Opinions - The Independent Florida Alligator

OPINION | COLUMNS

Guest Column: Meatless Mondays - one small step

Apr. 4, 2016

Over the last decade, phrases like “go green” and “reduce your carbon footprint” have become firmly embedded in our lexicon, just as Earth Day has become an annual celebration. As an environmental advocate, this couldn’t make me happier. I’ve been inspired to see people switch to efficient light bulbs, recycle and use canvas shopping bags instead of paper or plastic. Nearly two-thirds of Americans say they recycle on a regular basis compared to a quarter of Americans in the 1990s.

OPINION | EDITORIALS

Editorial: Summer class requirements need to be revisited

Apr. 3, 2016

With less than three weeks left of classes for the semester, some of you are getting ready to head home, backpack through Europe or earn some cash with a summer job. But there is an unfortunate group of Gators stuck in Gainesville (or attending another state university as a transient student) to fulfill the state requirement of Summer semester classes. A moment of silence, please.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Column: France's invisible protests, defending paradise

Apr. 3, 2016

They shut down the school Thursday. They shut it down the Thursday before, too, and the Thursday before that. They stack desks and chairs in front of the doors — canary yellow paint and pine, legs rounded like children’s handwriting. They scrawl signs in green and red and blue, in jaunty all-caps of acrylic. They tape a sign that says “Life’s an apple, the labor law’s a worm.” I think, “Life’s an apple,” and nudge the chairs from the handle.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Guest column: 'Shared Opportunity in Every Community'" April is National Fair Housing Month

Apr. 3, 2016

Forty-eight years ago this month, on April 11, 1968, President Lyndon Johnson signed the federal Fair Housing Act, which prohibited discrimination concerning the sale, rental and financing of housing based on race, religion, national origin, sex, handicap and family status. This important act also made it unlawful for a housing provider to make, print or publish any statement or advertisement that states a preference based on these classes.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Column: Senate Republicans in best position

Apr. 3, 2016

If you’re like me, you enjoy seeing political “strategy” being played out.

OPINION | DARTS LAURELS

Darts & Laurels: 04/01/2016

Mar. 31, 2016

A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away, or so it seems, we students returned from Spring Break and told ourselves “we have plenty of time” until the end of the semester.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Column: The most unhealthy love triangle of 2016

Mar. 31, 2016

When asked on “Meet the Press“ if he would consider being another candidate’s running mate, Ohio governor and presidential hopeful John Kasich answered, “No! Under no circumstances…You pundits got to get out of Washington. You don’t understand me.”

OPINION | EDITORIALS

Editorial: All aboard (Trevor) Noah's ark

Mar. 30, 2016

Hello, world: This is your Alligator opinions editor, David, chiming in on Trevor Noah’s set. Now, some of you might be wondering why this editorial’s being written in the first-person rather than from the perspective of the entire staff. Well, most of us stayed put at the office to turn out this paper for you, so it’d be a little strange for me to represent an opinion we don’t all necessarily have. And secondly, as with any relationship, be it boyfriend and girlfriend, spouse and spouse, newspaper and audience — you know, the truest of romances — a little spontaneity and new energy can be revitalizing. So, without further ado: How about that Trevor Noah set?

OPINION | COLUMNS

Column: Will the superhero craze ever go away?

Mar. 30, 2016

"Iron Man” was a great film. Robert Downey Jr. gave us a new, strangely lovable superhero to devour popcorn to. Tony Stark was refreshing, the story was intriguing, the explosions were bigger and better and it reminded us just how awesome superhero movies can be.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Column: Iran's historic March 2016 elections

Mar. 30, 2016

Even after the successful nuclear deal, the U.S. relationship with Iran is still contentious. The leader of Iran still often leans on nationalistic and religious extremes in order to keep his control of the country. Meanwhile, the Western media focuses much of its coverage on controversial issues, such as the chants of “death to America,” the capture and eventual return of U.S. Navy officers after their boat broke down in Iranian waters and Iran’s continued missile testing. But the one thing Western media has been hesitant, or unwilling, to discuss is the set of elections that occurred in early March.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Guest Column: A look into tightening gun laws

Mar. 30, 2016

In the early hours of Monday, March 21, deputies and police in Gainesville were forced to shoot 16-year old Robert Dentmond after he refused to drop what was later found to be a replica assault rifle.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Guest Column: Updates from the Student Body president

Mar. 29, 2016

Hello, Gators!

OPINION | COLUMNS

Column: The meaning of the word 'apartheid'

Mar. 29, 2016

The European “explorers” who stumbled upon the Western Cape of South Africa and proceeded to murder the region’s indigenous knew they had found their promised land. After all, why should a land and its resources belong to its native inhabitants?

OPINION | COLUMNS

Column: Republican 'Battle of the Wives,' women as political weapons

Mar. 29, 2016

It was only a matter of time until Trump and Cruz’s wives were dragged into this bizarre, machismo-fueled Republican primary race. In an election campaign seemingly more concerned with how big Trump’s “hands” are than with actual political discourse, no one’s shocked these potential first ladies have been reduced to nothing more than weapons — but that doesn’t make it any less unsettling.

OPINION | EDITORIALS

Editorial: Linear regression - an abortion law story

Mar. 29, 2016

This is a shout-out to the ladies out there, to all of the unexpectedly adorned mothers and regretful soon-to-be baby daddies: We apologize. We apologize on behalf of our state legislature and Gov. Rick Scott, who signed the wide-sweeping anti-abortion bill into law Friday. Now our Sunshine State is on the path to joining other states, such as Texas and Mississippi, with oppressive anti-abortion legislation in circulation or already in place.

OPINION | EDITORIALS

Myths Un-Mythed: invulnerability

Mar. 28, 2016

We live in a world full of myths. Never mind the tales of full-grown, orphaned men laying waste to our city streets in fighting over who can pull off the better tights-and-cape combo, or the tales of bewildered country leaders decrying man-induced climate change a hoax by bringing a snowball onto the Senate floor during a committee hearing. (Wait, that might have actually happened last year with a certain Sen. Jim Inhofe, R-Okla.)

OPINION | COLUMNS

Column: Should you cut smut like "slut"? It's a rut

Mar. 28, 2016

Yes, I am alive. Despite my hilariously controversial column last week, I emerged from the backlash unscathed. I don’t take the criticism personally — I find it hard to take offense from peasants. Despite this, the folks who responded negatively were aggressive. I don’t feel comfortable walking through campus anymore; I’m afraid I’ll be assaulted by a radical follower of the #StopMichael movement. So, I’ve shaved my beard and placed a paper bag over my head to hide from potential assassins.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Guest column: Thinking about a student credit card?

Mar. 28, 2016

College is already hard enough as it is. Why would you even think about something like a student credit card to add to the number of things you have to be responsible for? Well, just like your degree will be a part of you long after you graduate, so will your credit score. A student credit card can be your ticket to graduating with an excellent credit score, which will leave you with plenty of handy financial options.

OPINION | EDITORIALS

Editorial: The 'Birdie' supremacy

Mar. 27, 2016

Free birds, Bernie supporters and Portland, Oregon: The only thing possibly more hippie-liberal is Bob Marley delivering a Hendrix-signed guitar to Che Guevara while driving a quinoa-and-kale-fueled smart car littered with “Imagine” and “co-exist” paraphernalia. Clearly the latter only resides in the daydreams of those who take bathroom breaks during work at precisely 4:20 p.m. However, the former actually took place on Friday: A cute, little bird landed on Bernie’s stage and then flew atop his podium during his rally speech. Some view the appearance of this bird as a sign of providence, of Bernie’s pure-hearted candidacy, Mother Nature’s Princess Leia appealing to Bernie to say, “Help me Bernie-Wan Kenobi. You’re my only hope”: not us at the Alligator.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Column: Despite representation, gay characters always die

Mar. 27, 2016

It’s not enough to have representation — LGBTQ+ characters need to be alive and acknowledged, too. This seems logical, but it’s clearly not practiced in the media, which regularly practices tokenism: including a character of a certain identity but then not going anywhere with it. For example, in the recent Deadpool movie, Deadpool’s bisexual identity was not explicitly acknowledged. While it’s great those who follow the comics know he’s bisexual, most people had no idea, so it’s difficult to say this “counts” in terms of representation. It’s similar to how any movie Thor is in does not count as representation of women, even though Marvel Entertainment writer Jason Aaron made the new comic-book Thor a woman as of fall 2014. Representation in the media still leaves much to be desired.