Americans are diametrically opposed to one another.

OPINION | LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Machen's salary should anger us all

By Dave Steadman | Dec. 4, 2007

Would someone please explain to me the logic of giving President Machen nearly ,300,000 in bonuses when his main accomplishments this year were implementing harsh budget cuts and promoting Pepsi?

OPINION | LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

One common factor unites almost all

By Dylan Sawmore | Dec. 4, 2007

Pepsi or Coke? Who to vote for in the upcoming presidential election?

OPINION | LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

City shouldn't pay for University Corners

By Randy Jewett | Dec. 4, 2007

Tuesday's editorial asked about all the delay for construction of University Corners and blamed it on legal battles in the courts because of the ,98 million tax giveaway to the developers by the Gainesville City Commission.