This Friday we recognize the 45th anniversary of the 26th amendment, which lowered the voting age from 21 to 18 years old, giving a voice to thousands of young people. Today, the Millennial generation — people aged 18-35 — is one of the largest voting blocs in the country, making their votes in the 2016 […]
Opinion
Posted inCommunity/News
Orlando
I was sitting in silence at Quaker Meeting this Sunday when I heard the news that 49 people were killed and 53 were injured in a mass shooting in a gay nightclub in Florida. The woman who shared the message was queer and a life-time peace advocate; she urged her fellow Friends to recognize that […]
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Opinion: Those who experience gender-based violence deserve our support
International Anti-Street Harassment Week is an opportunity to raise awareness and protest the gender-based violence that occurs in our communities year-round. This year, in addition to a chalk-the-walk, op-ed writer’s workshop, several community-wide art projects and a concert/bystander intervention training, End Street Harassment – Iowa City has organized a support group where victims of harassment […]
Posted inCommunity/News
Op-ed: A year on the job with the Iowa City Downtown District
Imagine you’re a time traveler visiting current-day downtown Iowa City from an earlier time. Upon exiting your DeLorean, parked in front of the Airliner, you walk south and hang a left on Washington St. passing the beautifully restored MidWestOne Bank building. As you walk east you focus on the architecture of the buildings around you: […]
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Opinion: Expanding legal gun use for minors isn’t Iowa Nice, it’s Iowa Insanity
I try to see things from the other perspective. Even though I don’t agree with — nor do statistics bear out — the need for handguns in homes, I believe I have some understanding of what motivates gun owners. They want protection. They want to feel power in a world that sometimes makes us feel […]
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Opinion: Public contribution to The Lens makes sense
While single, I framed a picture of Johnny Cash — an insert from an old record — and hung it in my living room. Later, I got married. My wife and I bought a house. We had different opinions on where (or if, in my wife’s view) we should hang this piece in our new […]
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Opinion: ICCSD schedule changes will require adjustments
On Tuesday night, the Iowa City School Board made a final decision about the new bell schedule for the next school year. Elementary schools will now run from 7:55 a.m.-2:55 p.m., and the junior high and high schools will run from 8:50 a.m.-4 p.m. From what I’ve read on social media, pretty much no one […]
