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16Nov 2015 by Lynda Waddington

Missouri professor no longer deserves position

Gazette Column

Communication department professor should uphold First Amendment University of Missouri Assistant Professor of Communication Melissa Click must be fired. If you’ve watched the video, then you are hereby excused from reading this rest of the column. If not, let me set the stage for you. The video, shot by MU junior Mark Schierbecker, begins by focusing on MU senior Tim Tai, who is holding a camera and being surrounded by a crowd of people who want him, and all other journalists, to leave Carnahan Quad where a temporary encampment was set up by student activists. Students, who had been actively and peacefully protesting the university’s lack of response to ongoing incidents of discrimination and racism, were celebrating the resignation of university system president Tim Wolfe and the decision by MU…

15Nov 2015 by Lynda Waddington

Let’s remember, mourn all changed by Vietnam

Gazette Column

No matter how personal or distant the connection, it’s difficult to reconcile emotions surrounding the Vietnam War. Several readers, many of them veterans and friends, reached out to me after reading a series of articles by B.A. Morelli published last month in The Gazette. The articles revisit the decision by a then-20-year-old Marion man, Steve Smith, to violate federal law and burn his draft card in a brief but very public display on Oct. 20, 1965. Reaction to these pieces in which some of those interviewed call for a memorial or some other public acknowledgment of Smith’s action has been predominantly outrage, confusion and disappointment. “I lost friends in Vietnam,” one man said, “and I still haven’t stood before their names on the national memorial. And now someone wants to…

09Nov 2015 by Lynda Waddington

Moving beyond projects to philosophy

Gazette Column

Since returning from the National Rural Assembly I’ve been reaching out to small town leaders and advocates with a question: “Why does so little of the federal grant money set aside for creative placemaking flow into Iowa?” The National Endowment for the Arts set up the Our Town grant program for creative placemaking and began issuing grants in 2011. Since that time, only two Iowa applications have been successful. Of all the money issued by the NEA for this purpose, less than 1 percent has flowed into Iowa communities. Responses to my question have been as varied as the backgrounds and experiences of the people I’ve asked. Some feel the national application process favors states on the coasts. Others lament a lack of the local partnerships required for such grants.…

08Nov 2015 by Lynda Waddington

An opening, but not yet a mandate

Gazette Column

Progressives in Iowa City are excited, and rightfully so, but shouldn’t be lulled into believing that electing a city council majority is the end game. Tuesday was historic for Iowa City municipal politics. In its most boiled down sense, the contest before voters was progressives vs. corporate interests — and, for the first time in long time in city races, the progressives overwhelmingly won. A slate, known as the “core four,” displaced two incumbents to claim a strong majority on the city council. The group has promised to reshape city policies, especially in terms of development and investment priorities. Think of it this way, if the new council had been making the decision on the Chauncey project, it wouldn’t have been approved. No doubt the dust-up surrounding three worker cottages…

01Nov 2015 by Lynda Waddington

Minorities, especially, should cast a local ballot

Gazette Column

There’s no doubt that a mere handful of votes can change the outcome of a city election, but there is even more at stake for Iowa’s underrepresented minority communities. Study voter turnout for any length of time and you’ll find political scientists who argue that increased engagement doesn’t provide significantly different election outcomes. But a look at the data behind such assertions shows their correlations are linked to the outcomes of national elections. About 62 percent of registered voters cast a ballot in the 2008 presidential election. In 2010, about 41 percent voted in congressional races and, in 2012, about 58 percent participated in the presidential election. The 2014 midterm elections in Iowa garnered a high turnout of 53.3 percent, a number praised by state officials. Yet, nationally, only about…

29Oct 2015 by Lynda Waddington

Political training added to Iowa Renewal Project

Gazette Blog

Three 2016 GOP presidential hopefuls scheduled to appear If a national movement coming to Des Moines as part of the Iowa Renewal Project is successful, Iowans may see many more conservative pastors and church leaders on their 2016 ballots. The movement — the Men and Women of Issachar — is the brainchild of David Lane, a politically-connected religious conservative, and was named after one of the twelve tribes of Israel — specifically the tribe that sent 200 men with the ability or vision to decipher the signs of the times and direct the actions of David’s army at Hebron. “Nobody is confused that politicians are going to save America,” Lane said in January when he announced the movement, which hopes to encourage and train at least 1,000 church leaders and…

26Oct 2015 by Lynda Waddington

Can rural K-12 achieve the promise of NGSS?

Gazette Column

Rural education leaders outline STEM successes, challenges IOWA CITY — Two days of meetings this week highlighted the latest national standards that will change rural K-12 education in Iowa. The Next Generation Science Standards, rolled out in 2013 and adopted by Iowa leaders this past August, are the first broad recommendations for science instruction in 20 years. Developed by a consortium of 26 states (including Iowa) and several scientist and teaching groups, they primarily switch the focus from rote memorization to hands-on learning and critical thinking. Instruction will emphasize the scientific process — analyzing data, developing models and constructing logical arguments. Advocates have touted the standards as being able to accomplish what current science instruction cannot: make students care by connecting them and lessons to their communities in very practical…

25Oct 2015 by Lynda Waddington

Regent ‘anger’ raises more questions

Gazette Column

While standing by the selection of a new University of Iowa president, one member of the Board of Regents has expressed his concern that the process was flawed. Speaking Thursday at the second of a two-day meeting on the University of Iowa campus, and less than 24 hours after demonstrators publicly asked regents to resign their posts, Subhash Sahai admitted he was “pissed” when he learned about previously-undisclosed meetings between a single candidate and five other regents and search committee members. “I want the people at the university to know that we had impassioned, intentioned and rigorous debate,” Sahai said of regent deliberations. But he also admitted that at the time the selection was being debated he was unaware that some members had met privately with only one of the…

19Oct 2015 by Lynda Waddington

Yes, Paul Ryan, let’s talk about parental leave

Gazette Column

Wisconsin Republican Paul Ryan says he’ll consider running for Speaker of the U.S. House, but only if there are guarantees he can still have time for his family. Too bad other American workers don’t have the option of being as blunt. Ryan is a 45-year-old, married father of three children. He travels home nearly every weekend to be with his family. “I cannot and will not give up my family time,” Ryan said this week, alluding to the often grueling fundraising schedule that is placed on those serving as speaker. He also demanded that all facets of the party unify behind his candidacy, and provided a Friday deadline for caucus votes of support. Members of the U.S. House were in session for 153 days in 2012, 128 days in 2010,…

18Oct 2015 by Lynda Waddington

Smart to refocus on homeland

Gazette Column

Attitudes shifted that day in 1995 when I stood before the miserable, exposed interior of the federal building in Oklahoma City. This year marked the 20th anniversary of that terrorist attack, perpetrated by Americans. Few realize, however, that it was not the first time Americans plotted to bomb the OKC federal building. James Ellison, founder of the Covenant, Sword and Arm of the Lord (CSA), came to OKC in 1983 with white supremacist Richard Wayne Snell to case the building. Snell wanted to target the government due to a tax dispute. Ellison’s sketches and plans could have served as a first draft for the 1995 attack since they called for a vehicle packed with explosives to be parked in front of the building and remotely detonated. Snell was on death…