Stephan Chamberlin - The Independent Florida Alligator

OPINION | COLUMNS

Try listening to the Turlington crazies

By Stephan Chamberlin | Aug. 8, 2018

We all know the walk through Turlington Plaza. It’s a veritable minefield of distractions. People handing out pamphlets, students trying to get you to join their clubs, doughnut sales for the nexus of evil: the Alachua County Humane Society. But there are also those who have a less-than-appealing message. Some of the Turlington heralds preach a very religious message of fire and brimstone, and some go way overboard on the rhetoric. The next time you walk through Turlington try to keep an open mind and listen to what they’ve got to say.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Targeted ads will save advertising

By Stephan Chamberlin | Aug. 6, 2018

You search Google for “sunglasses.” You browse for a while. You look at a few on Amazon, a few on Ray-Ban’s website and ultimately decide to leave the purchase for another day. But now every website with Google AdSense, like the sidebar on Facebook, offers you sunglasses. It’s called targeted advertising, and even if you might think it’s annoying, computers seem to know us better than we know ourselves. I’m okay with big data as long as it’s good data.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Facebook is a mixed bag for mental health

By Stephan Chamberlin | Aug. 1, 2018

Ever wondered if your constant browsing of social media is depressing you? Here’s the science.

METRO | POLITICS

Marriage in the age of Trump and TV

By Stephan Chamberlin | July 30, 2018

National politics in the U.S. tend to drive people to different ends of the political spectrum. We can’t help but be drawn into the cyclone of outrage. It draws in everyone with a connection to TV or Twitter with a siren song — the talking heads on cable news essentially say, “Don’t worry. Don’t re-examine your position on immigration. Your instincts are right. Instead, get mad at these other guys.” What you may realize is that your associates and loved ones have radically different views. Stick to your position, but know that making a political point isn’t worth a ruined friendship.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Rain is far more than a hardship for the homeless

By Stephan Chamberlin | July 25, 2018

The drone of rain on the car roof is almost deafening. It comes through to the inside like loud TV static. If you peer out the window at the mute downtown scene, between the droplets, you can see that white water pours off storefront awnings like an avalanche. On the flooded sidewalk, huddled in a shallow doorway, a faceless man’s fingers hold a cardboard shield in defense against the damp. The problem of homelessness is never so striking as it is in a rainstorm. An increased supply of short-term shelter is a more immediate solution to this problem which statistics fail to capture.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Drop the act: You don’t work at work

By Stephan Chamberlin | July 23, 2018

You have been staring blankly at your computer screen for about an hour. You have made coffee, gone to the bathroom, tried to study, but it just isn’t happening. Maybe you checked social media once or twice. Sound familiar? That’s normal human behavior, and the lack of productivity for most of the day is surprisingly common. If you feel like you often spend too much time doing too little work, idling or just wondering how to get started, pick your most productive hours to work. One thing is for certain, you won’t be productive for a majority of the day if you don’t plan out your day carefully.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Prep before you speak

By Stephan Chamberlin | July 18, 2018

Picture this: a lit stage, a buzzing crowd sat in darkness. You’re dressed in some fancy attire and are about to speak in front of a large audience. All eyes are about to be on you. You start to get nerves about your nerves. Is being nervous normal? Is it okay for your knees to be weak, your palms to be sweaty and there to be vomit on your sweater already? Yes. The best way to get over nerves is to rehearse, and when you think you’ve practiced enough, double down.

METRO | POLITICS

Never was my president

By Stephan Chamberlin | July 16, 2018

On Monday, President Donald Trump denied that Russia interfered with the 2016 election. What Trump did Monday flies in the face of U.S. intelligence agencies. Trump went against the CIA, FBI and NSA to side with the authoritarian ruler of a geopolitical foe. This begs the question: Is he really still acting like our president?

OPINION | COLUMNS

State schools are a smart move

By Stephan Chamberlin | July 11, 2018

Ever wonder whether you might have been happier at Harvard University? A lot of students think they settled by going to a state school. Some believe the only way to reach the upper echelon of American society is to shoot for an Ivy League school, network like mad and rub elbows with the “elite.” From what I’ve seen of UF and what I’ve seen of the Ivy League, to UF students I say: You made the wise financial choice. First, Ivies are not all equally forgiving to low-income students. Second, state schools do more for the American dream.

OPINION | COLUMNS

The cereal industry Trix kids

By Stephan Chamberlin | July 9, 2018

Walking down the breakfast aisle of the grocery store, a rainbow of boxes scrolls past. Mascots like Tony the Tiger and Lucky the Leprechaun jump out from each rectangle. The obvious conclusion is that a lot of these cereals are aimed at kids. Turn those boxes over, and you’ll find most of them are high in sugar, and, for some, extremely high. Improving public health isn’t a simple topic, but one common sense move is obvious: We should stop marketing sugary cereals to children.