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Thomas Kozma

Thomas Kozma is a Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy junior majoring in planning and public policy. His column, “With Liberty and Justice for All,” runs on alternate Fridays.

KOZMA: Cities must embrace electric bikes

Electric bikes, or e-bikes, have the potential to reshape transportation as much as the car did decades ago, leading to a cleaner, safer, healthier and less congested urban landscape. Policymakers must seize this opportunity, but unfortunately, they so far have lagged behind consumers.Mar 1 2022

KOZMA: True inclusion in society extends beyond diversity efforts

Good intentions do not automatically lead to good results, and nowhere is that clearer than with the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) industry. Over the past few years, most universities, government departments, public school districts, major businesses and nonprofits have adopted some policy relating to DEI.Feb 15 2022

KOZMA: Attempts to ban books due to 'divisive concepts' hurts academic freedom

Amid a surge in attempts to remove controversial books from school libraries in the early 1980s, the American Library Association (ALA) started commemorating Banned Books Week every September to celebrate free expression. Feb 1 2022

KOZMA: Issues with college admissions processes go deeper than SATs

There is widespread agreement that the college admissions system is a nerve-racking, arbitrary process plagued by discrimination, favoritism and corruption. Yet when it comes time to think of new ideas, finding a consensus can become impossible.Jan 18 2022

KOZMA: Fight traffic congestion by reimagining Rutgers buses

Everyone loves to hate the Rutgers bus system, but the University would be impossible without it. Nov 23 2021

KOZMA: NJ is dragging its feet with marijuana legalization

At Gov. Phil Murphy’s (D-N.J.) rally in New Brunswick last month, one of his loudest applause lines was when he mentioned legalizing marijuana. It was, after all, one of the main promises that helped him win in 2018.Nov 9 2021

KOZMA: Community colleges deserve support, not stigma

President Joseph R. Biden conceded in a town hall last week that tuition-free community college would be among the many policies dropped or scaled back in the Democrats' Build Back Better Agenda, thanks to the opposition of moderate Sens. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) and Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.).Oct 26 2021

KOZMA: To confront traffic deaths, look to Netherlands

Erik Eidner, 20 years old. Susie Maluya, 56. Elain Lyones, 79. Israel Olushola Adebayo, 56. Lucas Bandachowicz, 19. They are just a handful of the New Jerseyans struck dead by car crashes in recent weeks. There are many more whose names we may never learn, but all of their deaths and lives matter. Maybe one of your friends or family members is among them.Oct 12 2021

KOZMA: New Brunswick redevelopment plans cannot exclude affordable housing

Martin Luther King Jr. once spoke about the "two Americas" — one "overflowing with the milk of prosperity and the honey of opportunity" and the other with millions of people "perishing on a lonely island of poverty in the midst of a vast ocean of material prosperity."Sep 28 2021

KOZMA: After months of persuasion, only mandates are left

Back in March, when Rutgers became the first university in the country to mandate the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccine, I thought it was an unnecessary overreach. After all, millions of people were voluntarily making the informed choice to get vaccinated every day — why provoke controversy by mandating it?Sep 14 2021

KOZMA: By changing local election dates, NJ can increase voter turnout

Virginia and New Jersey share an odd approach to timing elections, holding state and local elections the year after presidential ones. We are the only two states voting for our governors this year, for example.Apr 29 2021

KOZMA: Police priorities must be reevaluated

How many laws have you violated without even knowing? If you read “How to Become a Federal Criminal: An Illustrated Handbook for the Aspiring Offender,” by criminal defense lawyer Mike Chase, who also runs the delightful Twitter account @CrimeADay, you might be surprised.Apr 15 2021

KOZMA: NJ representatives should not hold nation's infrastructure hostage for sake of wealthy

If you were in Congress, would you threaten to derail a long overdue and wildly popular investment in our nation’s infrastructure just to give rich people another tax cut?Apr 1 2021

KOZMA: Voting rights must extend to noncitizens

There is nothing more fundamental to representative democracy than the right to vote in free and fair elections. So why do we still deny this right to millions of people? When we say America has "universal suffrage," we really mean universal suffrage for adult citizens not living in D.C. or an American territory and, depending on the state, who have not been convicted of a felony.Mar 11 2021

KOZMA: Zoning laws must be amended for sake of middle class

Where is it illegal to build a duplex in New Jersey? What about triplexes or fourplexes? These may seem like simple questions, but there are no simple answers. Feb 25 2021

KOZMA: Child poverty is unacceptable in 21st century

If the government could halve child poverty this year, would there be any morally defensible reason not to? Feb 11 2021

KOZMA: Democrats need to abolish filibuster now

After winning the House of Representatives in 2018, Democrats passed the For the People Act (H.R. 1). The most ambitious democracy reform since the Voting Rights Act of 1965, H.R. 1 would effectively abolish partisan gerrymandering, ensure automatic voter registration, end criminal disenfranchisement and expand early and mail-in voting.Jan 29 2021

KOZMA: Hudson County made wrong move by extending ICE contract

As we recently celebrated Thanksgiving, let us spare a moment for the dozens of detained immigrants in the Hudson County Correctional Facility unable to celebrate with their families.Dec 10 2020

KOZMA: Partisanship poisons government

The stakes could not be clearer: Democratic victories in Georgia's Senate races this January would give President-elect Joe Biden a chance to pass a meaningful legislative agenda. Nov 12 2020

KOZMA: China's genocide must be met with divestment

Democracy is remarkably fragile. It requires a careful balance between majority rule and minority rights, yet we humans are hardwired to gravitate toward strong leaders and suspicion of the "other." Oct 29 2020

KOZMA: Redistricting amendment distracts from system's true flaws

Next month, New Jersey voters will decide whether to approve Public Question 3, which would delay the redistricting process until after the November 2021 elections if New Jersey does not receive data from the Census by Feb. 15 next year. Oct 15 2020

KOZMA: After Republican antics, all bets are off

America lost a consistent and fearless advocate for equal justice under the law with the untimely death of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Whether striking down the exclusion of women from the Virginia Military Institute or standing up for voting rights in her dissent in Shelby County v. Holder, Ginsburg was motivated by a deep faith in our democracy. Oct 1 2020