As a grad student attempting to make some extra money on the side, I work part time at Iowa City-based ProofreadingPal. My boss there, Brian Kaldenberg, owns…
Raquel Baker
Posted inCommunity/News
Trayvon Martin: Changing the conversation
The July 13 verdict in the trial of George Zimmerman, which found him not guilty of murdering Trayvon Martin, evoked powerful reactions that exposed difficult and complicated truths about experiences of race throughout the country. While some people were outraged by the jury’s decision, others celebrated a victory for justice. Social media helped to organize […]
Posted inCommunity/News
A Dream no longer deferred
In 2006, Frederick Newell moved from Chicago to attend the University of Iowa. He was 18 years old and had a six-month-old baby. As a single dad, he found little support—like access to affordable daycare—in his new city, and remembers bringing his son to class with him. He also found a severe lack of community between other fathers.
Posted inCommunity/News
Community: There ought to be a law…and a bus.
“This is my home and I love it,” Marquez said. “My children have been raised here, and I want my children to be good citizens who are educated.” Still, she has the perception that minorities are targeted by the police. She described the daily sight of the one to four police cars sitting at the single entrance and exit to her neighborhood.
Posted inCommunity/News
Opinion: The Visual Rhetoric of Public Space
For Laura Rigal, 15-year UI faculty member and professor of English and American Studies, the visual rhetoric of the ads for Park @ 201, the new Moen Group building on the Pedestrian Mall, composes a compelling archive of how Iowa City has been impacted by Anglo-European settlement, federal funding, finance capital, contestations over public space […]
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Opinion: 40 Years of Fighting for Feminist Health Care
The year is 1973. The Vietnam War is ending. The Watergate hearings are beginning. The World Trade Center is completed, making it the world’s tallest building. A gallon of gas costs about 40 cents. The U.S Supreme Court rules on Roe v. Wade, making abortion a constitutionally protected right for all women, irrespective of their […]
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Your Town Now: Beyond Bike Friendly
From the outskirts of Rochester Avenue to heavily-trafficked downtown streets like Burlington or tree-sheltered lanes like Summit Street, “Share the Road” signs suggest that Iowa City is a bike-friendly town. But Mark Pooley, Audrey Wiedemeier and Brad Parsons beg to differ. For these members of Think Bicycles Coalition of Johnson County, an advocacy group for […]
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Zoning Out: One Resident’s Take on Crime, Capital & On-Campus Housing
In 1965, Nancy Carlson came to Iowa City as a student and never left. At that time, about 40 percent of UI students lived in on-campus housing. As an Illinois transplant and farm girl, Carlson remembers the vibrancy of downtown neighborhoods in the 1970s, recalling the single-family homes lining South Johnson and Van Buren […]
