Op-Eds Archive

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Juveniles’ life sentences are too cruel

As parents, teachers and coaches have long known, teens think differently than adults. So, it comes as no surprise that a substantial and growing body of science confirms that although adolescents may demonstrate cognitive abilities similar to those of adults, they are less capable of mature judgment.

Filed under Op-Eds on Tuesday, November 3, 2009.

Pledge controversy: Students should have right of silence

A running gag on the 1970s sit-com Welcome Back Kotter was a series of phony notes signed “Epstein’s Mother” that character Juan Epstein penned to get out of class, telling his teacher “Hey, Mr. Kotter, I got a note!”

Filed under Op-Eds on Monday, October 26, 2009.

Florida vs. the superbugs

MRSA killed Alonzo Smith, an 18-year-old football player from Liberty High School in Kissimmee last September. Smith follows a long line of football players who have been sickened after infection with MRSA, a highly resistant superbug.

Filed under Op-Eds on Monday, April 13, 2009.

A more market-based tuition will help universities survive

Open letter from Florida’s 11 university presidents

Filed under Op-Eds on Monday, March 23, 2009.

Win Phillips: Not all gloom and doom at UF

These are challenging times for all, and higher education is no exception. Economic stimulus dollars may offer some hope, but the University of Florida and the state’s 10 other public universities face the real possibility of severe cutbacks.

Filed under Op-Eds on Friday, March 6, 2009.

A fond farewell to redbay trees and their buddies

This op-ed appeared Feb. 1 in the Orlando Sentinel.
By: Francis E. “Jack” Putz
Francis E. “Jack” Putz is a professor of botany at the University of Florida.
It seems as though every time you turn around, another environmentalist is whining about yet another threat to life as we know it. Some seem far-fetched, while others appear inconsequential. [...]

Filed under Op-Eds on Thursday, February 5, 2009.

Higher tuition ensures a better higher education

This op-ed appeared in The Miami Herald, Tallahassee Democrat and Gainesville Sun.
By: Bernie Machen
Bernie Machen is the president of the University of Florida.
Last week’s headlines about the soaring costs of college may cause some to ask why Florida’s public universities and Gov. Charlie Crist support a plan to allow Florida universities to hike tuition 15 [...]

Filed under Op-Eds on Tuesday, December 16, 2008.

Preserve healthy cabbage palms

If you look out your window right now, chances are you’ll spot a Sabal palmetto, the scientific name of the cabbage palm, the state tree of Florida and South Carolina. Now imagine the landscape without these icons of the tropics.

Filed under Op-Eds on Thursday, November 20, 2008.

Why Americans don’t vote — and what can be done about it

Americans go to the polls next week to select our next president. Interest is high in a contest featuring the first major party black presidential candidate, the worst financial crisis since the great depression, and the country bogged down in two far off wars.

Filed under Op-Eds on Saturday, November 1, 2008.

Lowering the drinking age: Not the solution to binge drinking

As parents ferry boxes to residence halls and map-clutching students wander wide-eyed around the University of Florida, the start of fall semester always brings a contagious feeling of optimism and excitement.

Filed under Op-Eds on Monday, August 25, 2008.