Drake Political Review | Spring 2021 | Vol. 7 Issue 2

DRAKE POLITICAL REVIEW

THE GREEN NEW DEAL IN IOWA

Natural disasters, clean energy, and new agricultural practices. How would the most progressive environmental policy to date affect Iowa?

RETHINKING HOUSING BARRIERS

Before the pandemic, Des Moines faced issues in housing insecurity. COVID-19 has only made it worse.

DPR HOT OR NOT 2021

Who is charming and who is alarming? Putting politics aside, we dish out who’s the hottest on Capitol hill.

SPRING 2021 | VOLUME 7 | ISSUE 2

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF EMILYN CRABBE

ART DIRECTOR

LILA JOHNSON

ASSISTANT ART DIRECTOR

AMANDA O’BRIEN

MANAGING EDITOR

SARAH BALL

CONTENT EDITOR

ADDI WEAKLEY

STAFF EDITORS

EMILY NELSON JESSICA COMSTOCK LAUREN SKYE LAWSON

WEB EDITOR

TAYLOR MCGILL

CONTRIBUTORS

TAYLOR FISHER GRACE LONG EMMA BRUSTKERN DARBY HOLROYD GRACE HILSCHER NASH LINSLEY CALEB LILLQUIST HAYDEN WITTROCK ELLA FIELD LAUREN SKYE LAWSON VALERIE BUVAT DE VIRGINY MACKENZIE CHALLONER FAITH BOURGEACQ BRANDON WHEELOCK SOPHIE GLOO KIARA FISH GRANT MORGAN

ADVISOR

GREGORY WOLF

© SPRING 2021 DRAKE POLITICAL REVIEW IDEAS EXPRESSED IN THE MAGAZINE DO NOT NECESSARILY REFLECT THE VIEWS OF DRAKE UNIVERSITY

LETTER FROM THE EDITOR

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ere’s hoping you’re holding the last issue of Drake Political Review to be published during the pandemic! But more importantly, thank you for checking in with us to see what we were up to this semester. Our contributors have delved into topics ranging from local to international, from pressing COVID-19 issues to broader ongoing tensions. They have secured interviews from experts and public figures, notably U.S. Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.), the communications director for U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), and the director of public affairs for the Iowa National Guard. Personally, they have blown my mind with their incredible work, and it’s my honor to share it with you.

Each and every issue of DPR is a unique product of its writers, its staff, and everything that brings us all to be captivated by politics. I’ve loved DPR and its mission since before I was even a student here, but I never thought I’d be writing this letter to its readers, closing out my second semester as editor-inchief and my eighth semester as a Bulldog. I certainly never thought I’d go my whole year without ever seeing most of my staff or any of my writers in person—it’s been challenging to say the least, but as most challenging things are, it’s been undeniably rewarding. We really put a whole magazine together, virtually, twice.

Everyone who chooses to engage with DPR—staff members, writers, and you, holding this copy now—is choosing to talk politics, and I hope you stop for a second to think about how important that is. Talking politics gets us to learn something new and connects us to each other. It allows us to bring different backgrounds and skill sets to the table and find solutions. It’s the purest form of civic engagement. So, by all means, turn the page and

LET’S TALK POLITICS..

EMILYN CRABBE

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

TABLE OF CONTENTS LOCAL 04 06

RETHINKING HOUSING BARRIERS

Before the pandemic, Des Moines faced issues in housing insecurity. COVID-19 has only made it worse.

IOWA CONSIDERS RIGHT TO FIREARMS AMENDMENT

Iowa is one of only six states in the nation that lacks the affirmed right to keep and bear arms in its state constitution. A new amendment could change that.

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Politicians’ fanbases shield them from criticism, creating an idol who can do no wrong, as influencer culture permeates politics.

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ELECTIONAL ASTROLOGY

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VACCINE BREAKDOWN

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REFRAMING HISTORY: THE 1619 PROJECT

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Q&A WITH INDIRA SHEUMAKER

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A DEEPER DIVE INTO CHUCK GRASSLEY’S TWITTER

A guide to understanding the science behind the various COVID-19 vaccines.

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THE DREAM OF FIFTEEN

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BRINGING LIGHT TO MILITARY MISCONDUCT

DEMOCRATS TACKLE NEW IOWA PROJECT

Some of Iowa’s best Democratic thinkers have gathered hundreds of volunteers to answer the question of whether or not Iowa can turn blue.

“What Time Were You Born?” has become the new “What Is Your Policy Stance?”. Here’s how the stars have played a role in politics.

Does a fight for equality also mean Iowa’s schools losing funds? Here’s how Iowa’s politics could affect how children are educated on American history.

THE GREEN NEW DEAL IN IOWA

Natural disasters, clean energy, and new agricultural practices. How would the most progressive environmental policy to date affect Iowa?

FROM PUBLIC SERVANT TO PUBLIC FIGURE

Studies have shown that both Democrats and Republicans are in favor of increasing the federal minimum wage. The question among members of Congress is, to what extent and how fast?

Although sexual harassment and assault has historically been an issue for the U.S. Military, the recent murder of Specialist Vanessa Guillen is causing many to reevalute how these issues are being handled at an institutional level.

A deeper understanding into Des Moines City Council candidate Indira Sheumaker’s reasoning for running.

What exactly is the Windsor Heights Dairy Queen good for? It turns out, connecting with constituents in new and innovative ways.

INTERNATIONAL

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SEEK THE TRUTH AND REPORT IT

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IOWA’S POLITICAL PRIDE AT STAKE

Des Moines Register journalist Andrea Sahouri faced trial after reporting on a Black Lives Matter protest this summer. Here’s how the trial went down.

2020 revealed flaws in Iowa’s delegate allocation process. Many are left wondering how long the state will keep its famed caucuses.

NATIONAL 21

DPR HOT OR NOT 2021

Who is charming and who is alarming? Putting politics aside, we dish out who’s the hottest on Capitol hill.

INTERNATIONAL COVID-19 RESPONSES

Countries around the world have met COVID-19’s spread with a variety of measures, and some have produced better results than others.

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THE UNFOLDING HUMANITARIAN CRISIS IN MYANMAR

After a long history of military coups, the Rohingya crisis, and possible intervention, how has Myanmar taken center stage internationally?

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DON’T FEAR THE ROBOTS

Automation isn’t the end. Globalization threatens the livelihood of the workforce, but jobs aren’t being relinquished to machines.

LOCAL

RETHINKING HOUSING BARRIERS Before the pandemic, Des Moines faced issues in housing insecurity. COVID-19 has only made it worse.

WORDS BY TAYLOR FISHER | ILLUSTRATION BY AMANDA O’BRIEN

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fter spending so much time in homes this past year, places of residence have become more important and meaningful than ever before.

For many people, the home has transformed into a safe place where every aspect of life intersects. For some residents of the Des Moines area, the idea of the home doesn’t provide the same safety it does for others due to housing insecurity. While the coronavirus pandemic has exaggerated the need for affordable housing in Des Moines and the surrounding area, it has also highlighted that the barriers to stable housing aren’t just limited to cost.

While it’s impossible to obtain an exact number of people facing housing insecurity or homelessness in Des Moines, Polk County Continuum of Care, responsible for allocating federal funding to community partners, attempts to gain an understanding of what the landscape of homelessness looks like in the city. One of the most important methods in collecting this information is through a biannual point-in-time count of unsheltered community members.

“Over a 24-hour period in January of 2021, 118 unsheltered were counted,” said Polk County Continuum of Care Executive Director Angie Arthur.

In addition, Arthur explains that a better understanding of the homelessness landscape can be seen through the number of neighbors served.

“Through community partnerships in 2020, 4,378 individuals received services,” Arthur said.

As these numbers depict, there is a vast and diverse need for resources related to housing and homelessness in the Des Moines area that has surpassed the amount of resources and funding

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available. In response to this need, community partners have developed a system of centralized intake, a prioritization program designed to provide resources to the most vulnerable.

“Centralized intake was established about five years ago and serves the most vulnerable through a vulnerability index,” Arthur said. “There are not enough resources to provide all levels of support to everyone.”

Through communication and partnerships among organizations, the centralized intake system allows funding and resources related to housing and homelessness to reach more people. While this system has been vital for Des Moines homelessness, there still aren’t enough resources to address the large number of Des Moines residents who face housing insecurity.

In addition, a variety of barriers can be detrimental for those seeking housing without resources. Bernadette Beck, homeless support service program manager at Primary Healthcare, outlines the common barriers to housing as relating to many social issues.

“As far as general barriers to housing, prior history of eviction, criminal history, mental illness, and substance abuse stacks on top of many’s struggle to obtain housing,” Beck said.

The coronavirus pandemic has only exacerbated these barriers, unfortunately. In terms of mental illness, shifts to telehealth during the pandemic can be very inaccessible.

“Our population doesn’t utilize telehealth in the same ways others would, due to lack of a smartphone or Wi-Fi, for example,” said Cynthia Latcham, executive director for Anawim housing—a Des Moines nonprofit that provides permanent supportive housing.

“Mental health services are important to our population with severe

LOCAL mental illness such as bipolar disorder, methamphetamine use, or schizophrenia. It’s where harm reduction comes in.”

It’s not only healthcare offices that have moved to online formats, however.

A variety of other organizations, which people facing housing insecurity rely on, have been shut down, making these resources difficult or impossible to receive. For example, Primary Healthcare’s Homeless Support Services Director Shelby Ridley directly sees this impact on social security.

“Social security benefits and help has been moved over the phone, which often have hour-long waits, or online,” Ridley said.

“Navigating this new system has become a difficult barrier for many that we serve.”

In addition, YMCA Supportive Housing has noticed impacts on the mental health of its residents in permanent supportive housing since the beginning of the pandemic.

“The pandemic has been devastating THE PANDEMIC HAS to people’s mental BEEN DEVASTATING health. Loneliness is TO PEOPLE’S MENTAL a big thing, people miss social events, HEALTH. LONELINESS IS community meals, A BIG THING, PEOPLE and not having MISS SOCIAL EVENTS, normal support COMMUNITY MEALS, groups and classes,” said Community AND NOT HAVING Engagement Director NORMAL SUPPORT of YMCA Supportive GROUPS AND CLASSES, Housing Sarah Wigen.

SARAH WIGEN, COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT DIRECTOR OF YMCA The pandemic has SUPPORTIVE HOUSING brought a variety of new challenges to people facing housing insecurity, including losing jobs, accessing stimulus checks, and purchasing food.

“On top of loss of jobs, a lot of our residents walk over to the downtown Hy-Vee and back,” Wigen said. “During the pandemic when toilet paper and other goods were hoarded, [residents] could walk to the Hy-Vee and there would be nothing for them. It was impossible for them to hoard groceries like others because of cost.”

Finding solutions to these changes and challenges have often required creative adaptations to the services organizations provide.

“We were able to purchase phones and minutes for people who didn’t have them,” Latcham said.

In addition, the purchasing of phones allows Anawim employees to provide certain types of support over the phone that would have otherwise required in-person meetings.

Organizations much like Anawim are attempting to stay flexible and adapt services to fit the barriers people face. As eviction

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moratoriums come to an end, it’s unclear how the landscape of homelessness in Des Moines will be impacted and what the full extent of the coronavirus pandemic has been to residents.

Since the prospect of homelessness in Des Moines is continuously changing, many Des Moines organizations and groups rely on support from volunteers and donors. To best support many of these organizations, it’s important to understand the nature of volunteering during pandemic-times as a whole.

“Support financially, whether through dollar gifts, by purchasing items off our Target wishlist, or donating gift cards,” Latcham said.

“Every time someone moves into new housing, [Anawim] provides them with things like silverware, towels, sheets.”

Anawim also provides plenty of ways to get connected outside of financial gifts, including attending events, organizing a donation drive, sponsoring a family, or teaching others about Anawim and its mission. Anawim’s list of ways to give can be found on its website at www.anawimhousing.org/ways_to_give.

Similarly, Primary Healthcare highlights the needs for funds for the support it provides to clients.

“Donated funds can be used for I.D. or birth certificate fees.

These costs are things grants don’t write in,” Ridley said.

If interested, donate directly to Primary Healthcare’s website or find a list of needed items at phciowa.org/homeless-supportservices/#donate.

On the other hand, YMCA Supportive Housing has shifted to offsite volunteer opportunities. “[Volunteers] make blankets, kindness bags for residents, holiday cards,” Wigen said.

In addition to these volunteer opportunities, YMCA Supportive Housing is always accepting donations for its food pantry, both in monetary donations and in food items. A variety of other needbased opportunities can be found by following the Facebook page @YMCASHC. The page is also a great way to learn more about YMCA Supportive Housing’s residents, services, and values.

Those interested in getting involved with YMCA Supportive Housing at any level can contact Sarah Wigen at sarah.wigen@dmymca.org.

Regardless of where or how one wishes to get involved in the issue of housing insecurity in the Des Moines area, there are always opportunities.

“Many organizations do collections of supplies, food, and weather-appropriate clothing,” Arthur said. “[People can] visit the various social media organizations in town and they will let you know what they need.”

For a list of homeless organizations in Polk County to get further involved, visit www.polkcares.org/get-involved/volunteer/.

DRAKE POLITICAL REVIEW

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IOWA CONSIDERS RIGHT TO FIREARMS AMENDMENT

Iowa is one of only six states in the nation that lacks the affirmed right to keep and bear arms in its state constitution. A new amendment could change that.

WORDS BY GRACE LONG | ILLUSTRATION BY AMANDA O’BRIEN

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irearm policy has risen to the forefront on the national political stage during the first few months of 2021. Two high profile mass shootings in Atlanta, GA and Boulder, CO have driven renewed national attention to the issue, even leading President Biden to announce a series of executive actions aimed at reducing gun violence. He has also committed to push for extensive changes to federal gun laws, saying, “Gun violence in this country is an epidemic, and it’s an international embarrassment,” in a press conference on April 8, 2021.

While these recent events and pushes for shifts in gun control policy have mainly taken place at the federal level, gun policy has also recently been in the spotlight at the state level here in Iowa. The attention on Iowa’s gun legislation will only continue to grow in the next year due in large part to a proposed amendment to the state’s constitution called the Iowa Right to Firearms Amendment.

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The Amendment The midterm elections in 2022 will mark the first time in 12 years that Iowa voters will see potential amendments to the state constitution on their ballots. Because of legislation passed by the Iowa Legislature in early 2021, two potential amendments to the state constitution will come before voters, one of which is the Iowa Right to Firearms Amendment. If approved by voters, this pro-gun amendment would add language to Iowa’s constituion about citizens’ rights to keep and bear arms.

The proposed amendment states, “The right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed. The sovereign state of Iowa affirms and recognizes this right to be a fundamental individual right. Any and all restrictions of this right shall be subject to strict scrutiny.” This language sounds strikingly similar to the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which reads, “A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.”

Divided Along Party Lines That similarity is no accident. Iowa is one of only six states in the nation that lacks the affirmed right to keep and bear arms in its state constitution, so this has been something Iowa Republicans have pursued for years. To many of them, the urgency of the amendment’s passage has only been heightened due to the Biden administration’s firearm policy. Every Republican present in both the House and the Senate chambers during the multiple hours of debate on January 28 voted in favor of the amendment.

Richard S. Rogers, a board member and volunteer lobbyist for the Iowa Firearms Coalition (Iowa’s official state association of the National Rifle Association), explains his organization views the amendment as a protective measure.

“Iowa is one of only a few states that does not have a constitution provision for this fundamental individual right,” Rogers said. “It’s our right. It isn’t granted by the state or the federal constitution. It’s our right and this is designed to protect it.”

On the other side of the aisle, Iowa Democrats voted unanimously against the amendment, pointing out that the new language went beyond just the Second Amendment to include something called strict scrutiny. Those two seemingly small words have big implications. If the amendment passes, the inclusion of strict scrutiny means that all current and future firearms legislation will be held to the highest possible legal standard, making the process of passing new gun policy more rigorous and potentially changing the interpretation and enforcement of laws already on the books.

“I have no objection to the Second Amendment. If we had just taken the Second Amendment and put that in our constitution, I would be totally fine with it,” said state Rep. Sharon Steckman, D-Mason City. She is working on numerous firearm control bills during this year’s legislative session aiming to reduce gun violence. “But they used the Second Amendment and added ‘with strict scrutiny,’ which is the highest legal standard there is. You have to really prove that there’s been something egregious. Strict scrutiny would probably do away with many of the gun laws we have now. That was my main objection, those two words: strict scrutiny.”

If the amendment is approved by Iowa voters, it would only be the fourth state in the nation to include strict scrutiny language concerning firearms in its state constitution along with Alabama, Louisiana, and Missouri. However, proponents of the amendment contend that the basis for strict scrutiny lies in the role of bearing arms as a fundamental right.

“If a new law or regulation is alleged to have a restriction on a basic fundamental individual right, then they have to exercise strict scrutiny, which is the highest level of judicial review, the one that

LOCAL is most often applied to other individual rights: freedom of speech, freedom of religion, freedom of association,” Rogers said.

Because of the high-stakes nature of the amendment and the decisive split of legislators down party lines, a great deal of media coverage from gun lobbying groups and gun violence advocacy groups will be likely leading up to the midterm elections.

“It will go before the voters and we will see. But that will also depend on all the media campaigns that different groups do,” Steckman said. “I’m sure you’ll have Giffords people, the NRA, the gun coalition. We’re going to be inundated with it. It will be a huge campaign.”

As an activist group, the IFC understands the impact these campaigns may have on voters.

“We expect WE ARE GOING TO millions of dollars to come into the ORGANIZE NOW state to fight this,” TO AGGRESSIVELY Rogers said. “We’re ADVOCATE FOR THE not going to be able to raise millions ADOPTION OF THIS of dollars locally AMENDMENT with our grassroots RICHARD S. ROGERS, VOLUNTEER LOBBYIST FOR IOWA FIREARMS COALITION organization. But we are going to organize now to aggressively advocate for the adoption of this amendment.”

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Iowa’s Constitutional Amendment Process Although this amendment will meet the public at the ballot box at a time when gun policy has taken on a higher profile on the national level, the policy here in Iowa has been in the works for a long time, mostly due to Iowa’s constitutional amendment process. Iowa’s Constitution states that, “An amendment to the Iowa Constitution may be proposed by either the Senate or House of Representatives and must be agreed to by two successive General Assemblies and ratified by a majority of the electors voting at an election designated by the General Assembly.”

To put it simply, proposed amendments must be passed by a majority of both chambers of the Iowa Legislature, not just once but twice—the amendment must be approved by two different, separately elected General Assemblies. Only then can it be placed on the ballot for voters to decide on. From a legislative perspective, this is a demanding, time consuming task.

“There’s a reason it’s such a hard process. It needs to be a very thoughtful process,” Steckman said. “I really think amending the constitution should be a bipartisan agreement and effort.”

Although the Iowa Right to Firearms Amendment has made waves within the Iowa Legislature, come November 2022, voters will decide what they would like to see in their state constitution when they cast their votes.

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THE GREEN NEW DEAL IN IOWA

Natural disasters, clean energy, and new agricultural practices. How would the most progressive environmental policy to date affect Iowa?

WORDS BY EMMA BRUSTKERN | ART BY LILA JOHNSON

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he Green New Deal has often been perceived as a plan catered to liberal coastal elites, but not much attention has been paid to how it would affect midwestern states like Iowa.

However, with climate change already rearing its ugly head, some Iowans believe the Green New Deal is essential for ensuring the state’s prosperity moving into the future. In 2019, 48% of likely Democratic caucusgoers supported the Green New Deal, according to the Des Moines Register.

The Green New Deal, originally introduced by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York and Sen. Ed Markey of Massachusetts in 2019, is a congressional resolution with the goal of tackling climate change in the U.S. The proposal calls on the federal government to significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions and divest from fossil fuels.

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The proposal also calls on the government to ensure clean air and water and a sustainable environment for generations to come. To do this, the Green New Deal proposes a “10-year mobilization” period in which the government would meet 100% of the country’s power demand through renewable energy, upgrade to energy-efficient smart power grids, work collaboratively with farmers to reduce pollution and greenhouse gases in the agricultural sector, and more.

While climate change is often linked to rising sea levels or forest fires, Iowa is already experiencing its effects. The Iowa Department of Natural Resources reports that the state has seen an 8% increase in precipitation from 1873 to 2008. Furthermore, long-term winter temperatures in Iowa have increased six times more than summer temperatures.

LOCAL Natural disasters, such as floods and the recent derecho, can be attributed to climate change in Iowa. These cases of extreme weather not only impact the agricultural sector in Iowa, but also the livelihoods of thousands of Iowans.

“For Iowa, climate change is going to cause us to have more mass flooding in the spring, longer droughts in the summer and longer heat waves, and more intense and extreme weather,” said Jake Grobe, a climate justice organizer for Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement.

A central part of the Green New Deal is focusing on clean energy throughout the U.S. While companies such as Alliant Energy and MidAmerican Energy both have initiatives to drastically cut carbon emissions, the two still have a combined nine coal plants in Iowa. In order to prevent further pollution, Grobe says the easiest thing Iowa can do is to shut down these plants.

“We have to upscale wind and WE HAVE TO UPSCALE solar, and at the WIND AND SOLAR, AND same time, we’ve got to shut down AT THE SAME TIME, WE’VE every coal plant and GOT TO SHUT DOWN every natural gas EVERY COAL PLANT AND plant because most EVERY NATURAL GAS of our emissions come from that,” PLANT BECAUSE MOST Grobe said. “That OF OUR EMISSIONS is the most easily COME FROM THAT doable. We have all JAKE GROBE, ORGANIZER FOR IOWA CITIZENS FOR COMMUNITY IMPROVEMENT the technology to do it right now.”

Iowa is already making progress in terms of renewable energy.

According to the American Clean Power Association, wind is now the largest single source of electricity in Iowa. The state is generating more than 10,000 megawatts of wind energy, making up more than 40% of Iowa’s total electricity as of 2019.

Critics of the Green New Deal often say the proposal will cost Americans jobs, given that the proposal advocates for closing down coal and natural gas plants. However, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that wind turbine service technicians and solar photovoltaic installers are two of the fastest growing occupations in the U.S. The Renewable Energy Technology program at Des Moines Area Community College is a testament to this new and rapidlychanging field. The program was introduced in 2020 and focuses on both solar and wind technologies. The college also offers an associate degree in wind turbine technology specifically, which it has had for several years now.

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“We began hearing from employers and watching more national trends [that made us realize] we needed to make sure that we were imparting some of that renewable energy on a broader basis than just wind,” said Bryan Burkhardt, department head of the renewable energy technology program.

With the increased demand for solar technology in particular, Burkhardt believes there will be plenty of jobs in manufacturing the equipment, as well as installing and transporting the equipment. Still, Burkhardt acknowledges the fear many feel about the possibility of job loss.

“Whenever we’re giving this push to do something new, I think we have to understand that there’s going to be jobs associated with it,” Burkhardt said. “However, the concern obviously is they’re not going to look exactly the same as before, and that can be scary and that can be intimidating to those who have been rather comfortable in their current field.”

Iowa Republicans and other Green New Deal critics have remarked that the proposal would hurt Iowa farmers. In October 2020, the American Farm Bureau and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce warned Iowa voters that the Green New Deal would bring increased costs to the agricultural and manufacturing sectors, according to the Cedar Rapids Gazette. Yet, a central part of the Green New Deal involves working with farmers to invest in a regenerative agriculture system. This system mirrors how Native Americans originally tended to the land prior to American colonialism. While climate activists, like Grobe, acknowledge that changing agricultural systems could take time, he believes the process is worth it.

“What [regenerative agriculture] would do would be to essentially make your land more valuable because there’s less runoff; it replenishes more nutrients into the soil,” Grobe said. “It also improves your yields too, so you can actually sell more and have a higher value product.”

In addition to the Green New Deal, Iowa CCI supports THRIVE, another congressional resolution dedicated to mobilizing against climate change, racial injustice, and the current economic crisis. With President Joe Biden in office, and a Democratic majority in the House and the Senate, Grobe believes there is no time like the present.

“We have to put the pressure on Joe Biden,” Grobe said. “He is pivoting now to his Build Back Better plan for a big economic recovery package. That needs to be the THRIVE Act, which would ensure that working people benefit most, that frontline communities who have been hurt by environmental racism get the most investments, and that it’s not just green capitalists who benefited from the transition to renewable energy.”

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DEMOCRATS TACKLE NEW IOWA PROJECT Some of Iowa’s best Democratic thinkers have gathered hundreds of volunteers to answer the question of whether or not Iowa can turn blue.

WORDS BY DARBY HOLROYD | ILLUSTRATION BY LILA JOHNSON

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020 was a tough year for Iowa Democrats. It began with a massive caucus mishap. It ended with Republicans flipping six seats in the statehouse and two of the state’s four seats in the U.S. House. Donald Trump won by slightly less than 10% of the vote. After reviewing the election results, rural counties continued to trend deeply red while urban counties mostly stayed blue, but did see an increase in votes for Republicans. Politico’s election data ultimately revealed a deep divide between rural and urban counties, demonstrating that there was little organizing done by Democrats in rural areas. KCCI showed that Trump outperformed his 2016 numbers in almost every single rural county.

With this in mind, it was clear to the Iowa Democratic Party that their losses were heavy in rural areas, especially when

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comparing them to who was elected in urban areas, such as Polk County (the only blue U.S. House seat from Iowa). As painful as it was for loyal Democrats to read the statistics and look at electoral maps, it forces the party to delve deeper into what went wrong and what they can do to ensure a victory in the next election cycle. In order to ensure that this would not happen again, the New Iowa Project was formed.

According to the Iowa Census, less than 10% of Iowans are Black, Indigenous, or people of color. Over 11% of Iowans are at or below the poverty line. It also states that around 59% of the state population is between the ages of 18 and 65, the biggest chunk of unreliable voters. This information is crucial when studying what the New Iowa Project is set to tackle, for people

LOCAL of color are typically disenfranchised and disengaged voters due to discrimination and the Democratic Party taking their votes for granted. Secondly, people at or below poverty are far less likely to vote, meaning that they are also typically left out of politics.

The New Iowa Project is modeled off of the work that Stacey Abrams and her team did in Georgia with the registration of over 800,000 new voters that caused the state to flip blue. When analyzing what Abrams did for Georgia, it cannot go without thanks to Black women. They are the foundation of the modernday Democratic Party—they fought for people not only to have the access to vote, but to use it.

What Abrams was able to accomplish was built on top of a decade of work, not just one presidential election cycle. Abrams’ main message was this: the power of the vote. Georgia was flipped because of the sentiment around the state that emphasized the importance of each and every vote, including marginalized voices that had always been left out of politics and voter engagement.

Stacey Abrams created the blueprint for engaging voters.

From this, Sean Bagniewski (chair of Polk County Democrats) and Judy Downs (executive director of Polk County Democrats) created the New Iowa Project. Their goal is to register around 120,000 voters, the same amount they predict they lost over the past 10 or so years. A problem that Iowa faces is the lack of participation in bottom-of-ticket races, such as city council, and a complete focus on the caucus, a problem that this team believes they can fix.

“We as a state can get very caught up in WE AS A STATE CAN the caucus cycle, and GET VERY CAUGHT UP IN it’s really appealing THE CAUCUS CYCLE, AND to be focused on IT’S REALLY APPEALING the caucus system, TO BE FOCUSED ON [but] we lose sight of long-term permanent THE CAUCUS SYSTEM, investment locally,” [BUT] WE LOSE SIGHT OF Downs said.

LONG-TERM PERMANENT This has been a problem ever since INVESTMENT LOCALLY Iowa got the caucus, JUDY DOWNS, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF POLK COUNTY DEMOCRATS and Democrats are suffering because of it. This is incredibly harmful for Democrats because they have to focus on the lower-ticket candidates in order to flip the state blue, not just the ones at the top of the ticket.

One month after introducing this program, Bagniewski and Downs already had over 400 Iowans interested in participating.

The New Iowa Project is entirely volunteer-led and split into five committees. According to their Facebook page, the five committees are: Communications and Voter Education,

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Community Outreach, Data and Benchmarking, Inactive and Independent Outreach, and Registration and Turnout.

“Essentially, our goal is to register OUR GOAL IS TO voters, provide local REGISTER VOTERS, support for groups PROVIDE LOCAL SUPPORT that want to register new voters, youth FOR GROUPS THAT voters, voters of WANT TO REGISTER NEW color, former felons, VOTERS, YOUTH VOTERS, and non-party VOTERS OF COLOR, voters,” Downs said.

The work that FORMER FELONS, AND was done in Georgia NON-PARTY VOTERS is reflected through JUDY DOWNS, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF POLK COUNTY DEMOCRATS these plans, for they’re turning their focus outside of their secure voter base in order to increase political involvement. The numbers also indicate the excitement that Iowa Democrats have in this project and offer hope for the work that will be done.

As of right now, the New Iowa Project is slightly focused on Polk County, which can be attributed to it being both where the project was founded as well as the strongest Democratic base in Iowa.

Nonetheless, the two are hopeful to expand into all 99 counties.

“We’re going to be helping the other county parties and the other local groups put together their absentee mailers,” Bagniewski said.

Shifting the focus to local races, as well as increasing voter registration, is the central tactic of the New Iowa Project. With this plan, they have already begun voter registration drives in nearby counties as of early March 2021 and have held monthly meetings since January.

The New Iowa Project is laying a strong foundation for the upheaval of party dynamics here in Iowa. The registration of over 120,000 voters could be the difference between Iowa staying red and Iowa turning blue. This grassroots organizing will alter Iowa Democratic politics and has the potential to bring forward voters that would have never imagined themselves in a voting booth, or filling in the box next to the letter “D.” The New Iowa Project has the ability to offer a voice to Iowans who have never felt heard in state politics.

In order to get involved, check out their Facebook page called “New Iowa Project.” The impact that young folks, especially students at Drake University, have on the community is inexplicable.

Bagniewski said, “We need your help. A lot of that is having your voices in those meetings and in those committees.”

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Q&A WITH INDIRA SHEUMAKER A deeper understanding into Des Moines City Council candidate Indira Sheumaker’s reasoning for running.

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WORDS BY GRACE HILSCHER | ILLUSTRATION BY AMANDA O’BRIEN

THAT’S DISCOURAGED A LOT OF TIMES, SPEAKING OUT, TAKING UP SPACE, THINGS LIKE THAT. [MY SISTER] REALLY ENCOURAGED ME TO GO OUT AND SPEAK, AND I REALLY FOUND MY VOICE INDIRA SHEUMAKER, DES MOINES CITY COUNCIL CANDIDATE

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Editor’s Note: Drake Political Review doesn’t endorse any party or candidate for any office

I

ndira Sheumaker, 26, grew up in Des Moines’ Ward One and has been active in politics her whole life.

Disheartened in 2020 by perceived failure of the Iowa government and ready to see the world move past any more injustice, she was surprised and invigorated when the nation captured the political momentum that has been building for decades. In the summer of 2020, Sheumaker took to the streets and to her local city council meetings to find answers in current leaders. She found her voice, a community, and the motivation to run for local office to demand change.

LOCAL Q: How did you get involved with Des Moines City Council?

A: This summer, when the protests started in Des Moines,

in the first week, there were a lot of people who came out as self-appointed community leaders. They encouraged us to start going to city council meetings. The Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement had been pushing for a racial profiling ban for a couple of years, and council was finally going to begin discussions with them on June 8.

I spoke at that meeting, and they continued it to a second meeting. I spoke out at that meeting as well, but it became very clear to me that they were not interested in getting feedback from the public—they weren’t interested in listening to what anyone had to say.

In the June 22 city council meetings, every single member of the public was opposed to the ban and asking for more. They had an opportunity to do a third [meeting], and they decided not to. Then, that same night, many of my friends were kettled and beaten and arrested by police officers downtown. It’s clear it was all for show, and there wasn’t any significant change that came out of that. I realized very early on in those meetings that something needed to change and that we needed a city council that was going to listen to the people.

Q: What motivated you to run for the Ward One City Council seat?

A: I was talking with my sister, and we realized that the Ward One seat was up for reelection in this upcoming election. As far back as June, we were talking about the possibility of me running. I started looking into it and then made the decision.

Finally, in December, when I was pushed by people I’d been organizing with, [they asked,] “Who came, who was the candidate?” And I said, “Well, me.”

Q: What memory stands out to you from the 2020 protests?

A: There was a march where we were down on Grand Avenue, and

we did a die-in at one of the intersections, where everyone laid down on the concrete, and it was burning hot. We laid there for almost nine minutes because of what had happened to George Floyd.

An organizer was reading out some of the words Floyd had said right before he died, and it really hit me. I think that a lot of people had experiences like that. Beyond having the personal experience, I also knew that I was experiencing that with everyone around me.

Telling people, like, “Hey, put your, put your jacket or your bag underneath your head,” or passing back water, passing back Sharpies so that we could write the bail number on our arm. It was really like this summer gave me community that I’d never had anywhere else.

Q: Why do you think it’s important to be an active community member?

A: It’s a very radicalizing thing to find community because what we are entrenched in is isolationism and separating ourselves and thinking that you have to fight your own battles all the time.

That’s just not the case, and coming together as a community really opens the floodgates of what’s possible. It makes you realize that the world that you’re living in is unacceptable.

Q: What recommendations do you have for people who don’t feel like they’re a part of that community? How can they get more involved and join in?

A: Reach out. That’s kind of the hardest thing.

If you have something to say, say it. If you have something that you think should be done, do it. That’s really it. There are people that I’m still meeting that I didn’t know, who had been interested or had been involved. I just hadn’t met them yet.

Q: What do you have to say to those who have not voted in the past or might not vote in local elections?

A: I don’t want to tell anybody that they have to vote.

I want to tell people that I want to do something, that I’m going to help you, and I want to hear your voice. I want you to be in charge of the decisions surrounding your life and the things that affect you. If that’s something that you want, then you can vote for me, and I will be fighting for that.

I’m going to be fighting for that, in or out of office. If somebody doesn’t want to vote for me, go ahead, but I will be fighting for that either way. I think a lot of times we focus on trying to convince people to vote and convincing people that what we have is in their best interest, but it’s really up to people to decide what’s in their best interest. What I’m trying to do is excite people and give people something to vote for. If people don’t vote, then I haven’t done that.

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A DEEPER DIVE INTO CHUCK GRASSLEY’S TWITTER What exactly is the Windsor Heights Dairy Queen good for? It turns out, connecting with constituents in new and innovative ways.

WORDS BY NASH LINSLEY | DESIGN BY LILA JOHNSON

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owa. Home to many things such as the World’s Largest Truckstop, cornfields, (or bean fields, depending on the season), and the first caucus every election cycle.

Iowa is also known for being home to Sen. Chuck Grassley.

Being a legislator for Iowa over the last 50 years in one capacity or another, it’s apparent that Grassley has a history with not only Iowa but with politics as well. He’s served in the Iowa House of Representatives, The United States House of Representatives, and the United States Senate.

When Grassley was first elected to the Iowa House, American politics were much different than they are today.

Grassley has been a part of every major event that has shaped modern America since he was first elected in 1959—from the immersion of televised presidential debates in 1960 to the use of political ads to the more modern-day example of social media and its ties to politics.

Twitter is a prominent example of how politics and social media have blended and made politics more engaging for people just by having access to the internet. When this direct link to representatives in democracy was established, it provided a more community-based approach on how elected officials are able to campaign and engage with their supporters.

Shortly after Twitter was first released in July 2006, Grassley joined in November 2007. Twitter looks much different today than it did back then, but Grassley still uses Twitter as any other 87-year-old-man would. He shares every part of his life, no matter how big or small, that emulates the early days of the internet.

Taylor Foy is the communications director for Grassley and sees his social media habits up close.

“Sen. Grassley was an early adopter of Twitter, and while many lawmakers’ accounts are managed by their communications

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team, Grassley has always maintained his own Twitter account,” Foy said.

Politics and Twitter have intertwined like a fine wine and 8 oz. cut of filet mignon, and Grassley is no stranger to this pairing.

Since he first joined Twitter, he has tweeted nearly 10,000 times.

The subjects of his tweets range from updates on his 99 county meetings, alerting his followers about a dead “pidgin” in his yard, and discrediting the History Channel for their false advertisement since they only show Pawn Stars and Counting Cars.

However, the trope that spans across a majority of his tweets is his profound use of shorthands. These shorthands reflect an image of a time when the internet was still young and the threat of a global pandemic was not HIS UNIQUE TWITTER on everyone’s mind.

SHORTHAND HAS “His unique Twitter shorthand BECOME A BIT OF A has become a bit TRADEMARK, WITH of a trademark, MANY FOLLOWERS with many followers and AND MEDIA FINDING IT media finding it MORE CHARMING OR more charming or ENTERTAINING THAN entertaining than ANYTHING ELSE anything else,” TAYLOR FOY, COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR FOR SEN. GRASSLEY Foy said.

Dr. Robert Leonard is the special news editor for KNIA/KRLS Radio in Marion County and has written pieces for The New York Times, TIME, and USA Today, among other publications across the country. Grassley and Leonard have met over 200 times during his time in Iowa.

“

LOCAL

Leonard recognizes the effectiveness of Grassley’s simple messaging.

Twitter is full [GRASSLEY] TWEETS of politicians using LIKE EARLY TWITTER AND the platform to send jabs back HE IS NOT USING IT AS and forth and can POLITICAL WEAPONRY be seen as widely DR. ROBERT LEONARD, KNIA/KRLS RADIO SPECIAL NEWS EDITOR unprofessional.

This is where Grassley stands out in politics because he “tweets like early Twitter and he is not using it as political weaponry,” Leonard said.

Many politicians, such as Ted Cruz and Alexandria OcasioCortez, have used their Twitter accounts to spout off about certain issues to elicit an exaggerated response from the public. While some of the exchanges that happen on Twitter have transcended into the physical world, a lot of the back and forth stays there and

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never addresses where those opinions can make a difference in the lives of constituents.

Twitter is being used by politicians and public figures alike to establish a strong sense of community with their bases. The simplicity of Grassley’s tweets and his genuine small-town Iowa vibes are what make him so successful in current-day elections and amass a following of over 600,000 on Twitter. Without his personal Twitter account, he would not have the support that is needed for higher-up elected officials in today’s political world.

Without his adaptation to Twitter, who’s to say where Grassley may have ended up in the political sphere. Maybe he would still be the longest-serving Iowa senator, or maybe he would have lost his seat in the 15 years since Twitter was founded. Nevertheless, Grassley’s success in politics is a true testament to his downto-earth, Iowan character that has given him the edge over his opponents the last 50 years.

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SEEK THE TRUTH AND REPORT IT Des Moines Register journalist Andrea Sahouri faced trial after reporting on a Black Lives Matter protest this summer. Here’s how the trial went down.

WORDS BY CALEB LILLQUIST | ILLUSTRATION BY AMANDA O’BRIEN

I

t was a case that few thought would ever see trial. Des Moines Register journalist Andrea Sahouri was acquitted by a jury in a criminal case on March 10. The trial was held at the Drake University Law Clinic and lasted three days.

Sahouri had been charged with failure to disperse and interference with official acts during the summer of George Floyd demonstrations in 2020. The protests occurred in downtown Des Moines near Merle Hay Mall. She and her then-boyfriend, Spenser Robnett, who acted as a co-defendant in the case, were arrested when they were confronted by police at a local Verizon store, where Sahouri was pepper sprayed in the face and zip tied.

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Sgt. Wilson, the officer who carried out these actions, failed to use his body camera to record his interactions with Sahouri.

Sahouri told the jury at the trial how she was told to “shut up” and “that’s not what I asked” when she screamed she was with the press as she was arrested. Wilson testified that he was not aware of his camera not working and that he could not hear Sahouri because he had a gas mask and tactical gear on. Sahouri was also told “not to come back,” by said officer.

In total, 134 journalists had been arrested and detained during the summer of 2020 according to the US. Press Freedom Tracker.

Most charges had been dropped by local prosecutors across the

LOCAL country, making Sahouri’s case unique in comparison.

After Sahouri was arrested, she says she didn’t want people to tell her how to do her job.

“I experienced more hesitancy than I thought,” Sahouri said when reflecting on the 10 month legal process building up to trial and eventually coming back to her job.

Sahouri was offered two plea deals that entailed dropping one of the dispersal charges and turning it into a deferred prosecution.

“I had no hesitations. I immediately denied, there was not one bone in my body that was going to sign that plea agreement … I think it’s important to stand by your convictions,” Sahouri said.

“I literally did nothing wrong.”

Sahouri talked about how she is still recovering mentally from the battle of trial.

“Anxiety is still lingering longer than I have anticipated,” Sahouri said.

She also shared her thought process during the trial.

“A lot of things were going through my mind, but the main thing was frustration—the frustration of hearing lies and to witness the state try so hard to convict you,” she said.

During the proceedings, she had thought that the evidence from the state was really underwhelming, which comforted her knowing that others could see she did nothing wrong.

“I was relieved to tell my part of the story,” Sahouri said.

Sahouri expressed how nervous she felt when the jury read the verdict, where she described her heart pounding uncontrollably and her body filled with adrenaline.

Sahouri’s advice to other journalists is to not let her case deter them. Every reporter should consider their safety and risk assessment when they are out on a beat reporting, she advised.

“Documenting history and being there to hold people accountable and to seek the truth— DOCUMENTING without journalists, HISTORY AND BEING this country would THERE TO HOLD PEOPLE look completely different,” Sahouri ACCOUNTABLE said. “Don’t forget AND TO SEEK THE the importance of TRUTH— WITHOUT our job, never forget it. Remember that JOURNALISTS, THIS there are a lot of COUNTRY WOULD LOOK people who are out COMPLETELY DIFFERENT there to tell you how ANDREA SAHOURI, DES MOINES REGISTER REPORTER to do your job or

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that you shouldn’t do it, but always remember why those people are doing it.”

Despite her relief about winning the case, Sahouri touches on the precedent of her case for future journalists covering protests.

“It’s undeniable, the chilling effect of this case,” she said.

Ann Cooper, Columbia University journalism professor and former NPR Russia correspondent, was actively involved with raising awareness on Sahouri’s case.

“Why would this case move forward? She was doing her job,” Cooper said.

Cooper helped Columbia University draft a letter to the Polk County Attorney’s office urging them to drop the case due to freedom of the press conflicts. When it became clear Sahouri was set for trial, Cooper noted that there was a group of staff from the Columbia journalism school, including the university president, who set virtual meetings to create the social media movement “#standwithandrea” to raise national awareness of the case.

“I think people who paid I THINK PEOPLE WHO attention to this PAID ATTENTION TO case took away THIS CASE TOOK AWAY the understanding of why we need THE UNDERSTANDING journalists, what it OF WHY WE NEED is that journalists JOURNALISTS, WHAT IT IS do, and why that THAT JOURNALISTS DO, work is important,” Cooper said.

AND WHY THAT WORK Allison Enger, a IS IMPORTANT freelance journalist ANN COOPER, COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY JOURNALISM PROFESSOR who works for the University of Southern California’s journalism school, gave her thoughts on the scenario as well. Enger had been a close colleague of Sahouri, who had helped her throughout her early years of being a beat reporter at the Des Moines Register.

Enger noted that she never would have thought that this case would have gotten so far. She believes that at first, she could understand the confusion of not knowing who Sahouri was when confronted by Des Moines Police. However, Sahouri identified herself multiple times as a reporter, a statement that was corroborated by other journalists at the scene. At that moment, Enger believes that the charges should have been dropped.

Enger said, “It’s a real black mark that Polk County took this beyond what other jurisdictions were doing in the United States.”

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IOWA’S POLITICAL PRIDE AT STAKE 2020 revealed flaws in Iowa’s delegate allocation process. Many are left wondering how long the state will keep its famed caucuses.

WORDS BY HAYDEN WITTROCK | ILLUSTRATION BY LILA JOHNSON

F

or nearly 50 years, Iowa has prided itself in being the first stop in the nation for presidential contenders on the path toward the White House.

Rather than a typical primary, similar to ballot-box voting, Iowa holds caucuses, which include more direct and interactive participation. At a caucus, voters arrive at their precinct and publicly sort themselves into groups aligning with their preferred candidate. Participants in the caucus can lobby for their candidate and shift to different candidates in order for that candidate to become viable or have a percentage of participants that meets a certain threshold. This threshold varies on the size of the precinct, but is no less than 15% of all attendees.

A national call for a reform in the primary process following the 1968 election resulted in the formation of the Iowa caucuses.

Due to the complexity of the caucus process, Iowa began going first in 1972, ahead of the previously-first state New Hampshire.

The Iowa caucuses began to hold significance to candidates as they gave campaigns a chance to get a head start in their path toward the nomination. Before 2020, the five past Democratic Party nominees were predicted by the Iowa caucuses.

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While the adoption of the caucuses in Iowa stemmed from an apparent need for more direct democratic representation, the events of the 2020 Iowa caucuses began to draw more attention to the caucuses’ flaws.

One criticism of the caucuses is that the methods used for systematic processes such as counting and reporting results have become outdated.

In 2020, leaders of the caucus were aiming to modernize some of these methods used for reporting results by implementing more accessibility and technology through a developed app. The “IowaReporterApp” was specifically developed for the purpose of Iowa caucuses. With the app, precinct captains across the state had the option to digitally report their locations’ results, rather than call in their results over the phone.

In the time leading up to the 2020 caucuses, however, problems were already arising with the app as almost no prior training was given to precinct leaders. Additionally, glitches in the app prevented many of those who were working on caucus night from even downloading it or logging in.

LOCAL Melody Beaulieu, a precinct chair from Woodbury County, described her experience in reporting her precinct results.

“It was pretty nuts,” Beaulieu said. “Everything went smoothly as far as voting and registering voters. The whole night ran really well until it came time to report results.”

As these problems started to become more apparent, then serving Polk County Democratic Chair Troy Price, who ended up resigning following EVERYTHING WENT the February 3 caucuses, suggested SMOOTHLY AS FAR AS that many precinct VOTING AND REGISTERING captains should VOTERS. THE WHOLE call in their results.

NIGHT RAN REALLY WELL And as the caucuses wrapped up, even UNTIL IT CAME TIME TO more issues came REPORT RESULTS to light as many MELODY BEAULIEU, PRECINCT CHAIR FROM WOODBURY COUNTY precinct leaders were having difficulties even calling in their results. This was perhaps due to the fact the reporting hotlines were understaffed because of the expectations of the app relieving some reporting calls.

Beaulieu explained her experience with the reporting in Woodbury County. She first tried the app to report her precinct’s results, but it continuously crashed. She then resorted to calling in the results to the state party, but she was transferred multiple times and left on hold for over three hours.

“I was nervous because at that point I thought it was just a couple of precincts who were having issues,” Beaulieu said.

“I thought maybe I did something wrong, but then I finally checked my phone and saw that it was happening all over. We just dropped the results off at the office that night and hoped everything would work out.”

These miscommunications from caucus leaders led to limited results. All of the confusion left Iowans with little to no official final results of the caucuses in the days following, although candidate Pete Buttigeig did appear to claim victory on caucus night.

Since the 2020 caucuses were held, Iowa’s future position has been called into question. It appears the chaos that unfolded in precincts across the state that night served as a tipping point. The days, weeks, and months that followed brought up many other issues with the caucuses in their totality.

One issue in particular is to question Iowa’s effectiveness at being first in the nation. The state caucus results are expected to set the tone and predict who the top candidates will likely be nationally.

It has become an ever-increasing claim, however, that Iowa is failing to be a truly representative picture of the larger interests

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of the nation. According to Global News’ examined census data, demographically, 10% of Iowa’s population is composed of racial minorities, while on the national level, racial minorities make up almost 30% of the population.

Leaders across the nation have suggested South Carolina replace Iowa in the schedule since it’s a more diverse state. Tony Andrys, Iowa Johnson County Democrats public relations chair, had an argument to the contrary.

“The last time South Carolina’s electoral votes went to the Democratic presidential nominee was in 1976 when Jimmy Carter carried the state,” Andrys said. “Should a state that hasn’t voted Democratic in over 40 years go first in our nominating process? I don’t think that makes much sense at all.”

What Andrys highlights is Iowa’s history of being considered a swing state.

Tom Roff, who served as a campaign precinct captain, draws on this in more detail in support of the Iowa caucuses.

“Iowa can be a swing state—we’ve seen that by picking Barack Obama to Donald Trump in previous elections,” Roff said.

Roff, who is also an administrator for Pleasantville Schools, further tied Iowa’s swing-state standing to confront criticisms about Iowa’s representativeness.

“While our WHILE OUR demographics may DEMOGRAPHICS MAY not fit the national profile quite as NOT FIT THE NATIONAL closely, it’s not like PROFILE QUITE AS we are always a red CLOSELY, IT’S NOT LIKE or blue state, and even most elections WE ARE ALWAYS A RED are generally close,” OR BLUE STATE, AND Roff said. “I also EVEN MOST ELECTIONS think we take great ARE GENERALLY CLOSE pride in selecting TOM ROFF, PRECINCT CAMPAIGN PRECINCT CAPTAIN candidates carefully and take that responsibility seriously.”

Despite arguments addressing criticisms and defending Iowa’s dedication to the caucuses, some top Democrats say it is time to end caucuses altogether.

In an Associated Press interview, Tom Perez, the former Democratic National Committee Chair, called for all caucuses to be replaced by primaires by the next election cycle. Similarly, Andrys, who also serves on Iowa’s State Central Committee, acknowledged the inaccessibility that sometimes discourages people from participating in caucuses.

“If you can’t attend an hours-long party meeting on a weeknight because of work or family constraints, you can’t vote,” Andrys said.

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LOCAL Andrys did make the argument, however, that the advantages of holding a caucus outweigh the disadvantages. Additionally, he proposed ways to reform the Iowa caucuses moving forward.

Andrys sees great value in caucuses, aligning with the reason they were implemented in the first place.

“One of the biggest advantages to caucuses is that they allow political novices an easier path to start getting involved with the party,” Andrys said.

He further described the ease of participation and his experience with becoming a delegate in his first caucus. This allowed him to emerge into political participation in a way that is usually a much more limiting process in other primary states.

To address the widely-acknowledged issues with the Iowa caucuses, Andrys further suggests that Iowa adopt something like the Nevada model of caucuses.

Photo by Ella Field

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As described by Andrys, the Nevada process offers both absentee voting for those who cannot attend caucus night and inperson precinct caucuses as well.

“This solves the biggest problem that THIS SOLVES THE caucuses have—the BIGGEST PROBLEM THAT disenfranchisement CAUCUSES HAVE—THE of those who cannot attend in person,” DISENFRANCHISEMENT Andrys said.

OF THOSE WHO CANNOT In the current ATTEND IN PERSON confrontation that TONY ANDRYS, IOWA JOHNSON COUNTY DEMOCRATS PR CHAIR faces the future of the Iowa caucuses, Iowans who are politically involved continue to remind people about the seriousness with which Iowans take their first-in-the-nation status. Both Andrys and Roff highlighted this sense of pride and responsibility among Iowa voters.

“If you’ve ever canvassed in Iowa, you’ll know that Iowans are generally pretty open to talking about politics, and I think that’s because they’re used to strangers showing up on their front porch to ask them about their political beliefs every four years,” Andrys said. “Iowans understand their responsibility in the nominating process well.”

Additionally, Roff pointed out that being the first state in the primary process is not something that should be undervalued.

Candidates speak to Iowa first and Iowans are not blind to the weight of that.

“Clearly, we get bombarded with advertisements or other nuisances with this responsibility, but I think it fits the Spiderman slogan of, ‘With great power comes great responsibility,’” Roff said. “We have to get the viable candidates right.”

2020 served as a significant test for the Iowa caucuses. In the next three years, it will be interesting to see if top Democratic National Committee leaders take action that will change the primary process or if Iowa will get another chance. If Iowa were to be rid of the caucuses, the political significance of the state would see a consequential decline.

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NATIONAL

Who is charming and who is alarming? Putting politics aside, we dish out who’s the hottest on Capitol hill.

WORDS BY ELLA FIELD | DESIGN BY LILA JOHNSON

T

he Georgia runoffs were a big deal. Not just because they changed the fate of the majority party in Congress, but because it featured one of the hottest politicians in Congress: Sen. Jon Ossoff. His deep, righteous voice, dark wavy hair, and dark eyes create the perfect combo for everyone to swoon over. And he knows he is good-looking. His TikTok account is filled with videos, also known as fancams, that show off his attractiveness in order to gain recognition, hoping to persuade voters throughout the Georgia general election and runoffs.

But Ossoff isn’t the only attractive politician. In fact, politics is full of hotties—and with the rise of social media, many have even become known for their attractiveness. It’s even been included as part of their larger brand. From the classics like Barack Obama, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, and Mitt Romney to the lesser-known hot politicians like Kristi Noem, Scott Brown, and Jahana Hayes, politics is full of objectively attractive people.

This list compiles some of the most attractive politicians across genders, ages, and the political spectrum.

Jon Ossoff photo by John Ramspott. Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license.

Kristi Noem photo by Matt Johnson. Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license.

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WHO’S HOT...

Former Rep. Beto O’Rourke

During the 2018 midterm elections, everyone became aware of the tall man from Texas with silver hair that rolled up his sleeves and skateboarded. His large, lanky stature and the way he speaks so passionately makes Beto the ultimate charmer.

Age: 48 Party: Democratic Position: Former U.S. representative for Texas’ 16th Congressional District Relationship status: Married

Rep. Elise Stefanik

Elise Stefanik’s dark hair, dark eyes, and Chanel-esque style gives major American Girl Doll vibes. Her sweet smile and kind eyes also give her that high school English teacher feel.

Age: 36 Party: Republican Position: U.S. representative for New York’s 21st Congressional District Relationship status: Married

Rep. Lauren Underwood Sen. Mitt Romney

Mitt Romney is the epitome of a silver fox.

He has that classic, gray-haired handsome look, and a confidence that makes him irresistible. His ability to criticize and follow his morals is an added plus.

Age: 74 Party: Republican Position: U.S. senator from Utah Relationship status: Married

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Lauren Underwood has not only made history by being the youngest Black woman in the U.S. Congress, she is also one of the most attractive members of Congress. Her glasses are perfect for her face shape, and her bold red lip brightens her face.

Age: 34 Party: Democratic Position: U.S. representative for Illinois’ 14th Congressional District Relationship status: Single

Rep. Garret Graves

Garret Graves’ soft, dark, floppy hair, kind eyes, and beautiful smile give him the ultimate hot dad look. His effortless looks and style make him seem like he is straight out of a movie.

Age: 49 Party: Republican Position: U.S. representative for Louisiana’s 6th Congressional District Relationship status: Married

Former Rep. Tulsi Gabbard

Silver foxes are often men, but women can be silver foxes too. Gabbard’s thick gray streaks in her hair make her the perfect female silver fox. Her looks don’t stop at her hair, either. Gabbard’s stunning eyes and beautiful face make her the complete package.

Age: 39 Party: Democratic Position: Former U.S. representative for Hawaii’s 2nd Congressional District Relationship status: Married

NATIONAL

Former Rep. Ludmya “Mia” Love

Rep. Anthony G. Brown

Former Rep. Aaron Schock

AND WHO’S NOT...

Now, it’s unfair to discuss the attractiveness of politicians without mentioning that there are many politicians that are conventionally unattractive. The strong presence of the white, old men in politics means there are bound to be dozens of bland people.

Anthony G. Brown is like a fine wine: better with age. The grey flecks that have appeared in his hair and beard have turned him from hot to hotter, while his glasses have completely elevated his look.

Age: 59 Party: Democratic Position: U.S. representative for Maryland’s 4th Congressional District Relationship status: Married

Chris Coons (D)

Aaron Schock has notoriously been celebrated for his good looks. He was named the “hottest freshman congressman” in a poll from the Huffington Post and was often followed

by TMZ. Age: 39 Party: Republican Position: Former U.S. representative for Illinois’ 18th Congressional District Relationship status: Single

Mitch McConnell (R)

Beto O’Rourke photo by Rick Reinhard, InterAmerican Dialogue. Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license.

Mitt Romney photo by Marc Nozell. Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license.

Garret Graves photo by Tammy Anthony Baker.

Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license.

Tulsi Gabbard photo by Denise Emsley, NAVFAC Hawaii Public Affairs.

Lauren Underwood photo by Stephen Hanafin.

Ludmya “Mia” Love’s sweet, classic style and adorable smile gives off that effortless “girl next door” look that is so easy to fall in love with. Her soft features are adorable and her confidence makes her even more attractive.

Age: 45 Party: Republican Position: Former U.S. representative for Utah’s 4th Congressional District Relationship status: Married

Joe Courtney (D)

Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license.

Elise Stefanik photo by Stuart Isett for Fortune Most Powerful Women. Creative Commons AttributionNonCommercial-NoDerivs 2.0 Generic.

Anthony G. Brown photo by Jay Baker, for Governor Martin O’Malley. Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license.

Aaron Shock photo by Randy von Liski. Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 2.0 Generic.

Chuck Grassley (R)

Ludmya Love photo by Gage Skidmore. Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license.

Chris Coons photo authored by Chris Coons Flikr.

Mitch McConnell photo by Gage Skidmore. Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license.

Chuck Grassley photo by Amy Mayer for Iowa Public Radio. Creative Commons AttributionNoDerivs 2.0 Generic.

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FROM PUBLIC SERVANT TO PUBLIC FIGURE

Politicians’ fanbases shield them from criticism, creating an idol who can do no wrong, as influencer culture permeates politics.

WORDS BY LAUREN SKYE LAWSON | DESIGN BY LILA JOHNSON

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lexandria Ocasio-Cortez is more than a politician. She feels like a celebrity and a best friend at the same time. She’s AOC. Whether

it’s opening up Instagram to watch live as she sips wine and talks

politics, watching her Vogue makeup routine on YouTube, or joining

her Among Us Twitch stream, she knows how to draw a crowd. Those

watching extended far past potential voters in her district; they were fans of all ages and locations. The fundraising and political messaging appear secondary to her casual rapport.

Being a successful politician today relies heavily on this balance

between celebrity and friend. Direct access and relatability come first,

ensuring that donations and voters do not fall far behind. It is not enough to hold rallies and enact legislation; politicians must have a fan base,

one that will repost, defend, attack, and reimagine. Instead of looking for

With the rising digital presence of politicians comes rising attention

paid to political figures online. Constituents can interact with politicians, and vice versa, as well as get immediate updates on the goings-on of

the political world. This increased engagement has resulted in a unique phenomenon, particularly with young people. Admiring a politician, respecting them or supporting them, is typical. However, with the

general culture of social media and the increasing connectivity between users and politicians, idolatry has further emerged out of support, with politicians appearing more and more as celebrities, rather than public

servants. There, of course, have been politicians in the past with this idol status, but advancing technology has allowed for it to happen quickly, more frequently, and in a new way.

“I don’t think it would be possible without technology, at least not

voters, candidates are securing “stans.”

to the same level,” said Dr. Daniel Ponder, L.E. Meador professor of

relationship with politics is no different, expecting direct communication

idolized Kennedy … it is not an entirely new phenomenon, but it’s gone

The social media generation is used to immediacy and access. Their

and mainlined information at all hours. Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram are reminiscent of a high school lunchroom—organized by group, filled

political science at Drury University. “People idolized Reagan, they up over time with technology.”

All that open communication comes with a downside, though. As

with a cacophony of chaos, gossip, jokes, and updates.

the cost of campaigning has increased, so has the need for available

would have to grab the newspaper or gather around their radio to hear

platforms that allow for all that open communication. Ponder calls it the

It hasn’t always been this way, though. In the past, American citizens

the president’s weekly address. Information moved slowly. Even during the television era there was a lag; news of President Kennedy’s death

cash. That means politicians are also fundraising—often on those very permanent campaign. “[It] has been a

broke on television half an hour following his death.

real foundation of

depending on one’s point of view. Everything is instant. Everything is

politics,” Ponder said.

Today, it’s an information buffet—or information overload,

social. Viewers tune into presidential addresses at their own convenience on any online platform, add comments and jokes on a whim, and share photos of who’s best dressed. Even those not watching the event can

follow along in real time, through updates from their social media of choice. Joe Biden’s presidential inauguration was lacking in real-life attendees this year due to COVID-19, but there was no shortage of

modern American

“[Technology] has

made it easier to do the permanent campaign, to sustain it and be successful at it.”

“

[TECHNOLOGY] HAS MADE IT EASIER TO DO THE PERMANENT CAMPAIGN, TO SUSTAIN IT AND BE SUCCESSFUL AT IT

DR. DANIEL PONDER, L.E. MEADOR PROFESSOR OF POLITICAL SCIENCE

In 2003, presidential hopeful Howard Dean broke records by raising

virtual audiences. Michelle Obama, Kamala Harris, and Jill Biden’s

about $14 million in a quarter. Due to the ability to fundraise on a large

signature coat and mittened hands became a viral meme, selling stickers,

Obama was one of the first to utilize social media for his campaign

fashion choices filled feeds the moment they emerged. Bernie Sanders’ shirts, and other memorabilia within days.

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and convenient scale online today, that would not appear a success story. efforts, signaling to others how important the internet can be.

NATIONAL “Because of the internet and the ease with which Obama was able to

These firm loyalties, and the consequential divisions, can lead to high

reach his potential constituents, he was raising $60 million in a month,”

expectations and a disdain for compromise. Ponder expressed that those

Many politicians, particularly Democrats and younger candidates,

saviors, people single-handedly capable of curing the ails of the world.

Ponder said.

use the nature of these platforms to their advantage. Fundraising and the attention economy, which is basically just fundraising for popularity, are made more accessible. Witty tweets to argue with an opposing

political stans may have the limited view of their preferred politicians as Alongside this confidence in their candidates comes distrust of others, and an expectation of ideological purity is set.

“It makes for a disdain for any sort of compromise, even if it is the

political figure, pop culture references, and Among Us live streams are

only way to get something done,” Ponder said.

generate attention and support.

media has increased connectivity and engagement in an entirely

base often takes to social media to defend or advertise their political

fundraise, and campaign. Even after winning their races, the permanent

prime examples of politicians adopting the trends of online platforms to Even when not intended by the politicians themselves, their support

idol of choice. Heated arguments between so-called Bernie Bros and

other supporters, such as Kamala Harris’s KHive, illuminate the passion behind political involvement in a way that is unique to the present day.

Growing polarization and “the ease with which people can communicate, unfiltered” contribute to this voter behavior, according to Ponder.

Politics are not immune from the influencer and cancel culture of

the social media age. Various online users latch on to the candidate

Despite the downfalls, the shift in politics due to the rise in social

new way. Politicians can now easily communicate with constituents, campaign continues online regardless of their ability to appear in-

person. This, of course, benefits the politicians. However, if done right,

it benefits average citizens as well. Transparency and accountability for elected officials increases due to the direct access for their constituents.

Interest in politics for often uninvolved voters, or potential voters, may also be a benefit.

otherwise might not

to delete from the public eye, leading some unhappy individuals

before. [But] I think

Additionally, an online mishap circulates quickly and widely, impossible to declare that politician ‘cancelled.’ For that politician’s staunch

supporters, though, many will be quick to take up the torch, defending that politician regardless of the situation.

Ponder identified two primary downsides to this political stan culture.

“Not only do they run the risk of not seeing some of the issues or

foibles with the person they idolize, but that creates a blind spot from seeing the good in somebody else that might be on the same side and

“

Ponder said, “An upside is that I think it gets people into politics that

they prefer and, at times, begin viewing other candidates as the enemy.

have been interested there’s something of a

risk of them becoming disenchanted or

disillusioned with

politics if something were to happen.”

AN UPSIDE IS THAT I THINK IT GETS PEOPLE INTO POLITICS THAT OTHERWISE MIGHT NOT HAVE BEEN INTERESTED BEFORE

DR. DANIEL PONDER, L.E. MEADOR PROFESSOR OF POLITICAL SCIENCE

hold a lot of the same policy issues,” Ponder said.

Near the end of the 2020 Democratic

primaries, it was clear that Elizabeth

Warren would not win. However, her supporters (or fans) remained loyal.

As other former-candidates threw

their support behind Biden or Sanders,

Warren remained silent, to the dismay of Sanders’ supporters. Warren’s base was

quick to defend her, with many claiming that she does not owe anyone anything, especially her male opponents. This

serves as an example of the unwavering loyalty and idolatry of many politicians today. The notion that politicians, who are public servants, do not owe the

public anything, is a dangerous pedestal upon which to place them.

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ELECTIONAL ASTROLOGY

“What Time Were You Born?” has become the new “What Is Your Policy Stance?”. Here’s how the stars have played a role in politics.

WORDS BY VALERIE BUVAT DE VIRGINY | DESIGN BY LILA JOHNSON

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here may be only two houses in Congress, but in astrology, it’s all about 12. Past presidents have had their own personal astrologer in the White House, and when one considers the countless advisors guiding these leaders’ every decision, there is good reason to see why they have looked to the stars for answers.

One of the most closely-guarded secrets of the Reagan presidency was their scandalous relationship with astrology. The Reagans were notorious for clearing their major decisions with San Francisco astrologer Joan Quigley. Prior to becoming president, Reagan was elected as the governor of California and is rumored to have been sworn in at 12:10 a.m. for astrological reasons. Though hidden behind their political stances, the Reagans’ controversial attachment to the zodiac led them to become enigmatic figures. The idea that the first family could take astrology so seriously was seen as an embarrassment and a danger.

According to the Los Angeles Times, Carroll Righter, an astrologer who read the Reagans their astrological charts daily, confirmed that President Reagan never publicly revealed his exact birth time as a precaution against letting people read his exact charts and perhaps control him.

Astrologer Shea Malloy spoke more on the role astrology has played within the walls of the White House.

“When a religious champion like Ronald Reagan is involved in astrology, this begs the question, how does astrology play a role in political affairs? The answer is probably nothing, but an astrologer understands the importance of timing.” Malloy went on to explain that true astrology is a very precise tool, unlike the popularized version of astrology that is seen in apps such as Co-Star, which focuses on

personality types and sun signs. Electional astrology is a different branch of the discipline, as the practitioner decides the best time for a certain event to take place based on the astrological auspiciousness.

“Electional astrology is found on all sides of the political spectrum,” Malloy said. “There is a popular saying, ‘Millionaires don’t use astrology—billionaires do.’ The art of timing is of the utmost importance in the business of money and power. Things can shift in a matter of degrees and a matter of minutes and there is a mathematical formula around it.”

But the caveat of electional astrology is that it only optimizes the timing for an individual, not a nation, which is something that Malloy agrees with. Malloy believes that Synastry, a technique that would allow an astrologer to compare one natal chart (that of the U.S.) to another (that of President Biden) to create an overlay of the two, would be beneficial to the Biden-Harris administration.

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“The United States’ sun is a Cancer and is very rooted in the past, with a strong foundation with family. In using Synastry, you will see the effect a leader will have on the country and what the end result will be of their influence,” Malloy explained.

Ultimately, astrology does not have the final say in political matters— the individual making those decisions does. In astrology, one can only see the potential of the energy being given to oneself and it could manifest itself in different ways. What an astrologer can ultimately do to predict the timing is to present their reading of energies, which brings Malloy to believe that Joan Quigley did not explicitly tell President Reagan what to do; rather, she just gave him options.

Electional astrology has been a long-kept secret of the elite and the Reagans were hardly the first residents of the White House to have sought guidance from the stars. But as astrology becomes increasingly romanticized and normalized, it is important to note that astrologers are different from psychics, as they do not directly predict exact events of the future. Spiritualism in the U.S. exploded during the Civil War, which explains the folklore around the Lincolns holding spiritualist seances in the White House to contact their deceased son Willie.

Astrology seems to be a habitual recurrence in the White House.

President Theodore Roosevelt mounted his horoscope on a special chess board located in the Oval Office. When asked about it, Roosevelt stated, “I always keep my weather eye on the opposition of my seventh house Moon to my first house Mars,” indicating that Roosevelt himself was a self-proclaimed expert astrologer.

Something that Malloy has learned through her practice is that the placements of the houses are everything in astrology. Ascendants change approximately every 2.5 hours and the moon switches every 2.5 days, so time moves quickly in astrology.

“Looking at President Biden’s chart, both the United States and Biden have a Sagittarius ascendant, but Biden has a Scorpio sun, Scorpio Venus, and Scorpio Mercury all in the twelfth house, giving him hidden Mars energy,” Malloy said. “Mars is above Biden’s Saturn and Saturn is known as the ‘tough teacher,’ meaning that every action he takes is going to come back and bite him in one way or another through the influence of Saturn.”

In terms of the astrological future of the Biden-Harris administration, Malloy noted that there has been a trend of contemporary presidents being elected during a nodal eclipse moving through the first and seventh houses, which is a major indicator of someone stepping into their power.

NATIONAL “With Vice President Harris’ Libra sun, she is supposed to have a similar activation later this year that would cause her to have to step up to accept a larger responsibility of some sort in the presidency,” Malloy said. “Mercury is transiting Harris’ tenth house of career and public image in Pisces, so now would be an optimal time for her to focus on rebuilding her reputation through intentional and creative words, as Pisces is a visionary sign.”

Whether one believes in the zodiac or not, it is rather shocking that such powerful leaders with differing views have shared in the journey to answer the centuries-long question of whether or not astrology can predict decisions. With public opinion rapidly changing on the metaphysics of astrology, it is practical to wonder: could tarot cards in the West Wing be a new level of scandal in the current religious and political climate?

HOW TO MAKE AN IDEAL PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE WITH 12 HOUSES

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ost Americans have at least a passing knowledge of their zodiac sign, which is assigned according to one’s birthday. Natal charts, however, are much more complicated, and purportedly can offer clues on someone’s entire personality and life story. Looking to the stars can often help find earthly answers. So what better time to turn to astrology than during a new presidential administration and global pandemic, when nothing on Earth seems to make sense.

To begin, first establish the candidate’s sun, moon, and ascendant.

In astrology, the sun is the soul, the moon gives the tendency of how to rule on people, habits, and instincts, and the ascendant is what rules the overall personality. The country is experiencing a crisis of character, so this politician must be a Capricorn, which is known for being the hardest workers in the zodiac. Floridian stargazer and astrologer Kelly D’Andrea offers a deeper insight into the matter of who has the ideal planetary combination to become America’s uniting political savior.

Sun: Capricorn

“The Sun is also right next to Mars, the planet of action, which gives them an extra dose of courage.”

Moon: Aries

“Aries gives the candidate an intense desire to nurture the world.”

Ascendant: Virgo

“This is the sign of selfless service.”

Sun

Moon

Ascendant

Capricon

Aries

Virgo

1: Virgo rising, Libra on cusp

“The first house represents identity, first-impression, self, the way you present yourself. Libra Mercury in the first house means that they are good at unity speeches, well-articulated, justice-oriented, and communicate to the public as if they’re talking to them individually. Virgo rising makes the person mercurial ruled, groomed, presentable, put-together, well-spoken, organized, detail-oriented, serious, and respected.”

2: Libra

“This house rules self worth, finances, material goods, food. A second house Libra means that the person could be geared toward a socioeconomic equality policy with a wealth tax and an Andrew Yangesque manner by normalizing crypto into the economy.”

3: Scorpio

“This house rules communication, siblings, early childhood education, transportation. Scorpio in the third house unfortunately means that there are inevitable secrets in the closet, so the American public should be prepared for a long campaign. This could manifest in a potential problematic sibling, or having to overcome a speech impediment at a young age.”

4: Sagittarius

“The fourth house represents the fortunate, beauty, and family roots, more specifically, the mother figure. Venus in Sagittarius at the 29th degree is a critical degree, which means that it is put to the karmic test in the lifetime (the final test). This placement allows them to have ‘found a home everywhere,’ and adds a ‘Cancer’ energy, which makes them think about home fondly. The president with this could have a very relatable placement because it’s a patriotic campaign about being the leader for all Americans, wherever their ‘home’ is. Their Capricorn sun is also in the fourth house, making them a person with a balance of a nurturing but wise serious that could make you feel protected.”

5: Capricorn

“This house rules fun, impulsivity, children, individuality, gambling, and competition. Having Capricorn in the fifth house would make this candidate a very serious person who tends to be a workaholic. On the flip side, the public could perceive this person as someone you couldn’t have a beer with for being too elite, but acknowledging this placement gives this candidate the responsibility to go the extra mile in grounding himself/[herself] to the American public.”

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II

III

IV V

VI

VII

VIII IX X

XI

XII

Virgo rising, Libra on cusp Libra Scorpio Sagittarius Capricorn Aquarius Aries Aries

Taurus Gemini Cancer Leo

6: Aquarius

“The sixth house deals with our hidden enemies, day-to-day routine, public service, and serving others. Jupiter in Aquarius in the sixth house would manifest as a benefit to be a very social-justice oriented person with work experience, qualified, focused on community, strong daily routine, which would give them the ability to handle the presidency.

Good fortune would come through the field of technology, allowing for a promising and hopeful future. Without a strong sixth house, there won’t be much progress in their time in the White House.”

7: Aries

“The seventh house is where partnerships, relationships, marriage, and diplomacy live. Seventh house partnerships tend to be romanticized, so there will be a strong relationship with their VP in a Joe Biden/

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Barack Obama-esque friendship. There will also be a dynamic duo in a marriage with the first lady or first husband, which America will swoon over. A moon in seventh would allow this person to be a chameleon with emotions and easily influenced by other people, so they will have to make sure their senior advisors are trustworthy/loyal. Moon in Aries would make them a warrior for the people they love, action-oriented, not afraid of conflict, and fights are personal to them as they know what their intentions are.”

8: Aries

The eighth house handles transformations, death, finances, and secrets.

Having Aries in the eighth house means that they are young and had a quick rise to power. They will take drastic decisions toward financial policy to be a new FDR for economic change.”

9: Taurus

“The ninth house deals with higher education, spirituality, law, morals, foreign affairs, and travel. Having Taurus in the ninth house means that they would be set in their ways and they would be diplomatic and favorable to other countries. Taurus is a luxurious sign, so they would want the nicer things for all. They are very open-minded and strongwilled, so their thoughts on being pro-choice would not be wary, and acknowledges that we wouldn’t be America without our diversity. They would be pro-immigrant due to Taurus being ruled by Venus, the house of abundance, to show the importance of foreign affairs.”

10: Gemini

“The tenth house rules career, public life, bosses, and a legacy. This house also tells us about their relationship with the public. A Gemini Midheaven would allow this person to be known for their words, wellarticulated, and could have two senses of selves (i.e. a story about going from homelessness to the White House). The public will remember their words, so they have to be careful not to overshare. Saturn in the tenth house in Cancer would also mean that they had to grow up through their career and had to overcome a lot to value a work/life balance.”

11: Cancer

“The eleventh house is the house of future, hope, technology, community, and social justice. Cancer in the eleventh house would mean that this is a leader who advocates for the advancement of technology, and their stances change depending on society to evolve with the times in the search for progress.”

12: Leo

“The twelfth house in Leo is very quick to the point and deals with shadows. This is a common placement for world leaders, as the spotlight can feel isolating and lonely for those at the top.”

These placements create a person who is passionate, action-oriented, fiercely protective, and a coalition builder.

How to contact Shea for a reading and consultation: Shea Malloy @martianlune on TikTok and Twitter How to contact Kelly for a reading and consultation: Kelly D’Andrea @astropolitocrat on TikTok @kellyydandreaa on Instagram

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VACCINE BREAKDOWN

A guide to understanding the science behind the various COVID-19 vaccines.

WORDS BY MACKENZIE CHALLONER | DESIGN BY LILA JOHNSON

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s of April 13, 2021, just shy of 2 million Iowans have received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. With eligibility expanding to all Iowans as of April 5, there is hope that the world known prior to the outbreak will return, only this time with greater understanding. Vaccination provides the opportunity to combat the virus on the front end and move toward a healthier future.

With any change or new development, it is common to have questions and concerns. Due to the accelerated timeline of the COVID-19 vaccine development process, some have feared that speed would be prioritized at the expense of safety. However, the combination of clinical trial phases and increased funding have allowed for safety and integrity to remain consistent while accelerating vaccine development.

There are currently three COVID-19 vaccines available in the U.S. All three have gone through the same extensive testing for safety and efficacy as all other vaccines in the country.

The Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccinations are both two-dose series that utilize messenger RNA (mRNA) to create a spike protein that generates an immune response and builds immunity. The Janssen/Johnson & Johnson vaccine is a single-dose vaccination that utilizes an alternative virus as a vector to deliver a gene that causes cells to make a spike protein eliciting an immune response. None of the vaccines being developed in the U.S. contain the live COVID-19 virus known as SARS-CoV-2.

After receiving the COVID-19 vaccine, individuals may notice pain, swelling, or redness at the site of injection. Plus, it is common to experience tiredness, headache, or flu-like symptoms for a few days following the administration. These are common signs that the body is working to gain immunity. If noticeable symptoms occur post-vaccination, Dr. Andrea Hoyt, PharmD and staff pharmacist at MercyOne Des Moines Medical Center, advises, “You can use over-the-counter medications, such as acetaminophen. If you experience any itching at the site, redness, or swelling that you think is allergy-related, it is safe to take an antihistamine, such as diphenhydramine.” In cases where side effects are of a severe allergic reaction, cause difficulty breathing, or are worrisome, please seek medical attention immediately.

Provided that an individual is interested and eligible to receive the COVID-19 vaccination, there are many sites throughout Iowa that have been allocated doses. Liz Prymek, senior pharmacy

technician with Walgreens, shared how to sign up for an appointment via the Walgreens App. “Choose the COVID-19 selection on the Walgreens App, enter your zip code, and it will search any open appointments within 25 miles and the next three days,” Prymek said. “If someone doesn’t have access to the internet, they can dial 211 for assistance from the state.”

Over the past year, more than 550,000 Americans have lost their lives to COVID-19. Vaccination is able to prevent future loss. With everyone doing their part, it is more possible than ever to come out on the other side of this pandemic stronger than before while honoring and remembering those lost.

Pfizer-BioNTech 2-dose series separated by 21 days 16 years of age and older mRNA

Moderna 2-dose series separated by 28 days 18 years of age and older mRNA

Janssen/J&J Single dose 18 years of age and older Viral Vector Editor’s note: This piece was completed before the pause on distribution of the Johnson and Johnson vaccine.

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Photo taken by Alice Vergueiro, The Brazilian Association of Investigative Journalism. Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license

REFRAMING HISTORY: THE 1619 PROJECT

Does a fight for equality also mean Iowa’s schools losing funds? Here’s how Iowa’s politics could affect how children are educated on American history.

WORDS BY CALEB LILLQUIST DESIGN BY LILA JOHNSON

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ace has always been a topic of polarized American discourse. A project adding to this ongoing discussion is none other than the 1619 Project.

The 1619 Project was created by Nikole Hannah-Jones, a native of Waterloo, Iowa. Jones published a series of papers that were adopted by the New York Times and are now being implemented in schools nationwide.

The main purpose of the program is to challenge the narrative of slavery. The project challenges the creation of the U.S., along with other aspects of American slavery.

The main page of the 1619 Project, along with its curriculum, can be found on The New York Times Magazine website.

The landing page of the site states: “In August of 1619, a ship appeared on this horizon near Point Comfort, a coastal port in the English colony of Virginia. It carried more than 20 enslaved Africans, who were sold to the colonists. No aspect of the country that would be formed here has been untouched by the years of slavery that followed. On the 400th anniversary of this fateful moment, it is finally time to tell our story truthfully.”

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The New York Times describes the project as one that “aims to reframe the country’s history by placing the consequences of slavery and the contributions of Black Americans at the very center of our national narrative.”

Some of these “reframings” include assertions that the U.S. was built by the Founding Fathers to preserve slavery and to further use capitalism to enslave African Americans.

Despite the program’s aim, over the past few years it has come under fire for alleged falsities in the form of accusations from renowned historians.

The Atlantic’s piece, Historians Clash With The 1619 Project Is Not About The Facts, addresses the main criticisms. Princeton University historian Sean Wilentz is noted as being the first to call out the falsities of the project.

A letter was written to the New York Times on the 1619 Project, signed off by James Oakes, Victoria Bynum, Gordon Wood, and James McPherson, who are “all leading scholars in their field,” according to The Atlantic.

NATIONAL “The letter sent to the Times says, ‘We applaud all efforts to address the foundational centrality of slavery and racism to our history,” The Atlantic piece reads.

But it then veers into harsh criticism of the 1619 Project.

The letter refers to “matters of verifiable fact” that “cannot be described as interpretation or ‘framing’” and says the project reflected “a displacement of historical understanding by ideology,” argues Wilentz and others.

The 1619 curriculum has been adopted in states across the country as a supplemental aid for teaching U.S. history in classrooms.

Here in Iowa, Republicans in the state legislature have pushed a bill that would ban schools from using the 1619 Project in classrooms, withholding school funding for those who adopt it.

Sponsors of House File 222 claim that the award-winning project by the New York Times is “leftwing propaganda” and is “un-American.”

H.F. 222 would cut funding to schools, community colleges, or the state’s three regent universities if the 1619 Project’s curriculum is used in classrooms. The first section of the bill asserts that the 1619 Project “attempts to deny or obfuscate the fundamental principles upon which the United States was founded.”

In its first few months, the bill garnered press coverage from both the Des Moines Register and Iowa’s conservative-leaning paper The Iowa Standard.

According to Iowa’s legislative website, the bill had more than 80 comments from Iowa lobbyists and residents, the majority of whom showed disapproval for the bill.

The author of the bill, Rep. Skyler Wheeler, R-Orange City, is still adamant in his stance against the 1619 Project.

“The 1619 Project is riddled with errors and has been shredded by historians all over the country,” Wheeler said. “This project seeks to tear down America, not build her up. It seeks to divide, not unify. It distorts truth and does so while pushing a leftist political agenda.”

Regarding the recent criticisms of the bill about slavery, Wheeler responded with, “This bill does not prohibit the teaching of slavery or Jim Crow, and does not change to a single social student standard. It also does not ban the use of the project in another subject area, such as literature. This bill ensures that our history classes will teach facts and truth, not lies and propaganda.”

Iowa Commission on Uniform State Laws co-chair lobbyist and co-chair of the NAACP of Iowa/Nebraska, David S. Walker, voted against the bill because of rising concerns of school choice.

“Academic freedom is a really important issue, it spores into freedom of thought,” Walker said.

Walker expressed concern that Republicans would be able to tell teachers what they can and cannot teach to their students within their classroom.

“Racism and Jim Crow and racial RACISM AND JIM disparities have CROW AND RACIAL never been taught DISPARITIES HAVE in our schools in a justified manner,” NEVER BEEN TAUGHT Walker said.

IN OUR SCHOOLS IN A Walker noted that JUSTIFIED MANNER although he has not DAVID S. WALKER, CO-CHAIR LOBBYIST FOR IOWA COMMISSION ON read the project’s UNIFORM STATE LAWS text, discussing the roots of racism and slavery within Iowa schools is nevertheless important to show the “viciousness” of the reality of what happened in American history.

Although the Iowa Legislature passed H.F. 222 through the education subcommittee, the bill failed during funnel week.

Rep. Eddie Andrews, R-Johnston, commented on the bill, concluding that, “The bill is not moving forward, so any talk about it now is philosophical.”

Hannah-Jones, the project’s author, spoke to Drake University students April 8, 2021 via Zoom. Hannah-Jones was interviewed

by Drake’s professor of religion and Director of Crew Scholars, Dr. Jennifer Harvey.

The interview started off with Hannah-Jones talking about her early journalism endeavours where she strived to write the stories of other minorities in her high school newspaper. She also briefly noted being a beat reporter for 20 years where she reported on racial inequalities across the U.S. Throughout her work, she has always pushed to raise awareness of African American stories because she believed there were never stories being written about people like her.

Hannah-Jones made it a point in her responses throughout the interview that the 1619 Project aims to “bring Black Americans into the middle of American History.”

Regarding the criticisms of her project, she commented how some days she feels ‘very strong’ about her position, where other days she feels ‘very weak.’

Hannah-Jones pointed out that there must be accurate representation to tell the stories of America. She offered a piece of advice to reporters of color with the recent social turmoil and rise of hate crimes nationwide.

“You’re needed,” Hannah-Jones said.

“

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THE DREAM OF FIFTEEN Studies have shown that both Democrats and Republicans are in favor of increasing the federal minimum wage. The question among members of Congress is, to what extent and how fast?

WORDS BY FAITH BOURGEACQ | ILLUSTRATION BY AMANDA O’BRIEN

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t’s been over a year since the COVID-19 pandemic made its presence known in the U.S., and many Americans are still struggling to deal with the economic aftermath. Progressives have long pushed for a $15 federal minimum wage, and they believe the idea is more important now than it ever has been— but others have raised questions about the effect a wage increase would have on the country. Is $15 a fix-all policy, or will it hurt the economy?

Supporters of the $15 minimum wage experienced a glimmer of hope in January when President Biden introduced a massive

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$1.9-trillion COVID-19 relief package into Congress. A key proposal in Biden’s initial plan included a federal minimum wage increase to $15 an hour.

Their hope was short-lived, however.

After widespread debate among the House and Senate as to which components of the bill should make the final cut, the $15 wage increase was struck down in a vote March 5, 2021. To add insult to injury for progressive senators, seven Senate Democrats and Independent Sen. Angus King voted against the measure.

The push to raise the minimum wage to $15 an hour did not begin with Biden’s relief plan, and it won’t end with it either.

Progressive lawmakers have consistently advocated for an increase in pay for low-wage workers, citing that anything under $15 is not a livable wage for any American, let alone one trying to support a family on a single income. With 65% of the population supporting an increase in the minimum wage, many progressives are wondering why this measure would be voted out of the final relief package, especially by Democratic senators.

“The simple fact of the matter is that $15 as the minimum wage is just barely THE SIMPLE FACT OF a living wage,” said Pete D’Alessandro, THE MATTER IS THAT the Iowa director $15 AS THE MINIMUM for Bernie Sanders’ WAGE IS JUST BARELY A 2016 presidential LIVING WAGE campaign and 2018 candidate for Iowa’s PETE D’ALESSANDRO, 2018 CANDIDATE FOR IA CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT 3 3rd Congressional District. “And to have people that are working 40 hours a week not be able to sustain even a basic dignity, in terms of their day-to-day, is absolutely wrong … $15 is the low point, and there shouldn’t be any negotiations lower than that.”

The next step for members of Congress who are in support of the wage increase is an attempt to use reconciliation, a budget process that would let Democrats bypass the 60-vote legislative filibuster. Senate Budget Committee Chairman Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., will be responsible for drafting a resolution in the coming weeks that will cater to this idea.

“We need to include [the $15 minimum wage] with a bigger package so that lawmakers have to vote up or down on the full package, and we would do that if there is a vote on reconciliation,” said Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., an avid supporter of the $15 minimum wage. “We have the power to make it part of the reconciliation … but it’s going to require Republican votes, and I am going to lead the charge on that.”

It has been over 11 years since the last time the federal minimum wage was raised, and many feel that another wage increase is long overdue. In 2012, the “Fight For $15” movement popularized the concept of a $15 minimum hourly rate for workers. Since then, seven states have passed legislation to phase in a $15 minimum wage in certain cities, including New York, California, and Washington. This “magic number,” made popular by progressive Democrats and grassroots campaigns, has caused controversy in both the political and economic realm.

According to a 2015 survey conducted by the UNH Survey Center, nearly three-quarters of U.S.-based economists opposed a federal wage of $15, citing that the measure will have negative

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effects on youth employment levels, adult employment levels, and the number of jobs available. Additionally, seven out of ten economists believed that small businesses with fewer than 50 employees would struggle to keep their business afloat. A majority of the economists polled in the survey self-identified as Democrats.

The push to raise the minimum wage to $15 or more is not the only measure that stands at the top of the progressive agenda.

Recent years have seen an increase in discussion surrounding substantial reform to America’s healthcare, higher education, environmental, and social justice systems. Medicare For All, a Green New Deal, debt-free college, and police reform have made their way into the forefront of political dialogue, and support for the progressive movement has grown significantly among both candidates for office and the general public. Despite these policies still being considered controversial among many, more and more people are beginning to open up to them— particularly when Sanders announced his candidacy for president in early 2015 and brought with him a set of policy ideas that, until then, had rarely been given a second thought in the public eye. “[The progressive movement] has always been there,” Pete D’Alessandro said. “But there were things that kept it from taking off … I used to say this about being on the Bernie Sanders campaign. He didn’t invent these ideals, they were there waiting for someone like him.”

Biden signing the COVID-19 relief bill isn’t an end-all cure for the economic and social devastation that Americans have faced in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, and it is clear to the majority of the population that there is still substantial work needed to be done to help offset the burden. What exact policies need to be implemented, however, will be under intense debate for the foreseeable future—and if there is one thing to be said about progressives, it is that their consistency on the issues don’t seem to waver with time and circumstance.

“So much of the country has not had SO MUCH OF THE economic dignity or a COUNTRY HAS NOT great economic future,” HAD ECONOMIC Khanna said. “And that means that the DIGNITY OR A GREAT minimum we ought ECONOMIC FUTURE to give people is good REPRESENTATIVE RO KHANNA, DEMOCRAT FROM CALIFORNIA. healthcare … it means that the minimum we should give people is good education … it means at the very least people should be paid fairly for their work, not being paid starvation wages. These are common sense ideas, and I believe the pandemic has made us more empathetic, more aware of the suffering of our fellow Americans.”

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BRINGING LIGHT TO MILITARY MISCONDUCT Although sexual harassment and assault has historically been an issue for the U.S. Military, the recent murder of Specialist Vanessa Guillen is causing many to reevalute how these issues are being handled at an institutional level.

WORDS BY BRANDON WHEELOCK | ILLUSTRATION BY AMANDA O’BRIEN

Content Warning: Story contains content involving sexual violence and assault

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n June 30, 2020, entombed in concrete and scattered under the banks of a small river near Fort Hood, Texas, Spc. Vanessa Guillen was finally found after a two-month search.

Months before her death and disappearance, Guillen told her family she had been sexually harassed by a superior at her post. Her mother had urged her to report, but for fear of reprisal, Guillen declined to do so. She was later murdered—bludgeoned to death in her own place of work with a hammer by a supervisor.

Guillen’s murder was said to be shocking, horrifying, and beyond comprehension by Fort Hood command leadership and much of Congress. For those congresspeople, these “shocking” reports should not be news. It’s long been reported that nearly one-third of all female servicemembers have reported facing sexual harassment, 25% of women have been diagnosed with Military Sexual Trauma in relation to sexual harassment and assault while serving, and that for at least three decades, the

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number one reason women across the entirety of the Department of Defense give for not reporting a case of sexual harassment or assault is command reprisal or retaliation.

The Army and the rest of the DOD have made exceptional strides within the ranks over the years to prevent members from facing sexual harassment or assault. The DOD has implemented required annual prevention and response training and set up focus groups, and service members have been encouraged to participate in the conversation on prevention and response more than at any time in American military history.

The results of these conversations show that there is far more to be desired among its members, regardless of DOD initiatives.

Among the lower ranks—where personnel eat, live, and sleep within the same facilities as each other day in and day out—the attitudes toward sexual harassment become less grave or noticed by others eager to turn a blind eye to disruptions of any kind that

NATIONAL would make military life even harder. Worst yet are the attitudes taken toward the victims.

The mandated annual Pentagon report by the Office of People Analytics explains how power dynamics in the military play a significant role in how safe a servicemember feels in their units.

Lower-level leaders often fail to take the appropriate action, if they act at all, when addressing concerns that junior enlisted service members bring to their commands. According to the focus groups in the reports, junior officers and mid-ranking staffnoncommissioned officers will often play down the seriousness of harassment, equating it to “good-natured” fun.

Groups have also insisted that raising concerns about sexual misconduct when there is none is the same as a female service member attempting to ruin another’s career out of spite or vengefulness for poor performance. The blame is often shifted back on the accuser, with perpetrators of assault or harassment claiming it is the victim playing the role of manipulative abuser.

As retaliation is a very real threat from leaders at risk of losing their careers, the DOD still has published mandates requiring the military branches to protect victims. Maj. Katherine Headley, the director of public affairs for the Iowa National Guard, said there are several protective policies in place.

“There is a reprisal mitigation policy that is in place: when a soldier files a complaint of discrimination or harassment, a Retaliation Reprisal Plan is initiated by the commander to protect the soldier and any witnesses to the complaint,” Headley said.

“There is also a discussion on retaliation protections during annual [equal opportunity] training.”

The Retaliation Reprisal Plan may include protections against responses from a superior such as extra work, threats, and unusual/previously unassigned duties.

“A soldier can also be assisted in obtaining a Military Protective Order and a command can determine if the reporting soldier desires to be transferred to another unit or the reported offender can be moved to another unit,” Headley said.

These programs only work, however, if the command is made aware of sexual harassment in the first place, and then subsequent threats of reprisal. This, the OPA report indicates, is the largest hurdle. Servicemembers complain largely that junior leaders encouraged a culture of allowing sexual harassment, and in turn discouraged taking sexual harassment complaints seriously.

Kendy Hakeman, the Military Sexual Trauma coordinator with the Iowa Veterans Affairs Central Iowa Health Care System, explains how toxic work environments, and the commanders’ blind eyes within them, have devastated survivors of MST postmilitary service.

“There are situations where people are harassed on a daily basis, and not only are they unaware if the situation will turn into

something physical, but you just can’t go in and do your normal job,” Hakeman said.

Survivors express threats of coercion, a concern mirrored by the OPA’s report, and even violent repercussions for refusal to consent to sexual harassment and activity within small-units.

“Every day they know they’re going to go to work and meet people that expose them to pornography … or will say awful, disgusting things to them every day and make jokes around them,” Hakeman said. “It’s not okay. Work is supposed to be a safe place for people.”

Coupled with the scarce, non-concrete evidence that comes from reported cases, this misogynistic narrative has become exceedingly commonplace. It is also one tolerated, and now feared, by male servicemembers, which further drives leaders to take harassment reports with a grain of salt.

In the case of Guillen, this culture was reportedly the exact reason she did not come forward with sexual harassment complaints against her supervisor. In the weeks prior to her disappearance, Guillen had expressed to her mother that remaining quiet would be safer than potentially invoking her command’s wrath.

In the same time frame as her murder, the DOD reported a 3% increase in annual sexual assault reporting. Considering that the military allows servicemembers to make restricted reports, or reports that allow the victim medical and command aid but do not initiate a criminal investigation, it is not known whether the amount of crime increased as well.

For those who have faced MST or harassment while in the service, Hakeman adamantly stressed a message of YES, IT IS HARD hope for survivors.

WORK, BUT SIMPLY “Having people REACHING OUT AND know this is important,” Hakeman ASKING FOR HELP IS said. “Yes, it is hard SUCH A BETTER THING work, but simply TO DO THAN THINK WE reaching out and CANNOT HELP asking for help is such a better thing to do KENDY HAKEMAN, MILITARY SEXUAL TRAUMA COORDINATOR FOR IOWA VETERANS AFFAIRS CENTRAL IOWA HEALTH CARE SYSTEM than think we cannot help. Yes, if people engage, there is success [in recovery.]”

Despite congressional inquiries, increased training, and revisions to existing policy, the OPA estimates that until junior leaders are held accountable for encouraging cultures of sexual harassment to exist, sexual harassment and assault rates will likely continue to remain excruciatingly high.

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INTERNATIONAL

INTERNATIONAL COVID-19 RESPONSES

Countries around the world have met COVID-19’s spread with a variety of measures, and some have produced better results than others.

WORDS BY SOPHIE GLOO | ILLUSTRATION BY AMANDA O’BRIEN

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he World Health Organization classified the global spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) as a pandemic on March 11, 2020. This launched a collaborative response effort from countries around the world to address the spread of the virus on a global scale. More than a year later, the WHO has reported more than 122 million confirmed cases of COVID-19 and close to 3 million deaths internationally. The last year has fostered debate around how to best respond to the ongoing pandemic.

Today, it is clear that strict and timely adherence to international guidelines and the implementation of country-specific guidelines have proven to be the most effective strategies in managing COVID-19 at both a national and international level.

In January 2020, WHO released a comprehensive set of guidelines that focused largely on infection prevention and control in an effort to reduce the spread of the virus. These guidelines encouraged governments to enforce preventative measures such as “physical distancing, wearing a mask, keeping rooms well ventilated, avoiding crowds, cleaning … hands, and coughing into a bent elbow or tissue.” Each country, in turn, developed its own response plan for addressing the pandemic based on the guidelines outlined by WHO. However, some countries were more proactive in their response than others. Countries like Australia and China were swift to enforce and follow WHO guidelines, even implementing their own country-specific guidelines early on in the pandemic. In contrast, countries like the U.S. and the U.K. responded to the coronavirus outbreak with less urgency, taking longer to carry out WHO guidelines, and failed to enact their own guidelines when case numbers first began to increase.

Data for the number of positive coronavirus cases by country, as reported by WHO, shows a notable relationship between lower case numbers and countries where governments responded swiftly and enforced strict adherence to pandemic guidelines. The opposite is true for those countries that took a more laissez-faire approach to their pandemic response and were much slower in instituting country-specific guidelines.

A prime example of proactive pandemic response is Australia.

Australia is one of the few countries that was able to craft a quick

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and effective pandemic response, which has led to a dramatic reduction in the nation’s overall number of positive cases. The Australian Department of Health focused its COVID-19 response on isolating virus outbreaks so as to minimize the number of new cases. In an effort to reduce the spread of the virus, the country enforced restrictions on both international and domestic travel and implemented one of the tightest government-mandated national lockdowns in the world.

While the country’s willingness to adhere to WHO guidelines has certainly played a role in its successful pandemic response, Australia has been able to keep its case numbers low and begin the slow return to life before COVID-19 because of the strict and immediate enforcement of a country-specific response plan at the beginning of the pandemic.

Another country that took a proactive approach in its response to COVID-19 is China. It is hard to get a clear understanding of what exactly China did in the early stages of its pandemic response because of heavy censorship from the Chinese government; however, the country’s response was strict, fast, and effective in its enforcement. China was the first country to be hit by the pandemic after the first reported case of COVID-19 was discovered in the Chinese city of Wuhan. Because of this, the country’s response plan was instituted almost immediately, focusing its response on containing the virus in Wuhan and its nearby cities.

The Chinese government moved to completely isolate the city, closing airports, suspending public transportation, and instituting strict quarantine measures in a lockdown. Contact tracing and outbreak containment made up the bulk of China’s early pandemic response. As the virus spread, the country sought to address longterm prevention measures and apply its response plan on a national scale. Like Australia, the speed and effectiveness of China’s initial pandemic response helped drastically reduce the country’s number of positive coronavirus cases.

Unlike the proactive pandemic responses from China and Australia, the U.S. serves as an example of a country that did not respond well to the pandemic, and is still feeling the consequences of its poor response. According to WHO, the U.S. currently leads

INTERNATIONAL that there was very little government enforcement. The U.K. outlined restrictions for international travel and encouraged people to wear masks in public and stay at home, but there was no effort to enforce any strict national lockdown measures until after case numbers began to increase. “[The government] said that you would be fined for doing certain things like grocery shopping with more than two people or crossing the borders,” said Finlay Kelly, a college student from Nottingham, England.

“But I don’t think BUT THE RESPONSE there was ever any ALWAYS FELT TOO LATE follow up for those AND TOO SLOW, WHICH who broke the rules.

IS WHY I THINK THE Restrictions haven’t ever been consistent, VIRUS HIT US SO HARD and I personally do FINLAY KELLY, STUDENT not believe that they have ever been ‘strictly enforced.’”

When the U.K. finally did enforce a mandatory lockdown, Kelly said the government was quick to relax these measures, leading to a spike in positive case numbers.

“If we had just done the lockdown correctly and kept at it the first time, I think we could have done what New Zealand and Australia did, seeing as we’re also on an island,” Kelly said. “But the response always felt too late and too slow, which is why I think the virus hit us so hard.”

Failure to institute a stringent pandemic response early on has forced the U.K. to implement lockdown measures three separate times. As a result, the U.K. has had multiple waves of cases, which make up the majority of its 4 million reported positive case numbers.

The U.K. is currently still in its third lockdown as of April 16, and according to Boris Johnson, restrictions are set to be lifted in June if the case numbers are low enough.

Pandemics are inevitable, but there are things that can be done in order to prepare for them ahead of time, reduce their spread, and save lives. The varied international responses to COVID-19 serve as examples of how pandemic responses should and shouldn’t be handled moving forward. This past year has highlighted how a country’s failure to address a pandemic early on, coupled with a lack of strict and consistent government enforcement, can have a deadly impact. It has also demonstrated just how important it is for countries to respond with speed and stringency in order to mitigate issues before they worsen, which is an essential part of an effective pandemic response. For more information regarding the international response to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, visit the World Health Organization website at www.who.int/.

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the world in its number of confirmed coronavirus cases by a landslide, with over 30 million confirmed cases. One of the biggest issues with the U.S. government’s pandemic response was that it was slow in its implementation of country-specific guidelines. It was also not particularly strict in its enforcement once it did adopt its own guidelines.

Compared to the lockdowns in China and Australia, the U.S. was much more lax in its measures and did not enforce these measures for an extended period of time. Enforcement of pandemic guidelines was largely left up to individual states, making the country’s overall response even messier because there was so much inconsistency.

Some states enforced mandatory mask mandates and quarantine guidelines before things got worse, while others waited months before instituting any sort of official mandates. Like China, the U.S. focused on contact tracing. But unlike Australia, there was never any effort to restrict interstate travel, causing national case numbers to skyrocket and making it difficult to contain virus outbreaks. On top of all of this, the issue of COVID-19 in the U.S. was, and continues to be, highly politicized, which has complicated the country’s pandemic response significantly.

Like the U.S., the U.K. had a less-than-ideal pandemic response, and it continues to struggle because its initial response was handled so poorly. The biggest issue with the U.K.’s COVID-19 response was

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INTERNATIONAL

THE UNFOLDING HUMANITARIAN CRISIS IN MYANMAR

Photo taken byHtin Linn Aye.Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license.

After a long history of military coups, the Rohingya crisis, and possible intervention, how has Myanmar taken center stage internationally?

WORDS BY KIARA FISH | DESIGN BY LILA JOHNSON

I

n February 2021, Myanmar took international headlines by force when a military-backed coup foiled Myanmar’s shortlived experiment with democracy. To understand the significance of this moment, it is important to understand the history of Myanmar. Once a British colony that gained independence in 1948, what was then known as Burma formed itself as a parliamentary democracy. This was short-lived: in 1962, Gen. Ne Win led a military-backed coup and seized power for nearly 30 years until 1988.

Burma found itself embracing isolationist policies that were detrimental to its economy, leading to the widespread participation of its citizens in black market operations. In response to deteriorating economic conditions, students began kicking off protests, which were met with violent force. In 1988, 3,000 protestors were killed and many more were displaced.

Following these events, Ne Win stepped down from power in 1989, and the new military regime changed its name from the Union of Burma to the Union of Myanmar. The reason for the name change came from the association of Burma with the

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Burman ethnic majority—the name Myanmar was found to be more inclusive.

Saffron Revolution & A New Government In 2007, a combination of factors led to tensions boiling over and the Saffron Revolution, an event coined for the saffroncolored robes worn by Buddhist monks who participated, to begin. There are many reasons for the revolution—one being a price hike in fuel. Following these protests, shifts in Myanmar occurred. In 2008, a new constitution pushed forward by the military junta gave the military power even under civilian rule.

This constitution is still in effect today, even after the military junta unexpectedly dissolved in 2011. The 2011 dissolution led to Prime Minister Thein Sein becoming president and set the stage for Aung San Suu Kyi to eventually take power.

Suu Kyi is most known for becoming a popular figure who resisted the military junta in power. After being arrested for participating in the protests, she was placed on house arrest for over 15 years, finally securing freedom in 2010. A notable

INTERNATIONAL achievement came in the form of securing the Nobel Peace Prize while still confined to her home. Suu Kyi has received criticism and backlash for appeasing the military faction of her government by downplaying the violent mistreatment of its Rohingya minority population. The International Court of Justice, a top UN Court, ruled that the Rohingya have suffered at the hands of an ethnic genocide.

Rohingya Crisis In order to understand the current humanitarian crisis unfolding in Myanmar, it is important to understand the country’s unique ethnic makeup. Iowa’s United Nations Cedar Valley Chapter President Ed Gallagher shed some light on the diverse ethnic make-up of Myanmar. He explained that many of the refugees from Myanmar who live in Waterloo practice Christianity. According to the Council of Foreign Relation’s data collection, 68% of the country is made up of “Burman’’ peoples and they occupy the top tier of Myanmar’s society, including ranking members of the military. 9% of the population is Shan, 7% Karen, 4% Rakhine, 3% Chinese, 2% Mon, 2% Indian, and 5% other. This is important, as citizenship is largely based upon ethnicity, and these ethnic divides have led to internal and civilian conflicts that have left tens of thousands dead in the nation. Other human rights abuses have been reported such as forced labor, torture, rape, and the use of child soldiers.

In fact, ethnicity is so central to being a citizen of Myanmar that only ethnic groups that were present in 1823, before Britain ruled parts of the country, are full citizens, according to the 1982 Citizenship Law. This is why the Rohingya people, as a minority Muslim ethnic group, living in Myanmar have found themselves stateless and unrecognized as citizens before the law.

They also do not have the full protections of the constitution offered to them, which protect citizens from discrimination, equal opportunity, and freedom of expression. Of the nearly one million people who have fled Myanmar, most of them Rohingya, many find themselves facing extreme violence at the hands of the state military, known as the Tatmadaw. The Gambia filed a lawsuit against Myanmar for committing ethnic cleansing against the Rohingya, which the nation’s leaders have denied.

Current Refugee Crisis The situation with the Rohingya population has led to thousands of refugees fleeing into surrounding areas such as Bangladesh. Gallagher asserts the conflict arising is that Bangladesh also does not want the minority Muslim population.

The International Crisis Group, a branch of the UN’s refugee agency, published an article about the proposed risk that would come with returning the Rohingya to Myanmar from Bangladesh,

“It would not only violate Bangladesh’s international legal obligations and jeopardize the safety of the refugees but risks triggering violence and greater instability on both sides of the border. Bangladesh and Myanmar should immediately halt the plan. The UN, including the secretary-general’s special envoy and the UN refugee agency, should continue to firmly oppose it, both in public and in private, and establish a process whereby Rohingya refugees are consulted about their future.”

Outside Intervention from China & U.S. The history of outside intervention into the region is mutually constitutive with the country’s long history of political turmoil and strife. Once a British colony that gained independence in 1948, the region became one of the Cold War battlegrounds in the U.S.’ long waged war against communist forces. The tension to gain outside influence into the region has persisted between democratic and communist ideologues ever since.

One concern of the international community surrounds the growing influence of communist China upon the military-run government in Myanmar. International anxieties have begun to boil as Beijing has leveraged its international influence to offer military support, protect military generals who participated in the coups, and prevent an arms embargo.

The U.S.’ intervention into Myanmar is an ongoing history that recently involves the U.S. placing sanctions upon the country. The majority of which took place in the 1990s.

Following Myanmar’s transition to democracy, these sanctions were lifted. However, following the coups that took place in 2021, the Biden administration has signaled that there may be targeted sanctions to come. His administration has begun a review of U.S. sanctions law as a tool to “support democracy and the rule of law,” according to a report from the Council on Foreign Relations.

As talks about outside intervention into the region continue to grow, it is important to reflect upon the historical destabilizing effects that outside intervention has had upon Myanmar throughout its history. The construction of borders following decolonization has left ethnic groups living in Myanmar without a home and has left them vulnerable to increasing violence. The crippling effects of economic sanctions, and the influence of outside political forces, have worked to destabilize the country following colonization. This is why conversations about outside intervention must be evaluated, even in the name of preserving democracy, through a more critical understanding of the realities faced from political intervention in an increasingly globalized world where the effects of colonization and Cold War violence still linger.

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INTERNATIONAL

DON’T FEAR THE ROBOTS Automation isn’t the end.

Globalization threatens the livelihood of the workforce, but jobs aren’t being relinquished to machines.

E

WORDS BY GRANT MORGAN ILLUSTRATION BY AMANDA O’BRIEN

Based on artwork by Artie Rodriguez

ven before hearing the word “automation,” there is a good chance one has at least been exposed to the concept.

Essentially, automation is the process of turning jobs performed by human laborers over to machines, which can work tirelessly and without break. This process, though still relatively new, has been occurring for a couple decades now. But despite this, many people are still unaware of how exactly it works, and many are starting to grow apprehensive about it.

Fear Mongering About the Robots Since the introduction of technology into the workplace, humans have consistently been frightened about technology taking their jobs. In fact, this fright occurs so frequently that economists managed to come up with a term to describe it. The “lump of labor fallacy” is the idea that there are only a certain number of jobs within an economy and that once immigrants or robots are thrown into the mix, this will mean that native laborers will become unemployed due to rising immigrant labor and automation. However, this sentiment has proven to be erroneous.

As immigrants come into a country, and as new technologies are introduced, this actually helps to create more jobs, not less.

With increased immigrant labor comes increased demand, and from increased use of technology and robots comes increased productivity. Up until this point, any change in technology has never destroyed the net amount of jobs within the economy. Still,

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many remain scared because the economy is not continuing to grow quickly.

“The fear is that if jobs are destroyed, people will not be able to find jobs that pay them as well as the jobs they lost,” said Aaron Benanav, postdoctoral researcher of economic history at Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin. “The fear that people are losing good jobs and ending up in bad jobs, or that young people are unable to find good BUT THAT DOESN’T jobs in the first place, is entirely REALLY HAVE TO DO reasonable. It is AUTOMATION. IT HAS happening right TO DO WITH A now. But that doesn’t really have STAGNATING ECONOMY to do automation. It AARON BENANAV, RESEARCHER AT HUMBOLDT-UNIVERSITÄT ZU BERLIN has to do with a stagnating economy.”

As Benanav notes, the only reason that people are actually afraid of automation is because they are concerned about what it could mean for their economic future. The economy offers very little protection for those who are suffering from economic precarity; thus, millions of people are in a state of constant worry about the rising abilities of technology. Automation is not scary in and of itself—it is only frightening because of the contemporary conditions of the American economy.

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Is Automation Even Occurring?

Many people are associating the current shortcomings of the American economy with the supposed pernicious effects of automation, and this kind of situation has created an environment where people are erroneously assuming that automation is expanding, quite rapidly, throughout the economy. However, this basic intuitive thought is actually the furthest from the truth. As businesses and manufacturers implement new technologies which help to automate certain jobs, this process increases productivity and helps to save partially or fully on labor costs (which can be converted into investments later on). But when one delves into the productivity numbers in American manufacturing, something quite remarkable comes up.

Productivity, instead of rising precipitously since 2000, has actually fallen. According to the Conference Board of the International Comparisons of Productivity and Labor Costs, from 1974-2000, manufacturing productivity rose by 3.3%; from 2000-2017, this percentage declined to 3.2%; and while this was taking place, overall manufacturing output fell from 3.1% to 1.2%. Benanav believes what is currently transpiring has very little to do with automation and is instead mainly attributable to “a stagnating economy” and globalization.

“Globalization GLOBALIZATION has made for HAS MADE FOR AN an intensely INTENSELY COMPETITIVE competitive international INTERNATIONAL environment where ENVIRONMENT WHERE it is difficult for IT IS DIFFICULT FOR companies to grow very quickly,” COMPANIES TO GROW Benanav said. “That VERY QUICKLY means that whatever AARON BENANAV, RESEARCHER AT HUMBOLDT-UNIVERSITÄT ZU BERLIN technological changes they implement tend to be job destroying, for the simple reason that companies can meet small increases in the demand for their products while employing fewer workers.”

Globalization, instead of delivering an economy which is able to achieve robust growth, has delivered an economy which is continuing to slow down. And as the economy slows down, and as people lose their jobs because of falling productivity and output, many people throughout the country associate this occurrence with the implementation of automation. But in reality, this is just simply not the case.

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It’s Not The Robots You Should Worry About... It’s Stagnation Due to globalization, the world now has far more producers of goods than it did 30 years ago, and because of this, the

INTERNATIONAL supply of these goods has increased quite dramatically. But as this supply has increased, demand has either stagnated or fallen because of lower growth and increased inequality. As demand fails to grow and as supply continues to climb, this means that output continues to fall. In fact, according to the Conference Board of the International Comparisons of Productivity and Labor Costs, manufacturing output has actually fallen from a high 4.4% from 1950-1973 to a rather low 1.2% from 20012017. This decline in output also happens to align quite well with average GDP growth, which fell from 4.0% to 1.9% during the same respective period. Globalization has essentially created a recurring effect which continues to compound the country’s economic health and overall sustainability.

But on top of the macroeconomic effects, stagnation has created microeconomic effects where “a lot of people are very insecure in their jobs, or have trouble finding work that is satisfying,” according to Benanav. And to make matters worse, “All of these things affect young people most of all. They can’t start living on their own or get a foothold in any one place if they have to keep changing jobs, or if the jobs they get pay them very little.”

Because of globalization, the world has become far more competitive for both companies and working people. And as these effects continue to increase, the results are increasingly bleak and morbid. The biggest threat, as pointed out by Benanav, is not automation but is instead a stagnant economy which is falling to deliver real growth to both its manufacturers and its workers.

What’s Next?

For decades, automation has been used as a scare word meant to frighten people about the future of the economy. What makes this fear mongering even more pernicious is the fact that it has been successful. From academics to politicians, truck drivers to teachers, more and more people today believe that automation is an impending economic apocalypse which is going to leave millions of people behind.

The biggest threat facing the economy is not automation or robots but is instead stagnation. Out of stagnation will come increased inequality, personal disillusionment, and heightened political tensions. The future, however, though seemingly negative right now, is not set in stone. Stagnation is not inextricably linked to the economic system, but it is not going to change unless Americans collectively fight for policies which will allow for the economy to start growing effectively and equitably again. So rather than fretting about automation or driverless trucks, efforts may be better spent focusing on the real issue impacting the economic future. The ball is in America’s court now, and it cannot afford to let this opportunity slip.

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LET’S TALK

POLITICS