Room for Debate (NY Times)

The New York Public Library's $300 million plan to sell its Mid-Manhattan branch and the Science, Industry and Business Library and consolidate them in a renovated main building on Fifth Avenue and 42nd Street continues to generate criticism. Opponents, hundreds of scholars and others who have signed a petition to block the plan, have said it would undermine its mission as a research center because millions of books would be moved to a storage facility in Princeton, N.J. But library officials say the move is vital to saving the two branches, would have little effect on research and would bring in more users. Should the library go forward with the plan?

Responses:

An Unavoidable Necessity
Robert Darnton, director, Harvard University library

Part of a Long-Term Plan to Cut Research
Charles Petersen, N+1 magazine

Scholars and the Public Can and Must Co-Exist
Howard Dodson Jr., director, Howard University Library

Research Will Be Delayed and Impaired
Caleb Crain, Author

Too Many Questions, Too Little Discussion
Joan W. Scott, author, "The Politics of the Veil"

In The New York Times earlier this month, Nicholas D. Kristof called for a boycott of Anheuser-Busch because of how the company's products are affecting residents of an Indian reservation that has been decimated by alcoholism. The reservation is dry, but the nearby town of Whiteclay, Neb., (with a population of about 10 people) "sells more than four million cans of beer and malt liquor annually" and "is the main channel through which alcohol illegally enters the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation."

How can tribes, states, the federal government and local communities deal with alcoholism on and around reservations? If the beer companies and liquor stores are following the law, do they have a further responsibility to their communities?

Responses:

Blood on Their Hands
Frank LaMere, Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska

Not a Private Sector Problem
Aneel Karnani, University of Michigan

Good Profit vs. Bad Profit
Waheed Hussain, University of Pennsylvania

Communities Must Be Proactive
Richard B. Luarkie, governor, Pueblo of Laguna, N.M.

Recently, Room for Debate asked what Mitt Romney could do to attract voters who might be put off by some of his positions during the primaries. Now we ask a similar question about President Obama.

Last week he surely earned the support of gay voters, and this week he tried to do more to connect with women. But how can he energize other groups who have supported him but are less enthusiastic? And what can he do to win over the skeptics?

Responses:

Tell Wall Street to Focus on Deeds, Not Rhetoric
Neil Barsky, Former hedge fund manager

Talk Honestly to Black Opponents of Gay Marriage
Keith Boykin, author

Remind Union Members of Jobs Saved and Created
Steve Rosenthal, Labor activist

Soccer Dads: The Most Likely White, Male Backers
Mark Penn, Pollster

G.O.P. Rhetoric Feeds Latinos' Affinity for Obama
Alan Salazar, Democratic strategist

Re-energize Young Voters Who Feel Left Behind
Sara Haile-Mariam, recent graduate, New York University

Last week, Politico reported that Representative Michele Bachmann, a Republican from Minnesota, had become a Swiss citizen in March, a month after her husband, Marcus, the son of Swiss immigrants, registered with the Swiss consulate. After taking some heat in conservative circles for her dual allegiance, she withdrew her Swiss citizenship.

Can dual citizens be good Americans? Should dual citizenship be allowed? Peter Spiro, a law professor at Temple University, suggested this forum.

Responses:

Citizenship as It Should Be
Peter Spiro, Temple University law professor

An Exclusive Relationship
Mark Krikorian, Center for Immigration Studies

A Have and Have-Not Issue
David Abraham, University of Miami

The Solution to 'Brain Drain'
Ayelet Shachar, author, "The Birthright Lottery"

Citizens Without Borders
José Itzigsohn, sociology professor

Nearly every student is taking out loans to go to college, and as prices soar, many are borrowing beyond their means. More than $1 trillion in student loans are outstanding.The average debt per borrower is $23,300. Meanwhile, many have no prospect of a well-paying job to help them pay off their debt.

What can be done to control the level of debt and protect young people from taking on an onerous financial burden?

Responses:

End Draconian Collection Policies
Deanne Loonin, National Consumer Law Center

Control Reckless For-Profit Colleges
José Cruz, Education Trust

Control Costs and You'll Control the Problem
Andrew Hacker, co-author, "Higher Education?"

Loans Are Part of the Problem Not the Solution
Richard Vedder, Center for College Affordability and Productivity

The Government Must Spend More on Grants
Mark Kantrowitz, FinAid.org

Colleges Need to Bear Some Risk for Defaults
Kevin Carey, Education Sector

Require Colleges to Review All Lending
Justin Draeger, National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators

Cut the Confusion So Students Know Their Risks
Rohit Chopra, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau

This week, China released data that showed its economy was continuing to weaken. Meanwhile India's economy shows signs of slowing, as do Brazil's and Russia's. As our attention focuses on Europe's troubled economy, are we in danger of ignoring a slowdown in the BRIC nations — Brazil, Russia, India and China — that could have a huge impact on the global economy? What happens if one or all of the BRIC countries come to a halt?

Responses:

A Slowdown Would Be Bad for Everyone
Mark Thoma, economist

India's Tiny Impact on the World Economy
Jayati Ghosh, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi

Instability in China Would Be Devastating
Ann Lee, author, "What the U.S. Can Learn From China"

Brazil's Influence Is Nominal, at Best
Carlos Pio, Universidade de Brasilia

Russia's Effect Would Be Trivial
Sergei Guriev, the New Economic School, Moscow

Global 'Spillover' Can Be Prevented, but Will It?
Scott Sumner, economist

According to a recent New York Times Styles article, the skateboard is the "little red sports car" of choice for aging Gen Xers going through a midlife crisis. But is a 45-year-old pursuing a dangerous sport more embarrassing and risky, or inspiring and life-affirming?

As the sport, born itself in the 1960s, reaches middle-age, should its original constituency pass the baton or rage on?

Responses:

Skate Old or Die!
Rick Sulz, founder, NYSkateboarding.com

Aging Hipsters Are Sad and Dangerous
Matt Labash, author, "Fly Fishing With Darth Vader"

Keeping the Dream Alive
Ian Rogers, Topspin Media

If You Fall, You're in Trouble
Tracy McMillan, author, "Why You're Not Married ... Yet"

Exercise Heals at Any Age
Leon Benson, orthopedic surgeon

The Trinity Broadcasting Network has always been proud of its extravagant profits, but rarely mentions the extravagant tax breaks that fueled them. According to a recent lawsuit, the company provides mansions for executives and calls them “parsonages” to avoid property taxes, and it ordains TBN chauffeurs and sound engineers and performers at the Holy Land Experience theme park, meaning their pay is tax-free.

Religious exemptions from taxes and regulations are often thought of as separating church and state, but are they having the opposite effect — serving as a state subsidy for religious organizations? Should religious entities be subject to taxes and rules like labor and civil rights laws?

Responses:

Good for Religion, Good for America
Mark Rienzi, Becket Fund

Government Is Endorsing Religion
Dan Barker, Freedom From Religion Foundation

Sustaining Progressive Faith
Winnie Varghese, St. Mark's Church in-the-Bowery, New York

Don't Play Favorites
Christopher L. Eisgruber and Lawrence Sager, and authors, "Religious Freedom and the Constitution"

Equal Protection vs. 'Religious Freedom'
Susan Jacoby, "Freethinkers: A History of American Secularism"

The expanded role of the U.S. Army's special operations forces throughout the world now includes a deployment to Honduras, where it is helping fight drug smuggling. Should the military be involved in the war on drugs? Does military involvement in poor, weakly governed countries destablize them?

Responses:

Don't Return to a Grim Chapter of Our History
Tom Hayden, Activist

Green Berets' Value Is Proven in War on Drugs
Mackenzie Eaglen, American Enterprise Institute

Sensible Policing Is Needed, Not Special Forces
Vanda Felbab-Brown, Brookings Institution

Resuming a Mission Put on Hold After 9/11
Steven P. Bucci, Heritage Foundation

Military Aid Is Unattractive, but Unavoidable
Michael Shifter, Inter-American Dialogue

Caution Is Needed if Military Is Involved
James Bosworth, Writer and consultant

A New York Times Op-Ed by Alice Randall calls for black women to "commit to getting under 200 pounds." But in February, a Washington Post/Kaiser Family Foundation survey revealed that heavier black women have much higher self-esteem than average-sized white women.

What's more important, a positive body image, whatever your size, or a fit physique that proportionately puts you at less risk for diabetes and other ailments?

Responses:

Enough With the Stereotypes
Lisa Tealer, National Association to Advance Fat Acceptance

The Warning Signs Are There
Eleanor Hinton Hoytt, Black Women's Health Imperative

Health at Every Size
Marilyn Wann, FAT!SO?

Healthy Mind, Healthy Body
Erika Nicole Kendall, A Black Girl's Guide To Weight Loss

Cause and Consequence
Rashawn Ray, sociologist

Body Mass Index Measures Only So Much
Victoria Pitts-Taylor, Queens College, City University of New York

One Size Does Not Fit All
Stephanie Covington Armstrong, author, "Not All Black Girls Know How to Eat"

Work With What You've Got
Donald Hensrud, The Mayo Clinic

Last week, Harvard and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology announced a new nonprofit partnership to offer free online courses. Those who complete the course will get a certificate of mastery and a grade, but no official credit.

Should Harvard and M.I.T. offer credit for these courses and even allow students to obtain their degrees online? Indeed, doesn't it make more sense for elite colleges and universities to do this?

Responses:

The Promise of Lower Costs
Richard Vedder, Center for College Affordability and Productivity

Enhancement, Not Replacement
Sean Decatur, Oberlin College

A Way to Reach Minorities
Kathy Enger, Northern Lights Library Network

More Options Means More Learning
Jeremy Gleick, sophomore, UCLA

What About the Lab Work?
Walter Lewin, professor of physics, M.I.T.

Emerging from the Republican primary season, Mitt Romney's campaign is now courting some groups that could be swing voters in November. In wooing Hispanics, he has tried to leave his immigration stances behind and talk about the economy. Trying to improve his standing among female voters, Romney has put his wife, Ann, front and center.

But this week his campaign is facing a scandal over a Republican fault line: gays. An openly gay adviser, Richard Grenell, quit this week after conservative supporters of Romney objected to his presence in the campaign.

What can Mitt Romney do to win over women, Hispanics and Republicans who are moderates on gay issues?

Responses:

Show Support for Gay Rights
Richard Tafel, The Public Squared

For Hispanics, Move Past the Primary
Ana Navarro, Republican strategist

Ignore the Contrived 'War on Women'
Tracey Schmitt, Republican strategist

Appeal to All Americans
Peter Wehner, Ethics and Public Policy Center

The United States and China are meeting this week to talk about military and economic policy, but the headlines leading up to the talks have not been encouraging. Visiting the Philippines during a clash in the South China Sea, top American officials reaffirmed the alliance with Manila. And a Chinese activist escaped house arrest and briefly took shelter at the U.S. Embassy in Beijing, after which China demanded an apology from the U.S.

Do these clashes point to a larger conflict? Are the U.S. and China headed toward a cold war?

Responses:

No One Wants a Clash
Zhu Feng, Beijing University

Containment Risks Permanent Brinksmanship
Tom Hayden, Activist

A Strong Military Keeps the Threat of War Small
Daniel Blumenthal, American Enterprise Institute

China Is Reacting to Our Weak Economy
Bonnie S. Glaser, Center for Strategic and International Studies

Dealing With a Chinese Monroe Doctrine
Stephen M. Walt, Harvard University

Avoiding a Zero-Sum Game in Africa
Sven Grimm, Stellenbosch University, South Africa

Even though it won the Tony Award for Regional Theater this week, The Shakespeare Theatre Company, like many other regional theaters, has seen donors decrease because of the economy, but continues to operate because of generous board members and creative partnerships.

What can we do to stabilize funding for the arts? Can we learn from other countries' examples? While arts funding is drying up in parts of Europe because of austerity measures, it's flourishing in Brazil because of a tax on Brazilian companies.

In an era when the National Endowment for the Arts is stretching its budget to fund digital art projects, what can be improved upon? How can public and private sectors work together?

Responses:

American Philanthropy Is Unrivaled
Beth Nathanson, Playwrights Horizons

Separation of Art and State
David Boaz, Cato Institute

Find Inspiration in Local Efforts
Bob Lynch, Americans for the Arts

Quality Counts
Sergio Muñoz Sarmiento, artist and arts lawyer

Arts Fuel the Economy
Kamilah Forbes and Clyde Valentin, Hip-Hop Theater Festival and

Incentives for Private Support
Michael Royce, New York Foundation for the Arts

A Fraction of Private Donations Go to Arts
Stacy Palmer, The Chronicle of Philanthropy

The U.S. publication of "The Conflict: How Modern Motherhood Undermines the Status of Women" by the French feminist Elisabeth Badinter is getting a lot of attention in the press; indeed, it's a book club feature on the Motherlode blog in The New York Times.

Is Badinter right? Has women's obsession with being the perfect mother destroyed feminism? In particular, has this trend of "attachment parenting" been bad for working moms?

Responses:

Attachment Parenting Is Feminism
Mayim Bialik, actress and author of "Beyond the Sling"

Working Moms Are Right to Be Realistic
Heather McDonald, comedian, producer and author

Good Riddance to Feminism!
LaShaun Williams, columnist and blogger

We Want Perfection, but Also Need Sleep
Erica Jong, author

Martyr Mothering Has Drawbacks
Pamela Druckerman, author, "Bringing Up Bébé"

It's About Parenting, Not 'Mothering'
Annie Urban, blogger at PhD in Parenting

Let's Not Pass Judgment
Maria Blois, author, "Babywearing"

Some banks have begun offering lucrative services that were once left to check cashing storefronts and payday loan outfits. The banking industry as a whole earned nearly $30 billion last year from overdraft fees on debit cards and checking accounts. Two years ago almost all banks offered free checking, now about a third do. Since the collapse of the housing bubble, and the recession, banks have been making more money from consumer fees. Do these charges need to be more closely regulated or limited, or are they necessary for the health of the banks, and the economy.

Responses:

Regulate Fees to Level the Playing Field
Eric T. Schneiderman, New York State Attorney General

Fees Cover Costs, as Other Income Has Declined
Nessa Feddis, American Bankers Association

Public Obligations Outweigh Rights to Obscene Profits
Sarah Ludwig, Neighborhood Economic Development Advocacy Project

Consumers Pay for Excess Regulation
Richard A. Epstein, N.Y.U. School of Law

Only the Latest Way Banks Exploit the Poor
Rashad Robinson, executive director, ColorOfChange.org

Banks Are Best Able to Serve Low-Income Customers
Jennifer Tescher, Center for Financial Services Innovation

Profits Are the Reason for Fees, Not Risk or Costs
Chi Chi Wu, National Consumer Law Center

Humans have always been fascinated by nature, but these days many of us are following our curiosity to the multiplex or the couch, rather than the backyard or the beach. Families are flocking to theaters for the new Disney documentary “Chimpanzee," and grown-ups have been tuning in at home for the Discovery series “Frozen Planet." (And now dogs can watch squirrels on TV.)

Are films and shows like these helping to connect viewers with the natural world? Or do they contribute to "nature deficit disorder," replacing the experience of spending time outdoors?

Responses:

Virtual Reality Is No Substitute
Ming Kuo, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign

Films Give Us a Rare View
Fred Kaufman, executive producer, "Nature"

The Screen Can Lure Us Outdoors
Richard Louv, author, "Last Child in the Woods"

Part of a Balanced Diet
Cynthia Chris, author, "Watching Wildlife"

The virtually all-white cast of the HBO comedy “Girls” has generated debate about why so many television programs have few nonwhite actors in major roles. Shows like “Scandal,” a new ABC
drama starring a black actress, Kerry Washington, in a leading role, are rare exceptions.

Why are executives not casting more minorities? Are show runners afraid of compromising their storytelling, or is something else at play?

Responses:

Where's the Multi-Culti Cool?
Trey Ellis, novelist, screenwriter and playwright

Audiences Can Be Color Blind
Sarah Seltzer, pop culture writer

'Girls' Starts the Conversation
Teddy Zee, producer

Diversify the Entire Industry
Joe Holt, actor

Break the Stereotypes
Phoebe Robinson, comedian

Reflect Reality, Even if It's All-White
J-L Cauvin, comedian

Free to Be Biased?
Melissa Murray and Russell Robinson, Berkeley Law, University of California and Berkeley Law, University of California

Girls, Girls, Girls
Melissa Silverstein, Women and Hollywood

Ever since Vice President Dan Quayle's 1992 Murphy Brown speech, family and "family values" have had a prominent role in Republican campaigning. This election year it was a theme for Rick Santorum, and Newt Gingrich and Mitt Romney also often refer to family values — elevating the ideal of heterosexual, monogamous, married couples who have children in a nuclear family.

But this model is not the reality for a growing number of Americans. Has the Republican ideal of family become outdated, or is it still a worthy goal for public policy?

Kevin Noble Maillard, a law professor at Syracuse University, organized this discussion.

Responses:

The Myth of the Traditional Family
Kevin Noble Maillard, Syracuse University College of Law

Stronger Families, Stronger Societies
William Bennett, author, "The Book of Man"

'Christian' Ideals That Christ Wouldn't Recognize
Stephanie Coontz, author, "Marriage, a History"

The Definition of Marriage Bends Toward Justice
Angela Onwuachi-Willig, University of Iowa College of Law

One Man, One Woman, One Marriage
Mark Regnerus, author, "Premarital Sex in America"

Unmarried, and Ignored by the G.O.P.
Cindy Butler, Alternatives to Marriage Project

Both Parties Disappoint
Elizabeth Marquardt, FamilyScholars.org

Pro-Family Need Not Be Anti-Gay
R. Clarke Cooper, Log Cabin Republicans

Regulating Sex Is a Distraction
Janel Benson, Colgate University

Put 'Family Values' in Perspective
Linda Waite, co-author, "The Case for Marriage"

Europe started the week on a nervous note. On Sunday, the French witnessed a narrow victory by the Socialist candidate, François Hollande, over the incumbent, Nicolas Sarkozy, in the first round of presidential elections. The next day, the Dutch prime minister resigned and new data revealed that Spain is officially in a recession. Is this the end of austerity? What happens to Europe if the Germany-France alliance is broken?

Responses:

Austerity Has Only Just Begun
Simon Johnson, economist

Democracy Is Having Its Say
Tyler Cowen, economist

Alternatives Look Mighty Slim
Vanessa Rossi, Oxford Analytica

Don't Be Surprised By What You See
Klaus Abberger, Swiss Economic Institute

French Voters Are Angry
Peter Hägel, American University of Paris

Europe Needs a Financial Policy
Shahin Vallée, visiting fellow, Bruegel