VTIPG's Five Pieces Worth Reading- July 28, 2023

Welcome

Dear friends of VTIPG and CCC,

We share five articles each week that we find timely and meaningful that address significant concerns related to the state of our democracy and civil society. We aim to offer pieces that illuminate a wide array of dimensions of our country's policy and governance challenges and the state of social norms that sustain the possibility of addressing them successfully. Please note, the views expressed in these essays do not necessarily reflect the perspectives of VTIPG or Virginia Tech. We also upload these essays and stories to our website. You may find the archive at News and Opportunities at http://ipg.vt.edu. Thank you to IPG's Community-Based Research Manager Lara Nagle for contributing a CNN piece to this week's edition.

If you would like to suggest an article for consideration for this series, and I encourage you to do so, please contact me, Billy Parvatam, at pbilly97@vt.edu.

Our first piece is a New York Times article that argues that Democrats and Republicans live in different words, especially when it relates to the issue of how to understand and make sense of the role of masculinity in our culture.
Our second story, from the Cardinal News, examines the effects of Roanoke and Lynchburg's curfews on youth crime in those communities.
A third article, from Vox, considers whether Alabama ultimately will seek to defy the Supreme Court's decision in Allen v. Milligan addressing racial gerrymandering in that state.
Our fourth offering, from CNN, documents the decline of public swimming pools in the U.S and sketches the causes of that trend.
Last, we share an article from NPR that describes why urban areas are generally warmer than their rural counterparts.

Brief summaries of these articles appear below. We hope the perspectives offered in these pieces encourage reflection and conversation!

Best wishes,

Billy Parvatam

VTIPG Communications Coordinator

pbilly97@vt.edu.

Five Pieces Worth Reading

Democrats and Republicans are living in different worlds

New York Times columnist Thomas Edsall argues that Democrats and Republicans are on opposite sides of the spectrum when it comes to men and masculinity, which could emerge as a key issue in the 2024 elections. Conservatives argue that liberals have blamed masculinity for America’s problems. Nonetheless, liberals’ positions on gender and women’s rights have led to younger voters turning out in recent key state elections to deliver victories for Democrats. Edsall cautions, however, that the Democratic party cannot ignore other key GOP stances, as a share of those likely will once again be important factors in 2024.

Edsall, T. (2023, July 26). “Democrats and Republicans are living in different worlds.” The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2023/07/26/opinion/masculinity-gender-gap-2024.html

Roanoke and Lynchburg have youth curfews. Studies say they have little effect.

Randy Walker analyzes Roanoke and Lynchburg’s decisions to place curfews on young people aged 17 and younger in an effort to protect young victims of crime. Scholars however, argue that most juvenile crimes are conducted in the afternoon after school, meaning that the lion's share of these crimes are not being committed in the evenings or at night. Rather, these analysts argue, improving community norms and standards along with school officials working closely with social services professionals can help reduce crime, although realizing such steps will require considerable time and effort.

Walker, R. (2023, July 20). “Roanoke and Lynchburg have youth curfews. Studies say they have little effect.” Cardinal News. https://cardinalnews.org/2023/07/20/roanoke-and-lynchburg-have-youth-curfews-but-studies-say-they-have-little-effect/

How Alabama could get away with defying the Supreme Court

Ian Millhiser discusses Alabama’s choice to ignore the Supreme Court’s decision in Allen v. Milligan in this article. In that case, the Court ordered Alabama to revisit its legislative redistricting to design a second district to represent more accurately Black Alabamians. The state legislature's response was to enact a new map that did not create such a district. This defiance by Alabama’s GOP-led government is predicated on the belief that Associate Justice Brett Kavanaugh could change his vote should the case come before the Court again, given that he stated in its initial decision that “race-based redistricting cannot extend indefinitely into the future.” Millhiser suggests that since Allen was a 5-4 decision, a change in Kavanaugh's vote on a case involving the new map could lead to certification of Alabama's latest districting without any likely change in partisan electoral representation or outcome.

Millhiser, I. (2023, July 26). “How Alabama could get away with defying the Supreme Court.” Vox. https://www.vox.com/scotus/2023/7/26/23806856/supreme-court-voting-rights-act-allen-milligan-defiance-brett-kavanaugh

Why America stopped building public pools

In this piece, Nathaniel Meyersohn highlights the decline in the number of public swimming pools available to the nation's residents as climate change and extreme heat worsen. This trend is particularly significant for Black and lower income households who typically do not have access to private swim facilities. Meyersohn suggests several reasons for this scenario, including a shortage of trained lifeguards and chronically underfunded public recreation departments, which typically are among the first agencies to suffer budget cuts when local and state government budgets tighten.

Meyersohn, N. (2023, July 24). “Why America stopped building public pools.” CNN. https://www.cnn.com/2023/07/22/business/public-pools-extreme-heat/index.html

It’s hot out there. A new analysis shows it’s much worse if you’re in a city

This NPR story addresses the fact that millions of Americans are living with dangerous heat this summer and argues that this situation is considerably worse if you live in a city. According to the nonprofit research group Climate Central, urban areas tend to be eight degrees Fahrenheit warmer on average than rural ones. Researchers point to more gas-powered cars, air-conditioning units and concrete parking lots in cities, as well as fewer trees for shade as reasons for this phenomenon.

Rott, N. (2023, July 26). “It’s hot out there. A new analysis shows it’s much worse if you’re in a city.” NPR. https://www.npr.org/2023/07/26/1190071137/its-hot-out-there-a-new-analysis-shows-its-much-worse-if-youre-in-a-city

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