Opinions - The Independent Florida Alligator

OPINION | COLUMNS

Make money to live, dont live to make money

By Layla Soboh | Aug. 6, 2018

Since I was young, I was always taught to save my money for a rainy day. I got piggy banks as gifts and learned to pick up pennies on the street (only the ones faced heads for good luck). I knew that if I saved up enough, I could buy my own house just like my mom did. But somewhere along the line, the messages I was receiving about penny-pinching became inconsistent.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Exhaustion shouldn’t be a badge of honor

By Sophie Feinberg | Aug. 6, 2018

As the end of the Summer semester approaches, weeks of hard work are coming to fruition.Libraries across campus fill with hordes of students. Amid the silence of focus, small hums of conversation focus on lack of sleep, cups of coffee and hours spent studying.It’s almost a competition. Who took the most credit hours, who did the most extracurricular activities or logged the most hours at work. Life is a never-ending game of quantity over quality. Our world often focuses on numbers. They define our acceptance into college, whether we move onto the next class and seemingly if we worked hard enough. Increasingly, life is about quantity over quality. That’s not to say numbers as a form of quantifying work is bad. However, our society seems to take this to an extreme. Sometimes these numbers feel like our worth. Sleeping less and doing more is rewarded in this world that revolves around work. It’s thought to bring more productivity. More tasks complete. More ideas. More effort. More progress. More money for a company. More job advancements. More and more and more. But what happens when there’s nothing left to give, like when at the end of the semester students are often sleep deprived and burnt out?Students should evolve the way they see their work. More isn’t always more.Working to the extremes of fatigue is dangerous. Numerous articles appear when you look up “overworking.”Overwork leaves your body run down and low on sleep. This leaves you as an easy target for illness. Stay on campus for a semester, and you can tell when people are getting tired. Everyone is sick.You’re likely emotionally, mentally and physically exhausted. Overworking can lead to less productivity for this reason. There’s a point when continuing to work or study ceases to be worth the loss of sleep.Studies on this topic go as far as to find that overwork can even lead to early death. This jarring statement shocked me to my core. Since I was an elementary student, the school system I learned in enforced the reality that more work equals more success. We were made to be test-taking machines, competing against one another for the highest grades and recognition.I think this is dangerous and needs to change. I’ve been on the receiving end of burnout. In a particularly tough school year, I was hospitalized four times. I have a chronic illness. Stress and lack of sleep make it worse.However, in my life, sleeping less and doing more was met with reward, which reinforced the need for my behavior. If I wanted to be successful, I needed to work more — even if it was at the cost of my health.Even outside of the school system, into college and onto the world of the job market, the same message of working more often permeates.I think adjustments should be made so people take care of themselves and don’t see time spent away from work as a consequence of more work or less sleep later.

OPINION | DARTS LAURELS

Darts And Laurels

By Editorial Staff | Aug. 1, 2018

Looks don’t really matter at the end of the summer, especially in North Florida. The entirety of the Gainesville population is dripping with sweat and unbothered by unkempt appearances.

OPINION | COLUMNS

(Un)willingness to pay: How we lost our Library West (Part 4)

By Zachariah Chou | Aug. 1, 2018

Students here at UF pay a fee of $19.06 per credit hour called the “Activity and Service Fee.” Multiply that by however many credit hours students are taking, and this is how Student Government gets its $21 million budget.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Goop is a scam, but I can’t stop reading it

By Layla Soboh | Aug. 1, 2018

Wellness, where health and happiness intersect, has become a trillion-dollar industry. It’s come at the cost of science and truth.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Facebook is a mixed bag for mental health

By Stephan Chamberlin | Aug. 1, 2018

Ever wondered if your constant browsing of social media is depressing you? Here’s the science.

OPINION | COLUMNS

I’m not faking it: the shaming of invisible illnesses

By Sophie Feinberg | Aug. 1, 2018

Periodically, this story makes the rounds through headlines: Someone with an invisible illness has been publicly shamed for using accessible parking or other aids.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Addiction is a symptom of mental illness, not a personality flaw

By Layla Soboh | July 30, 2018

Pop star Demi Lovato’s drug overdose has triggered an ongoing debate over whether addiction is a choice or a disease.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Disability in the 21st century

By Sophie Feinberg | July 30, 2018

On July 26, 1990, the Americans with Disabilities Act was passed. It recently passed its 28th anniversary, which means it’s been almost three decades of the official reshaping of society’s accommodation, perception and admission of disabled people.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Inclusion isn’t a check mark

By Sophie Feinberg | July 25, 2018

Everyone is a different person with different needs. Diversity and inclusion are important. In journalism, there are so many stories to tell. But often, some voices go unheard.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Stand your ground stands for legal murder

By Layla Soboh | July 25, 2018

Last week, a 5-year-old watched his father die in a gas station parking lot. The shooter, Michael Drejka, will likely face no charges because of Florida’s incredibly lax stand your ground law. The victim, Markeis McGlockton pushed Drejka to the floor after he came back from the inside of the gas station to find Drejka arguing with his girlfriend. Little did McGlockton know that making the mistake of pushing too hard as defense of his family would lead to his death. Drejka shot from the floor at McGlockton who as evidenced in a security video was not lunging at him after the first push.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Rain is far more than a hardship for the homeless

By Stephan Chamberlin | July 25, 2018

The drone of rain on the car roof is almost deafening. It comes through to the inside like loud TV static. If you peer out the window at the mute downtown scene, between the droplets, you can see that white water pours off storefront awnings like an avalanche. On the flooded sidewalk, huddled in a shallow doorway, a faceless man’s fingers hold a cardboard shield in defense against the damp. The problem of homelessness is never so striking as it is in a rainstorm. An increased supply of short-term shelter is a more immediate solution to this problem which statistics fail to capture.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Clear eyes, empty chairs, students lose: how we lost out 24/7 Library West (part 3)

By Zachariah Chou | July 25, 2018

It started out innocently enough. “24/7 Study Space Survey” says the subject line for the email that flies into my inbox from former Monroe County Detention Center inmate/Student Body President Smith Meyers. “Your responses to the attached 5-minute survey will be invaluable as we prioritize support for the overnight study spaces needed for your academic success.”

OPINION | COLUMNS

I’m a 20-year-old geriatric

By Sophie Feinberg | July 23, 2018

I’ve had dozens of doctor’s appointments this summer.My medical chart classifies me as someone with high-risk medication usage.The people at my pharmacy know my name.I have more than five diagnoses, and they keep coming.I appear out of place in specialists’ waiting rooms and in society.Expectations for my peer group don’t align with the lifestyle I live or want to live.When I’m not in class, doing extracurricular assignments or studying, I’m at the doctor or recuperating with heat pads and ice packs in bed. I’ve never been out to Midtown or even a football game yet because I’m scared about my health and accommodations. An outing can cost me a semester if I’m not careful. Pushing myself doesn’t make me better. It can leave me in the hospital. But I keep doing it anyway because I want to be with friends, gain experience in my major and be a part of the UF community.It’s hard to balance society’s expectations with how I live. What is even harder is how I balance my own expectations and goals with where I’m at. I’m constantly at odds. Even in doctor’s offices, I’m misunderstood. I’m accused of lying or am not taken seriously. “You’re too young to have these problems,” isn’t an uncommon message from doctors. No kidding.Wishing or wondering won’t make my circumstances change. Pushing onward has a silver lining. I’m learning to find my voice, be an advocate and reason with professionals. It’s given me a different kind of strength amid my physical weakness. I hate pity. I just want understanding, especially in health care. If there’s anything my life has shown me, it’s that there is a health care gap. There’s specialized care for older patients but not for young ones with similar issues. That’s a problem.Worse than feeling alone and in pain is going to get help and being refused or unheard.This is a widespread problem. I’ve had to wait months for a diagnosis. I’m still waiting for solutions to other problems. That could take years. Worse than fighting to live “normally” is fighting to be heard and waiting, feeling sick and knowing something is off but jumping from doctor to doctor until someone finally listens. Then it’s waiting for test results. Then it’s becoming your own doctor. It’s turning to Google and scanning medical research and asking for, or demanding, tests. It’s researching at-home treatments.

OPINION | EDITORIALS

Election Prep: Part 2

By EDITORIAL BOARD | July 23, 2018

We’re chugging right along with our four-part series on the upcoming primary election Aug. 28. Alachua County residents have until July 30 to register or change party affiliations in order to vote for candidates in their party.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Drop the act: You don’t work at work

By Stephan Chamberlin | July 23, 2018

You have been staring blankly at your computer screen for about an hour. You have made coffee, gone to the bathroom, tried to study, but it just isn’t happening. Maybe you checked social media once or twice. Sound familiar? That’s normal human behavior, and the lack of productivity for most of the day is surprisingly common. If you feel like you often spend too much time doing too little work, idling or just wondering how to get started, pick your most productive hours to work. One thing is for certain, you won’t be productive for a majority of the day if you don’t plan out your day carefully.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Kylie Jenner has something in common with Trump

By Layla Soboh | July 23, 2018

What do Kylie Jenner and President Donald Trump have in common? It’s not just the fact that they both get spray tans, they both were born into wealth and expanded that wealth into billions, and they both are part of the most powerful families in the country. Jenner is a part of the Kardashian clan who seem to turn everything they touch into gold. Trump was born into a wealthy real estate developer and profited by literally putting the family name on stuff in gold.

OPINION | COLUMNS

FSU’s removal of a statue of a slave-owner is progressive

By Layla Soboh | July 18, 2018

Florida State University President John Thrasher announced this week that the university will be removing a controversial statue of one of its founders, Francis W. Eppes.

OPINION | DARTS LAURELS

Bear with us. Things are about to get hairy. Possibly even downright grizzly.

July 18, 2018

You’re settling down in Jellystone National Park, preparing for a nice “pic-a-nic.” Your paws unfurl a checkered blanket while your date unloads the contents of your basket: “Bluebeary” pie with honey, some ice-cold bruins and, of course, bear claws.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Prep before you speak

By Stephan Chamberlin | July 18, 2018

Picture this: a lit stage, a buzzing crowd sat in darkness. You’re dressed in some fancy attire and are about to speak in front of a large audience. All eyes are about to be on you. You start to get nerves about your nerves. Is being nervous normal? Is it okay for your knees to be weak, your palms to be sweaty and there to be vomit on your sweater already? Yes. The best way to get over nerves is to rehearse, and when you think you’ve practiced enough, double down.