Opinion

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OPINION  |  COLUMNS

Student, sometimes customer: When is education a business transaction?

Sep. 26, 2016

Whether it was due to a class discussion on the “student as customer” debate or a fellow columnist’s musings on Rate My Professors or simply my own preoccupation with funding graduate school, my mind keeps coming back to the ways in which higher education and the market economy intersect. Over the past few years, higher education has been increasingly characterized as a business transaction in which the student is the customer “purchasing” a degree and entrance into the job market. It seems innocuous enough, treating college students as valued customers, but despite the increased bargaining power this conceptual shift gives us, it undeniably warps the way we approach our education.

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OPINION  |  COLUMNS

The only world that exists: Some thoughts on technology, the need to unplug

Sep. 26, 2016

Last week, in the middle of my creative writing class, my teacher stepped out to use the bathroom during our 10-minute break. This is usually a good time to crack light jokes with your neighbor or try and make small talk. Instead, every person except me and another guy was on his or her phone. The only reason I wasn’t looking down at mine was because it was plugged into the wall, charging. There was total silence in the room; nobody even glanced up or attempted to connect with another human being. And then our teacher walked back in and we resumed class. Is this just a minute instance of a current phenomenon I plan on stretching out of proportion? Possibly.

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OPINION  |  COLUMNS

It’s not about who matters more; it’s about who matters now

Sep. 25, 2016

#BlackLivesMatter. #BlueLivesMatter. #AllLivesMatter.

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OPINION  |  COLUMNS

Parrott right to show support by urging students to attend demonstration

Sep. 25, 2016

On Thursday, David Parrott, the vice president for Student Affairs, sent out an email urging students to go to the Enough is Enough Peaceful Demonstration on Friday. Parrott wrote, “It is incomprehensible that violence against Black people across the nation continues.”

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OPINION  |  LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Regarding John Jones’ letter to the editor

Sep. 25, 2016

UF business student John Jones misrepresents both the email sent by David Parrott and the overall situation in this country to which the email pertains. Nowhere in Parrott’s email does he imply violence is only committed against African-Americans. He mentions several recent tragedies in which black people were killed by the police in order to promote an event on the subject. Just because a specific type of violence is mentioned in a short email does not mean the sender is implying no other types of violence exist.

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OPINION  |  EDITORIALS

Mourning the loss of a Marlins player on and off the diamond

Sep. 25, 2016

In a cramped room outside the Marlins Park locker room, a grinning José Fernández sat in front of cameras and reporters.

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OPINION  |  COLUMNS

Controversial or not, UF administration should let Milo Yiannopoulos speak

Sep. 22, 2016

 A few weeks ago, the conservative UF organization Turning Point announced plans to invite Milo Yiannopoulos to speak later this semester on campus. Yiannopoulos is a Breitbart News contributor, notorious Twitter troll and vocal critic of feminism, Islam and political correctness. Some even consider him to be an emerging spokesman for the “alt-right,” a nationalist, nativist and anti-multicultural alternative to mainstream Republican conservatism.

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OPINION  |  DARTS LAURELS

Darts & Laurels: September 22, 2016

Sep. 22, 2016

You’re sitting on the edge of a river bank, staring intently into your reflection. Minnows swim in circles around the reflection of yourself. You feel the soft breeze blow across your face, rustling the leaves of the trees behind you. It sounds like the wind is whispering something. You turn around and try to listen. Unable to make it out, you turn back to look at your reflection. To your horrid surprise, it’s gone. You feel a slimy tap on your shoulder. It’s your reflection, wet and covered in minnows. “Darts & Laurels,” it says to you. Leaning closer and closer, it says one last time before disappearing…

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OPINION  |  COLUMNS

US media is making the same mistake UK did

Sep. 22, 2016

Browsing the various news websites online has become an arduous task in 2016. Watching news stations on TV is even more unpalatable. Trying to stay informed is important, but a very fine line has developed between awareness of current issues and receiving the massive media spin on everything. Has 2016 really been that bad a year for the world? No, but I believe we’re not only becoming far more aware of the terrible things, but also fascinated by them. For the majority of Americans, their news comes through their preferred syndicated source’s filter, as they are simply being spoon-fed whatever that news station decides is important that day.

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OPINION  |  LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Regarding David Parrott’s email to students

Sep. 22, 2016

UF’s Vice President of Student Affairs’ David Parrott’s “incomprehension” statement is factually false because it incorrectly implies that violence has only occurred against blacks across the nation. The Washington Post reported July 8 that of the 509 people who had been killed by police in 2016, 123 were African-American. That means about 75 percent of the people killed were not African-American. To say there was only violence against blacks across the nation is, and continues to be, a blatant and intolerable misstatement of fact.

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OPINION  |  COLUMNS

Giving up freedom for the sake of security: analyzing Snowden's decision

Sep. 21, 2016

Oliver Stone’s movie “Snowden” came to theaters Friday. The true-story drama follows the lead-up and fallout surrounding the infamous NSA contractor’s decision to release thousands of top-secret documents and flee the country to avoid prosecution by the U.S. government.

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OPINION  |  EDITORIALS

The internet of North Korea

Sep. 21, 2016

The internet is a wonderful thing. On Monday, it blessed us with a strange yet immensely fascinating look into a previously mysterious corner of itself: North Korea’s internet. By some accounts, it’s hard to believe North Korea even has internet. But this past weekend, the doors were accidentally opened to North Korea’s websites — all 28 of them. For the citizens of the closed-off, dictator-led poverty-stricken nation, that basically is their internet.

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OPINION  |  COLUMNS

Surprise: The 2016 election actually has precedent

Sep. 21, 2016

We are amid the most unusual presidential election of our lifetime. It features a career politician against a Washington outsider; a liar versus a loose cannon. Hillary Clinton, the Democratic Party’s preferred choice, and her candidacy are unsurprising. And this time last year, few expected Donald Trump to be the Republican Party’s nominee. His rise has rocked the political landscape.

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OPINION  |  COLUMNS

Life is a (metaphorical) highway: an analysis of driving habits and life

Sep. 21, 2016

I love my mother, and I hate stereotypes about Asian women, but I’m going to come clean and say this: She is not a good driver. I, unfortunately, have inherited this trait from her.

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OPINION  |  EDITORIALS

The impact of consumerism on charity

Sep. 20, 2016

Recently our opinions editor was walking by Tijuana Flats on University Avenue and saw pink ribbons scrawled in paint across the windows. These ribbons, obviously symbolizing the global fight against breast cancer, really resonated with him. His mother is a breast cancer survivor. Also, his love of burritos is unparalleled.

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OPINION  |  COLUMNS

Stop grammar shaming: We all drop letters every once in a while

Sep. 20, 2016

Throughout elementary school, I — like many others — was taught to say “John and I went to the store,” and not “me and John.” You shouldn't say “I ated the sandwich” or forget that you’re you (and that’s your bag). And never, ever start a sentence with a conjunction.

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OPINION  |  COLUMNS

Support each other and help change society

Sep. 20, 2016

As a 22-year-old female college student, certain things are expected of me.

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OPINION  |  COLUMNS

Thoughts on Rate My Professors' ‘Hotness’ rating

Sep. 20, 2016

Oh, ratemyprofessors.com, my darling, my muse. How I long for your infinite wisdom during add/drop week. You show me the level of effort I will have to put into each of my courses before I even enroll. You save me money on textbooks by assuring me that my Western Civilization professor won’t use it.

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OPINION  |  COLUMNS

One more SpongeBob column

Sep. 19, 2016

This week, I wanted to talk about “SpongeBob SquarePants” again. I also wanted to talk about slapstick, but I feel like I didn’t waste enough of your time explaining exactly why I wanted to delve so deeply into a show geared toward kids. So, I’m going to explain that: why exactly I want to delve so deeply into a show geared toward kids. Let’s go.

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OPINION  |  COLUMNS

Lessons from ‘Star Wars’ on loneliness and escapism

Sep. 19, 2016

As I said last week, I will be exploring in the next few columns the effects of modern technology with our postmodern society, for good and for ill. Last week I discussed how smartphones and social media are often used as means to escape our deeper insecurities. This week I will still be discussing this theme of escaping, but in a different way. And I will be addressing not just social media, but technology as a whole: video games, the internet, binge watching on Netflix or Hulu, etc.