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The independent newspaper of the University of Iowa community since 1868

The Daily Iowan

The independent newspaper of the University of Iowa community since 1868

The Daily Iowan

The independent newspaper of the University of Iowa community since 1868

The Daily Iowan

Democratic presidential candidates wave to the crowd as they arrive to the stage at the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts in Miami on Thursday, June 27, 2019, for Day 2 of the first Democratic presidential primary debates for the 2020 elections. (Al Diaz/Miami Herald/TNS)

Helton: 20 Out of 20: Winners and losers of the first Democratic debates

Elijah Helton, Opinions Editor June 30, 2019

Going into the first two nights of Democratic debates, the 20 participating candidates had more or less the same goal: leave a good impression. Regardless of whether they were an upper-tier candidate looking...

Yerington: My love for 1989’s ‘Batman’ is undying

Yerington: My love for 1989’s ‘Batman’ is undying

Austin J. Yerington, Columnist June 27, 2019

“He gave us a signal,” Gotham Police Commissioner Jim Gordon declares. Gordon  then pulls a level for a massive spotlight; it lightens up the dark sky with the silhouette of a bat. The gothic...

The Gush Etzion area of the West Bank is seen on June 19.

Lotenschtein: Dispatches from Tel Aviv: Reviewing history and prospective peace in the West Bank

Madison Lotenschtein, Columnist June 25, 2019

In a place where Israelis and Palestinians live separated by lines drawn in the sand, there is one location in the West Bank where both parties come together. Located in a humble community center in...

Banerjee: ‘Late Night’ isn’t listening, and neither are we

Banerjee: ‘Late Night’ isn’t listening, and neither are we

Anna Banerjee, Opinion Columnist June 24, 2019

As places go, Iowa City is well-known for its liberal atmosphere and for good reason. Compared with much of the state — and the country — Iowa City is a surprisingly blue area for its size and location....

DI columnist Beau Elliot

Elliot: Draining the Swamp, virtually

Beau Elliot, Columnist June 23, 2019

Ah, the Swamp. Not just any old swamp but the Swamp. Bane of our existence. As Shelley put it: “… Power, like a desolating pestilence,/Pollutes whate’er it touches; and obedience,/Bane of all...

Julian Castro, former Secretary of Housing and Urban Development and current Democratic candidate for president takes questions from an attendee at The Mill before appearing on the Political Party Live podcast on Sunday, Apr. 14, 2019.

Helton: 20 Out of 20: What’s the path forward for Julián Castro?

Elijah Helton, Opinions Editor June 19, 2019

A young star in the Democratic Party, a member of an oppressed minority, and a successful mayor — no, I’m not talking about Pete Buttigieg. Julián Castro is running for president. Castro served...

File photo (Nick Rohlman/The Daily Iowan)

Baller: Rehabilitation in Iowa prisons needs to be more humane

Kasey Baller, Columnist June 18, 2019

“It’s almost more humane to kill someone immediately than it is to intentionally bury a man alive.” This is how Thomas Silverstein experienced prison, and it provides a first-person view of the injustices...

Carly Rae Jepsen on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon on November 5, 2018 -- (Andrew Lipovsky/NBC/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images/TNS)

Banerjee: Pop girls are riding on the main stage again

Anna Banerjee, Columnist June 17, 2019

The synthetic and auto-tuned femininity of such acts as Carly Rae Jepsen, Charli XCX, and Kim Petras are polarizing. Their sound returns to what worked in decades earlier, with tracks from Jepsen’s E•MO•TION...

Spin scooters sit parked at the intersection of High and Gay streets in downtown Columbus. (Adam Cairns/Dispatch/TNS)

Lotenschtein: Dispatches from Tel Aviv: E-scooters dominate the metropolitan area, colliding with cars and pedestrians

Madison Lotenschtein, Columnist June 16, 2019

A pedestrian, a stray cat, and a “scooterist” — without these three, I am certain that the whole of Tel Aviv would spontaneously combust. Even though my walk from the bus stop to work is only three...

Yerington: The Joker is the new Hamlet

Yerington: The Joker is the new Hamlet

Austin J. Yerington, Columnist June 12, 2019

“To be, or not to be, that is the question.” The line has been spoken countless times by some of the world’s top actors. Yet, with each utterance, it is said with a whole new meaning. Similarly the...

Iowa City residents celebrate pride week on Saturday, June 16, 2018.  (Thomas A. Stewart/The Daily Iowan)

Helton: Pride still matters

Elijah Helton, Opinions Editor June 11, 2019

“I believe in the gay power. I believe in us getting our rights, or else I would not be out there fighting for our rights … I have been thrown in jail. I have lost my job. I have lost my apartment...

Lexi Ridout, a parade participant, marches on Dubuque St. with flag in hand during the IC Pride Parade on Saturday, June 17. The parade is apart of LBGT Pride Month, established in 1969 to commemorate the Stonewall riots. (Ben Smith/The Daily Iowan)

Banerjee: Pride isn’t about making money

Anna Banerjee, Columnist June 11, 2019

June is LGBTQ Pride Month in commemoration of New York’s Stonewall riots, which took place on June 28, 1969. In the years that followed that date, the concept of pride and how it is represented, not...