Opinions - The Independent Florida Alligator

OPINION | COLUMNS

Dissectible interactions with smart men

By Karla Arboleda | May 22, 2017

I don’t mean to say the sayings included in this article are things that female, nonbinary or trans people have never said, but I think it’s important to identify the condescending language that men use to establish masculinity. “Masculine” and “feminine” are two words that have become problematic in the gender spectrum, but I’ll tackle that issue in another 600 words or so. For now, I’ll discuss the type of behavior that makes some cisgender, heterosexual men feel stronger in this incredibly heteronormative world. Behold: mansplaining.

OPINION | LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Letter to the editor: False history

By Gordon Black | May 18, 2017

Thanks for the observant account by Romy Ellenbogen, "Controversial Princeton Holocaust historian visits UF," Alligator, online April 3, 2017, from which I quote: "As Jan Tomasz Gross addressed a crowd Sunday night, a single image was projected behind him.”

OPINION | EDITORIALS

Dear Mr. President, we deserve better

May 17, 2017

We wouldn’t exactly call it a surprise that President Donald Trump is a less than trustworthy commander in chief. His entire campaign leading up to his victory was filled with verbal falsehoods that spewed out of his mouth like pellets out of a revolver. Within a few months of his campaign, lying appeared to be second nature to the giant Cheeto vying for control of our country.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Please support the fight against global poverty

May 17, 2017

I am interning for an organization that helps alleviate global poverty called The Borgen Project. The project, according to their website, “is an innovative, national campaign that works with U.S. leaders to improve their response to the global poverty crisis.” Or, in other words, it is probably the opposite of what you’re imagining. Typical poverty relief groups are “boots on the ground” types of organizations that directly improve the living conditions of communities through physical projects, such as building wells, buildings, etc. However, The Borgen Project focuses on directly alleviating global poverty by lobbying representatives in government to vote on policies that would increase the budget for financial aid.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Finding the best playoff team to bandwagon

May 17, 2017

If you’re like the average sports fan, any leagues' playoffs are a confusing time for you. As more teams fall throughout the postseason, you find yourself not really caring about many of the matchups. Either your team has already been eliminated from the chase for this year’s championship, or you couldn’t care less about who wins. In case you find yourself in this position, I’m about to tell you exactly who you should be rooting on for the rest of this year’s NBA playoffs.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Tag yourself, I’m literally just trying

May 15, 2017

As 2017 nears its half birthday, it is only fair for people to reach a progress report-type summary of successes and failures. Society collectively established 2016 as a bad year, even though life as a whole is a photo of us with a radial blur filter. The only ones who truly decide this fate of perpetual misfortune are us.

OPINION | COLUMNS

UF must reconsider free subscriptions to The Times

May 15, 2017

Did you know being a UF student entitles you to a free, yearlong digital subscription to The New York Times?

OPINION | EDITORIALS

Are we inching closer to World War III?

May 15, 2017

There are few things more terrifying than the unknown of a nuclear war. The simple press of a button could wipe out entire countries — entire continents.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Firing Comey: A move that was long overdue

May 10, 2017

President Trump fired FBI Director Comey, a move that was long overdue

OPINION | COLUMNS

To try for a country in trouble

May 10, 2017

The phrase my mother consistently used to persuade me to clean my plate at dinner gradually became more personal as I got older and as our country started entering hysteria. That phrase was, “There are starving children out there.” These children are not those we are appropriated to believe come from charity commercials. These children take the form of my family and other oppressed people in Venezuela.

OPINION | EDITORIALS

We need to make room for tolerance in politics

May 10, 2017

Here are several topics we are constantly warned to steer clear of when meeting new people. As a general rule of thumb, it is never a smart idea to bring up the subjects of religion, money and — of course — politics. History has shown us time and time again that these are some of the most controversial matters in the world. This past year especially, politics became the crux of major issues on a national scale as well as a personal one.

OPINION | EDITORIALS

Graduation should be a time of celebration, not self-deprecation

May 8, 2017

It’s that time of the year again: graduation season. Our social-media timelines are flooded with photos of painted square caps and statuses from friends raving about what an incredible journey the last four years have been.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Understand the impact your words can have

May 8, 2017

If you’ve scrolled through social media recently, you’ve probably seen references to a new television show. It’s called “13 Reasons Why.” Now, before you aggressively leap to a positive or negative reaction to those three words, hear me out. I’m not going to spoil anything other than the general premise, so if you haven’t watched the series, don’t worry about me ruining it for you.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Don’t be afraid to waste time

May 8, 2017

I have heard many times that “time” is one of those things you cannot get back. I also find myself occasionally repeating this same message when giving advice. It makes sense that time won’t be given back to you, and you should cherish it, but I feel people abuse the saying — even for the smallest of things.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Good Writers and Good People

Apr. 19, 2017

The hallways of The Carolina Inn on the campus of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill are filled with photographs and paintings of people who made a difference in the university’s 228-year history. After staying in the inn for three nights last month, I felt like I had a sense of how UNC was influenced by the two centuries of faculty, staff and alumni whose likenesses lined the halls.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Before I go: a message from your editor-in-chief

Apr. 18, 2017

My faded black Jimi Hendrix T-shirt was drenched in sweat as I walked across UF’s campus on a blistering August day.

OPINION | COLUMNS

We’re all just looking for the damn light switch

Apr. 18, 2017

With graduation nearing, you might be feeling a bit stressed.

OPINION | EDITORIALS

We have the right to speak and the duty to listen

Apr. 18, 2017

As the limbo of Summer semester comes round, I’m going to follow my predecessor in removing the opinions editor mask and speaking directly as myself. The opinions and experiences expressed here will be my own, and not those of the Alligator editorial board. I want to take the chance, as the end of the semester approaches and friends graduate, travel abroad, tackle internships and sit on their couches all summer, to reflect on the past semester.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Signposts on the path to utopia

Apr. 18, 2017

I love science fiction. My favorite works come from the ‘60s and ‘70s, when novels like “Childhood’s End” and “Stranger in a Strange Land” crystallized the genre, pioneered by writers like Isaac Asimov, of utopian speculative fiction. Don’t get me wrong, “Alien” and “Blade Runner” hold a special place in my heart, but there was an optimism in “Star Trek” that seems to have been fading since writers like William Gibson and Philip K. Dick popularized stories of a grim, dystopian future.

OPINION | COLUMNS

My contradictory life: Balancing nutrition, health with death-defying stunts

Apr. 17, 2017

Due to the increasing pervasiveness and equal awareness of obesity as a health problem, especially in the U.S., it has become a truism today to inform the public about caring for themselves and their bodies. I’m quite aware of this beneficial trend in fitness, and I’m a firm believer in the idea that “your body’s a temple, and you should worship it.” However, in a quasi-paradoxical fashion, I also believe you should go out into the great unknown and destroy yourself if you must.