The Lawrence Times runs opinion columns written by community members with varying perspectives on local issues. Occasionally, we’ll also pick up columns from other nearby news outlets. These pieces do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the Times staff.
The Lawrence Times does not publish staff editorials (unsigned opinion columns, usually about the topics we cover, that many news publications run).
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OPINION COLUMNS
Andy White / Contributed Photo
Tom Harper: Rachel’s bench, and others like it, are meaningful gifts to all of Lawrence (Column)
Lanny Genosky is thankful to have a bench in memory of his wife, Rachel, where he can sit and enjoy the view of Lawrence that she loved in Constant Park.
Mark McCormick: Does CRT make white students feel bad? Try being a Black student (Column)
“So much of the ever-changing debate about critical race theory — a term for an academic body of work not taught in K-12 public schools — centers the feelings of white students. We rarely seem concerned about how Black students have felt in public schools,” Mark McCormick writes in this column for Kansas Reflector.
Kerry Altenbernd: We must face up to vile racist incidents and discrimination in Lawrence (Column)
“The ‘Free State Narrative’ is toxic to understand what really happened in Kansas and obscures how much the state did not live up to its purported openness and tolerance,” Kerry Altenbernd writes in this column.
August Rudisell/The Lawrence Times
Tom Harper: Updates to Bowersock Dam reveal remnants of the past, promise power for the future (Column)
In recent weeks, the Kaw River has been lowered at the Bowersock Dam. Ancient shoreline structures have been revealed and huge, deep expanses of shale, millions of years old, have been exposed.
Contributed Photo
Ellen Bertels: Name Change Project simplifies a complex, emotional process for transgender Kansans (Column)
“In the long term, I hope to create a network of attorneys who can provide competent, affirming, and affordable services for low-income trans Kansans seeking all sorts of legal support,” Ellen Bertels writes in this column for Kansas Reflector.
Clay Wirestone: Kansas politics have been a freak show this year. There’s a cynical explanation for that. (Column)
“In 2021, conservatives just decided to double down on racism and death. They didn’t say that outright, of course, but they understood that hatred of Black and brown people is still a potent weapon among white voters,” Clay Wirestone writes in this column for Kansas Reflector.
Kimberly Lopez: What does queer joy mean? (Column)
“I have a gut feeling that there’s something I’m doing that is intrinsically wrong,” Kimberly Lopez writes in this column for the Times.
Paul Samberg: Kansans who compare COVID-19 mandates to Holocaust fuel antisemitism (Column)
“Likening the greatest act of antisemitism in history to mask requirements and vaccine mandates is abhorrent and downplays the reality of the Holocaust,” Paul Samberg writes in this column for Kansas Reflector.
Clay Wirestone: Reality and conspiracy collide at Lawrence COVID-19 vaccine clinic for kids (Column)
“Saturday should have been a banner day for my family. I brought my 10-year-old son to West Middle School in Lawrence, where he received his first dose of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine,” Clay Wirestone writes in this column for Kansas Reflector.
Clay Wirestone: Kansas Republicans claim they want to cut the food sales tax. So why haven’t they? (Column)
“The Kansas GOP has reminded everyone that our state’s high tax on food is very, very bad and must be changed. … If only we could figure out who was responsible,” Clay Wirestone writes in this column for Kansas Reflector.
Clay Wirestone: Following anti-CRT wins, expect dangerous hogwash in 2022 Kansas elections (Column)
“In short, every single debunked bit of irrational absurdity we’ve heard over the last few months — in Kansas and nationwide — will be repeated ad nauseam” in Kansas’ 2022 elections, Clay Wirestone writes in this column for Kansas Reflector.
Ask Cody: Being an ‘accomplice’ does not mean centering your whiteness (Column)
“There is an expectation of immense labor for Black trans folks; and there are no thank-yous for the labor given and risk taken,” Cody Charles writes.
Jesse Kielman: In redistricting, Kansas legislators shouldn’t use prison populations as bargaining chips (Column)
“Despite denying enslaved people civil rights, slave states demanded that these men, women and children be included in population counts because it increased their political power. … This exploitation has resurfaced in recent redistricting efforts,” Jesse Kielman writes in this column for Kansas Reflector.
Clay Wirestone: At two historic Kansas graveyards, the scariest of frights and the deepest of emotions (Column)
“No horror lurked here, bloodcurdling or otherwise. Nor did I feel abstracted peace. Limitless sorrow permeated, bound up with unyielding love,” Clay Wirestone writes in this column for Kansas Reflector.
Tom Harper
Tom Harper: A token to help close the chapter on Oldfather Studios (Column)
“Navigating an uncertain and unfamiliar terrain, I noticed a flash of color on the floor. It was the only item that had life: a movie poster in the stairway among the debris,” Tom Harper writes in this column on exploring partially demolished Oldfather Studios.
