Opinions - The Independent Florida Alligator

OPINION | EDITORIALS

UF should have canceled classes for student safety

Oct. 17, 2017

As we are sure you are all painfully aware, Richard Spencer, a notorious white supremacist, will be coming to our campus to speak Thursday. While writing this editorial, we at the Alligator are feeling a bit conflicted. Should we be giving Spencer attention? Should people speak out in protest or ignore the hate? Does Spencer have a right to speak at all? We’ve watched as many newspaper editorial boards defended the First Amendment and Spencer’s right to speak. We’ve also heard from countless UF students and faculty members who don’t feel safe on their own campus this Thursday. To those who feel unsafe: We hear you. We struggle to find a world where free speech means it’s OK to encourage others to partake in racism with a violent past, present and future.

OPINION | EDITORIALS

It’s time we stop accepting sexual assault as the norm

Oct. 15, 2017

We live in a society where sexual assault and abuse are not only too common but pretty much expected. We live in a society where those with power feel entitled to take what they assume they deserve. We live in a society where women are exploited. Worst of all, we live in a society that is allowing all of this to happen. Again. And again. And again.

OPINION | COLUMNS

A comprehensive look at my desert island necessities

Oct. 15, 2017

This week, I’m taking a brief breather from the flurry of politics to discuss a different topic near and dear to my heart: my all-time favorite books and movies that I have fondly deemed my “desert island necessities.” In other words, if you stuck me on a deserted island and said, “Hey, Mia, here’s enough food and water to last you a week on your own, but you can only take three books and three movies along,” this is what I would bring. Yeah, I know it’s not realistic, but this is my column, OK?

OPINION | COLUMNS

Don’t worry, even if you’re unsure of your happiness

Oct. 15, 2017

We don’t want to be sad. I mean, you can’t really blame us. Why would we want to be sad? Being sad, anxious or upset means being uncomfortable. We fight to avoid discomfort and to find that place where we feel comfortable. We want everything to be just so: nothing out of place, nothing left unaccounted for. We make lists and check them off. We fulfill obligations and settle into a routine that is safe. We pursue happiness. After all, is that not the ultimate goal?

OPINION | LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

U Matter, the CWC Matters

Oct. 15, 2017

Upon reading the article about UF’s Counseling & Wellness Center fee proposal being denied, I felt deeply disappointed. “Affordability is of the utmost importance to our students.” Really?

OPINION | LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

SG kills mental health funding: A travesty of priorities

Oct. 15, 2017

I strongly condemn the actions of the four Student Government officials on the local fee committee who recently struck down a possible increase of much-needed funding for the Counseling & Wellness Center, located at 3190 Radio Road.

OPINION | LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

An open letter from some members of UF IFAS departments

Oct. 12, 2017

For the most up-to-date letter, visit goo.gl/7t3zeC.

OPINION | COLUMNS

A column for UF President Kent Fuchs: Make UF great, for once

Oct. 12, 2017

No part of America has been untouched by President Donald Trump’s already disastrous presidency. In less than 10 months, Trump and his supporters have resurrected and instrumentalized racism and xenophobia, undermining the dignity of America and Americans.

OPINION | COLUMNS

A summary can never compare to a real book

Oct. 12, 2017

For almost 20 years, SparkNotes has been providing students with easily understood summaries and analyses of works commonly found in high school and college classrooms. Before that, CliffsNotes was offering student study guides since 1958, serving as a lifesaver for students struggling to wade through and extract some sort of meaning out of their assigned Shakespeare readings. When you’re in 11th grade and you’re having an exam on “The Catcher in the Rye” in your next class, these guides can be invaluable tools in garnering enough knowledge to throw together a slipshod analysis of Holden’s hunting cap, but are they anything more than this?

OPINION | DARTS LAURELS

Darts & Laurels

Oct. 12, 2017

It’s Friday the 13th — the spookiest day of the year. You decide to take advantage of the eerie end of the week and break out your old Ouija board with some of your friends.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Don’t commit to an animal you can’t keep just to rehome it upon graduation

Oct. 10, 2017

In a few months Facebook groups will be jam-packed with seniors saying they need to rehome their pets. It’s about time we have a discussion about how this is one of the worst things you can do to an animal.

OPINION | EDITORIALS

We’re all scared about the future

Oct. 10, 2017

If you’re anything like us, your heart probably skipped a beat when you received an email last week informing you that it’s already time to start thinking about registering for Spring classes. And when we say that your heart skipped a beat, we don’t mean it did so in the cute and jovial “school girl in love” sort of way. We mean you probably felt like your heart was going to leap out of your chest from beating so hard because you have yet another thing to stress about.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Mediocrity is now part of Gator football culture

Oct. 10, 2017

The Florida Gators have accepted mediocrity. Saturday’s 17-to-16 loss against LSU was a wake-up call to some fans, but in reality this has been a long time coming.

OPINION | COLUMNS

You're not conceited; don’t be afraid to accept compliments and believe them

Oct. 10, 2017

I’m sure you’ve heard the old saying, “If you have nothing nice to say, don’t say anything at all.” But I think this mantra needs to be updated to reflect the feelings of our generation. Maybe something like, “If you have anything nice to say, please don’t say it because I won’t know how to react.”

OPINION | COLUMNS

We need to stop saying it’s too soon to talk about gun control

Oct. 8, 2017

I don’t like to start a column this way, but sometimes we do things we don’t like in order to think critically about the world. Imagine a large building in Gainesville burned down. Imagine the fire started by accident — a gas leak or a candle — but the flames raged out of control, and the entire structure came down. In the 24 hours following the fire, we learn that it rapidly escalated as a result of poor building codes, and we probably could have contained the fire if it had not spread so quickly.

OPINION | COLUMNS

We need to learn to disagree with others effectively

Oct. 8, 2017

We are living in a time of anger. We’re angry at the way the world looks right now. We are angry at each other for making it this way. We all have different opinions about why the world is the way it is, and we have even more opinions about how to fix it.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Gov. Scott has blame in nursing home tragedy

Oct. 6, 2017

Gov. Rick Scott has made every effort to wash his hands of the Sept. 13 South Florida nursing home tragedy, which left 12 residents dead. In my opinion, he shouldn’t absolve himself so quickly.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Patreon is a nod to the past and a jump into the future of expression

Oct. 6, 2017

The Renaissance is known as the “cultural bridge between the Middle Ages and modern history,” according to Wikipedia, with the genesis being in Florence, Italy, in the 14th century. It was a vibrant period of exploding artistic expression and impressive intellectual and philosophical exploration.

OPINION | DARTS LAURELS

Darts & Laurels

Oct. 6, 2017

It’s the Homecoming football game, and you and your friends have been eagerly waiting all week to watch the Gators crush the Louisiana State University Tigers. You’re a little groggy after staying up late to watch Snoop Dogg perform at Gator Growl, but — let’s be honest — it was worth it.

OPINION | EDITORIALS

When tragedies hit close to home

Oct. 3, 2017

We at the Alligator, along with everyone else in the U.S., woke up to some terrifying statistics Monday morning. The deadliest mass shooting in recent U.S. history. This tragic event occurred in Las Vegas, where one man managed to bring 17 guns into a hotel room, knock out the windows and begin indiscriminately firing into a crowd hundreds of feet away. This one man took away a record from Florida that never should have been established in the first place.