Democracy and other things whose stories you can map By Jen Hanauer Contributing Writer Dayton Daily News, 30 December 2025 I like maps. More specifically, I like using maps to tell stories. Let’s say, for instance, you were to map the year built for all of the homes in Dayton. You’d see a gradual expansion outward from downtown as the city grew. You might even notice the bumps that happened following events that motivated and supported building further out from the city center, events like the 1913 flood and the introduction of the trolleybus in the 1930s. Maps can narrate our history, and sometimes they can be used to anticipate our future.
If you were to look at maps of voter turnout in the Miami Valley, I wonder if you’d see what you expect. Where would you guess had the highest turnout? Where would you suppose had the highest percentage of eligible voters actually registered to vote? What kind of story do you think a map of Daytonians engaging in their civic duty tells us? If you’re wondering why any of that might matter, could I perhaps interest you in a map of noxious land uses in Dayton? Or maybe one of life expectancy in our area?
Your voice is important, nay, crucial when it comes to shaping our community. You can’t just roll with the fun, mandatory society stuff like paying taxes and showing up for jury duty. Be part of the body politic, stand up, speak up, speak out, be counted, be informed, and for Pete’s sake, vote. “Democracy is not a spectator sport,” Christine Corba, executive director of the League of Women Voters of the Greater Dayton Area, said at a recent panel on free speech at Dayton Metro Library. “Democracy only works when you participate.”
The panel, dubbed “The Case for Free Speech,” marked the second event of the Constitution Series, presented by LWVGDA and the Dayton Bar Association’s Social Justice Initiative. Moderated by U.S. Magistrate Judge Caroline H. Gentry, the evening showcased representatives from local media outlets and educational institutions talking about their fight to defend the First Amendment. The panelists also had advice for the audience on how to protect ourselves and prepare for the battle, which LWVGDA President Dr. Jacqueline Housel reminded us is not the sole responsibility of the media and the courts, it’s also on us.
“Be informed, but get your information from credible sources,” said ThinkTV multimedia journalist Emiko Moore, “and stay out of the echo chambers.” “Listen to and read things that make you uncomfortable,” offered Dayton Daily News investigations and solutions editor Josh Sweigart.
“Have and use your Dayton Metro Library card, there’s information you can only get from a book- length argument,” said DML Community Impact Specialist Jordan Ostrum. After reading the First Amendment and providing background on how it came to be, panelist Christopher Roederer, interim dean of the University of Dayton School of Law, said that free speech “is not a completely free thing.”
He said that we have a responsibility when speaking and that people are constantly trying to weaponize the First Amendment. “The Constitution is only as strong as the people willing to defend it,” Roederer warned. If you’re interested in defending our Constitution and protecting the future of free and fair elections, consider joining the Unite and Rise 8.5 challenge, an effort to activate 8.5 million eligible voters.
You may also like LWVGDA’s Facebook page, host an LWVGDA speaker at your civic organization, become a member of LWVGDA, and/or donate to the organization, as everything LWVGDA does is funded by donations. What story do you want your map to tell?
