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
Tom Harper/Lawrence Times
Tom Harper: Smith Hall is an architectural and artistic landmark worth saving (Column)
”Irma I. Smith Hall can’t speak for itself. But as it possibly faces the wrecking ball, we seek to share its history and relevance as a significant, intact example of midcentury modern architecture,” Tom Harper writes in this column.
Clay Wirestone: The ‘blue dot’ of Lawrence, Kansas, will soon have a new congressman. No one’s talking about it. (Column)
“Lawrence, a vivid blue dot in the sea of red that is Kansas, could soon be represented in the U.S. House of Representatives by a Republican who opposes abortion rights and voted to overturn the 2020 presidential election,” Clay Wirestone writes in this column for Kansas Reflector.
Sheriff Jay Armbrister: Why I’m supporting the county sheriff election and recall amendment (Column)
”It’s best that local politics or personal feelings not be part of any ouster proceeding decisions,” Sheriff Jay Armbrister writes in this guest column.
Dot Nary: Holding events that welcome all (Column)
”Failing to accommodate disabled people in public discourse, in meetings, and on boards can result in loss of their contributions; programs that are exclusionary; plans that fail to address community needs; and events that do not comply with civil rights laws,” Dot Nary writes in this column.
Max Kautsch: Kansas AG’s office enforces open records law while overlooking key piece (Column)
”Ruling in ways that enforce that law against some agencies and not others, particularly when the agency charged with enforcing the law refuses to apply it internally, shakes public confidence in government,” Max Kautsch writes in this Kansas Reflector column.
Max Kautsch: Attorney General’s Office ignores plain text of Kansas open records law, sets poor example (Column)
”It is reasonable for the public to expect not only that the office fairly enforces (open records and open meeting) laws, but also that it follows them,” Max Kautsch writes in this Kansas Reflector column.
Mark McCormick: The fight against women’s erasure continues after Aug. 2 abortion vote (Column)
”No way we men will ever find our bodies managed and directed the way society seems to want to do for women,” Mark McCormick writes in this Kansas Reflector column.
Eric Thomas: ‘Test-optional’ exams teach Kansas teens a lesson in contradiction (Column)
“Our new test-optional reality is more complicated. Just as we have morphed back into our pre-pandemic habits in other ways, we are backsliding into our old habits with standardized college admissions tests,” Eric Thomas writes in this Kansas Reflector column.
Clay Wirestone: Derek Schmidt, are you willing to trade the lives of Kansas trans kids for the governor’s office? (Column)
“(Derek Schmidt) has, in a single news conference, shown the people of Kansas that he’s willing to sacrifice their children on the altar of political expediency,” Clay Wirestone writes in this Kansas Reflector column.
Clay Wirestone: Two more Kansas constitutional amendment votes loom. Here’s what they do, and what they mean (Column)
“Kansans might think they’re done with state constitutional amendments. Unfortunately, the state constitutional amendments aren’t done with them,” Clay Wirestone writes in this Kansas Reflector column.
Lori Lawrence: Cities in Kansas require freedom to ban single-use plastic bags, protect environment (Column)
“According to the Center for Biological Diversity, the useful life of a single-use plastic bag is 12 minutes. These bags take about 500 years to degrade, and then only degrade into microplastics,” Lori Lawrence writes in this Kansas Reflector column.
Dot Nary: What is disability pride? (Column)
“To me, disability pride means creating a culture of accessibility, accommodations, and acceptance so that the experience of disability is simply another facet of humanity versus relegation to second class status,” Dot Nary writes in this column.
Rija Nazir: Contrary to popular belief, Gen Z activists in Kansas have stepped up to cultivate social change (Column)
“Like many Gen Z voters, my urge to become civically engaged began before the 2016 election, despite not being of age to vote. This was the beginning of the dismissal by older generations that we were too young to understand the complexities of American politics,” Rija Nazir writes in this Kansas Reflector column.
Max Kautsch: Johnson County sheriff’s stonewalling on election probe keeps Kansans in the dark (Column)
“Hayden’s use of KORA may set a harmful precedent whereby a law enforcement agency could designate any activity it chooses as a ‘criminal investigation’ …That keeps the public in the dark about questionable expenditures of taxpayer dollars on the activity,” Max Kautsch writes in this column.
Disrupting the school-to-prison pipeline will reduce disparities for Kansans (Column)
“The overly harsh, disproportionate discipline for students in poverty and students of color often continues throughout PreK-12 and can force children into the prison system,” members of the Governor’s Commission on Racial Equity and Justice write in this column.
