Opinions - The Independent Florida Alligator

OPINION | COLUMNS

'Tolerant' college students aren't as tolerant as they might think

Oct. 3, 2017

If there’s one thing I’ve learned as a UF student, it’s that college students are not as tolerant as they claim to be. Are you surprised? I’m not. The hypocrisy of those who claim to be tolerant is stunning, and it was on full display last week after Victoria Fortier wrote a column for the Alligator titled “It’s time to stop kneeling during the national anthem.”

OPINION | COLUMNS

'Fear of missing out' is a fact of life, so let's learn to accept it

Oct. 3, 2017

You know, it’s OK if you don’t actually want to go out,” my friend told me via FaceTime while I begrudgingly highlighted my cheekbones. That night, I didn’t have to study, and I didn’t really have to catch up on sleep. I didn’t have any excuse not to go out, so I felt like I had to. I felt like I should want to. My friend is a recent graduate so I assume she must have forgotten about that inner conflict we all get when we consider going out or staying in. The former always wins. I reminded her why: College is only four years! I don’t have much longer to buy $5 triples! We’re all going to graduate and have to be adults soon!

OPINION | COLUMNS

Stop putting off applying for internships

Oct. 3, 2017

I would like to (metaphorically, of course) pull the hair of whoever came up with the concept that waiting until your last two years of college to take on internships is a good idea. Maybe this person was hoping more people would relax during their first two years or was concerned that most college freshmen don’t have the knowledge they need to intern, but I’m here to tell you that simply isn’t true.

OPINION | LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

A response to 'It’s time to stop kneeling during the national anthem'

Oct. 1, 2017

I am writing in response to Victoria Fortier’s column, verbosely titled, “It’s time to stop kneeling during the national anthem.” I’m a teaching assistant for ENC 1101 at UF, a class I really enjoy teaching. My students learn how to identify and write coherent arguments. One of the first things I teach them to do is to support claims with “receipts,” commonly known as evidence. I’m calling Fortier out because, while I respect her use of pathos, one of three rhetorical appeals (she’s really trying to rile people up), she hasn’t substantiated her claims with evidence. Dare I call unsubstantiated claims “fake news?” It’s true. More than 30 million people tune in every week to watch football games. It’s true that fans are now watching athletes kneel to protest the continued murder of black men, women and children. I disagree with Fortier’s claim that freedom has nothing to do with making a statement. I would back that claim up by providing my first receipt, the Declaration of Independence. Maybe Fortier has not had the chance to take history yet (however, I think it is a requirement), but this document is a literal statement of freedom written by our Founding Fathers. NFL protesters like Colin Kaepernick are very aware of their rhetorical situation. They understand their audience and have a specific purpose. Protest is a very specific strategy for making an argument. It’s often a dangerous and unpopular strategy in that it does not always care about being polite. While black men and women continue to die at the hands of corrupt police officers, Kaepernick and his fellow NFL players do not have time to be polite. Your plea for protesters to consider where and when they decide to make a statement isn’t needed. They have already considered where and when they protest. They have decided making you uncomfortable for a few minutes at the beginning of a football game is worth your discomfort. The Huffington Post reports that more than 250 black people were killed in 2016. These protesters want the murders to stop. If you were in my class and you turned in a paper without receipts, you’d receive an F.

OPINION | COLUMNS

At the end of the day, a fulfilling job is worth a lot more than money

Oct. 1, 2017

“You realize you’ll make, like, no money doing that, right?”

OPINION | COLUMNS

Protests are meant to make you uncomfortable; that's the point

Oct. 1, 2017

Does taking a knee make you uncomfortable? Good. You know what’s beyond uncomfortable? Not knowing whether the police are there to help or hurt you.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Poetry and the beauty behind shared experiences

Oct. 1, 2017

Last week, writers, readers and rhyme enthusiasts alike celebrated National Poetry Day. They shared short verses on social media and encouraged others to pick up their favorite collections. Twitter especially lit up with screenshots and quotations from poets as varied as Maya Angelou and Rupi Kaur. It made me think: Isn’t it incredible that there really is a poem out there for everyone?

OPINION | EDITORIALS

Trump does not want a united nation

Oct. 1, 2017

President Donald Trump’s job of aiding Puerto Rico in recent weeks can be described as pathetic, at best, and his public displays on the issue are nothing less than a disgrace.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Under the fig tree: Not knowing what you want in life is normal

Sep. 28, 2017

I’m going to sound like a very stereotypical college-age young woman (college-age English major specifically) and talk about the scene in Sylvia Plath's “The Bell Jar” where Esther is lying beneath a fig tree. Here, she imagines that each fig represents an imagined future — she sees a famous editor, a poet, a housewife — and she cannot make up her mind as to which fig to pluck, since choosing one means losing the rest, and then they all begin to shrivel up, and it is simply too late.

OPINION | COLUMNS

It's time to stop kneeling during the national anthem

Sep. 28, 2017

Baseball may be the American pastime, but it is no secret our football players are the ones who are treated like the real heroes. Seriously, more than 30 million viewers tune in every week to worship by screen and watch their favorite teams play on Sundays.

OPINION | COLUMNS

The 80/20 rule is a fact of life

Sep. 28, 2017

In the late 19th century, economist Vilfredo Pareto demonstrated in his first academic paper that, in his native country of Italy, 20 percent of the population owned about 80 percent of all the land. Pareto then noticed the same pattern of distribution in his garden, where he found that 20 percent of the pods contained 80 percent of the total peas. Named after Vilfredo himself, the Pareto principle, also known as the 80/20 rule or the law of the vital few, is one of the most widely seen statistical phenomena in the world, seemingly evident on both the largest of macro levels (entire country wealth distributions) to the smallest of micro levels (amount of peas in a peapod).

OPINION | DARTS LAURELS

Darts & Laurels

Sep. 28, 2017

You finally make it back to your apartment after what feels like the longest day of your life. Between classes, meetings and your third Study Edge review of the week, you want nothing more than to plop down on the couch with a glass of wine and the fuzziest of fuzzy blankets.

OPINION | COLUMNS

If you’re going to take a stand against something, do some research first

Sep. 27, 2017

Kneeling for the national anthem is once again in vogue in America. This weekend, hundreds of NFL players took a knee to protest what they have referred to as the U.S.’s oppressive treatment of minorities after President Donald Trump raised the issue at a rally in Alabama.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Privilege is a blindfold

Sep. 26, 2017

For those victim to it, the grotesque fact of racism is difficult to overstate. In furtive glances, tightened chests and cracked bones, it asserts itself with lethal, overwhelming force.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Convenience friendships don’t cut it; you need quality friends

Sep. 26, 2017

Remember those nights in your dorm common area? All of the usual suspects from the guys’ side and the girls’ side crept out of their crowded rooms, walked down the hall and swiped their fobs. Someone ordered pizza that everyone ate. Something someone wanted to watch was playing softly on the TV. Everyone somehow fit on one couch and five chairs.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Leave your comfort zone and don’t be afraid to join a club if it’s not related to your major

Sep. 26, 2017

This semester, I promised myself I’d get out of my comfort zone for the better. Too often we find ourselves in this Monday through Friday lull where we’ve gotten used to the schedule we’ve set for ourselves, and all we do is blindly follow it. Dear readers, I hope you add some spice into your lives every once in a while, especially if that spice is adding an interesting club to your lineup.

OPINION | EDITORIALS

Alligator endorsement: Inspire Party

Sep. 25, 2017

Student Government elections are here again, and the drama has come with it. So far, this election cycle has been defined by the emergence of a new minority party to go up against Impact Party — and memes. Don’t forget the memes.

OPINION | EDITORIALS

Respect is earned, not given

Sep. 24, 2017

One of the first things you are taught in kindergarten is to treat others how you would like to be treated. Apparently, no one ever let our president in on the secret.

OPINION | COLUMNS

It's time to start getting involved in the things you care about

Sep. 24, 2017

As a student at UF, you probably hear the word “involvement” tossed around a lot. Every day we are bombarded with emails, Facebook event invitations and social media posts advertising opportunities for students to get involved.

OPINION | DARTS LAURELS

Darts & Laurels

Sep. 21, 2017

You’re sitting at a table in your favorite local coffee shop, sipping on an oh-so-delicious vanilla latte you’ve been craving all day. You sit there and somewhat pretentiously scribble away in your journal, pretending as though you have some sort of dark, mysterious thing going on. You hope maybe you’ll catch someone’s eye, and they’ll be enamoured by how deep you appear to be.