“Quote....Endquote”

"I have certain qualms about exploiting girls' sexuality in this way. She's young and ought to be able to explore her sexual self without a commercial emphasis being put on it."

Gigi Durham, associate professor of journalism and mass communication in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences and author of The Lolita Effect, commenting on suggestive photos of 15-year-old actress Miley Cyrus and the trend to sexualize tween girls (CNN, April 28).

“I really do think that this sort of belief, that it doesn't matter, is one of the most damaging beliefs that a democracy can harbor. I don't think comedy invented that belief, but it's one of the most important avenues through which it is expressed."

Russell Peterson, visiting assistant professor of American studies in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, and author of Strange Bedfellows: How Late-Night Comedy Turns Democracy into a Joke, on the way comedians spread cynicism about the American political process. (Chicago Tribune, April 13).

"Iowa made a deliberate choice that protecting mortgage borrowers was more important than promoting mortgage credit. In the 1930s and 1980s, some people who took advantage of the time involved in the foreclosure process were able to bounce back."

Patrick Bauer, professor in the College of Law, commenting on Iowa’s borrower-friendly foreclosure laws (Des Moines Register, April 20).

"I won't have to put my sailboat away on Aug. 1 this year. You might say I'll sail off into the sunset."

Myron Welch, professor of music in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, on retiring this year (Daily Iowan, April 24).