As the second legislative funnel approaches this legislative session, Iowa lawmakers have made one thing clear: “We want what’s worst for everyone.” Iowa lawmakers, in a statement specifically regarding public regent institutions, said “We don’t care if your programs become unaccredited, you should’ve thought about that before you asked to fund your biology program.”
Despite the glaring statement of discontent for their constituents, Iowa pollsters still expect nearly half of the lawmakers who co-signed the statement to win their district in a landslide during their re-election season. “It’s not something a lot of Iowans pay attention to,” an anonymous pollster told the Northern Iowan.
In line with the lawmakers’ statement, more and more upsetting occurrences continue within the Iowa legislature. Possible funding slashes, legislated education, book banning, civil rights repeals and continued persecution of DEI initiatives await voting by the Iowa House of Representatives and the Senate.
“I mean, generally, we just want to make life a little less enjoyable for Iowans,” said Rep. Nunya in a chamber debate earlier this week. “Specifically for those attending school at a regent university. We truly have the power to make their education become more and more worthless every day, despite the fact that we’ll moan and groan about worker shortages.” Nunya references how legislation that repeals civil rights for transgender Iowans has led some Iowans to flee the state, creating even greater employment gaps than there were prior. “We don’t really care if we’re creating a sinkhole, because we aren’t the ones that will suffocate in it,” said Nunya.
The general Iowan public remains incredibly loyal to the state, but the recent legislation and statement made by the legislature has some Iowan undergraduate students questioning their decision to continue their education and career in Iowa. “I’ve lived here all my life, I go to school here, I planned on raising a family here,” said student Anne Bowers. “But now, because of some of the disregard from Iowa lawmakers, I’m considering moving out of Iowa for the first time in my life.” Bowers also discussed how Iowa legislators don’t consider how their decisions impact Iowans, therefore impacting the workforce. “Some don’t see it. Some really don’t. But those who do – we aren’t a small minority. Iowa legislators risk running dedicated Iowans out of the state because they simply don’t care.”
“Because no one’s going to do anything about it,” said Nunya, when asked why legislators felt the need to make their statement. “Who’s going to vote us out? Not our Iowans. They’ll just vote for the incumbent that’s advocating to take their granddaughter’s rights away.” Nunya also made a reference to stripping away women’s rights that have only been established recently in the history of Iowan legislation, such as women being able to have bank accounts independently from their husbands. “No one pays attention to that stuff, but someone has to,” said Bowers.
Nunya noted he didn’t think anyone ever really would pay attention to the Iowa legislature the way Bowers implies. “It’s the way things have always been in Iowa,” Nunya laughed. “Iowa lawmakers wanting what’s worst for Iowans isn’t anything new. This is just the first time we’ve said it out loud.”
According to Nunya, lawmakers are already thinking ahead to the next legislative session, considering what they can propose to the Iowa legislature regarding the regent universities. “Since we really enjoy squashing the joy of undergraduate students, I know there was talk of possibly legislating the university mascots,” said Nunya. “Get rid of TC and TK, Herky, and maybe replace them with something more American, like a bald eagle or a pilgrim … again, we really just like making things less enjoyable and easy for undergraduate students. Why do they even need TC? He’s kind of childish, when you really think about it.”
The second legislative funnel comes at the end of this week. This means that for legislation to remain alive in the Iowa chambers, legislation will have to have passed out of it’s respective assigned committee. Then, it will be placed on the legislative calendar and voted on by it’s respective chamber, and then sent to either the Iowa Senate, or Governor Kim Reynolds’s desk, depending on which chamber is voting on the piece of legislation.
