Monthly Archives: December 2008

UK push for Internet ratings, “cinema-style”

By |2020-01-02T15:58:13-05:00December 30th, 2008|Blog|

The UK culture secretary Andy Burnham has recently spoken out about making the internet safer by adopting a rating system similar to the movie ratings. His take on the web: “quite a dangerous place.” According to the Telegraph: His plans to rein in the internet, and censor some websites, are likely to trigger a major row with online advocates who [...]

Prior Review- A Student Press Nightmare

By |2020-01-02T15:58:09-05:00December 30th, 2008|Blog|

At Faribault High School in Faribault, MN, students have refused to allow their superintendent to review a particular article before going to print. The Student Press Law Center reported that the students, citing their 1st Amendment rights, told the Superintendent: “What you believe [is] inappropriate concerning the Prieve story is not a legal standard for prior review or from stopping [...]

Antievolution bills die in committee, Texas science standards change

By |2020-01-05T23:16:17-05:00December 30th, 2008|Blog|

Two antievolution bills in Michigan died in committee on December 19th. The Michigan bills were modeled after the Louisiana Science Education Act which passed in June 2008. According to the National Center for Science Education: If enacted, the [Michigan] bills would have required state and local administrators “to create an environment within public elementary and secondary schools that encourages pupils [...]

Breast-feeding photos censored on Facebook

By |2020-01-02T15:58:08-05:00December 30th, 2008|Blog|

Mothers International Lactation Campaign (MILC) protested in front of Facebook headquarters after photos of mothers breastfeeding their children were removed from Facebook. Facebook said the images violated the terms of agreement (see also: Lori Drew). Heather Farley, a protest organizer, responded that Utah state law, for example,  doesn't consider breastfeeding obscene and that Facebook should change its policy to allow [...]

Resource: Wikileaks

By |2020-01-02T15:58:07-05:00December 29th, 2008|News|

Wikileaks (not affiliated with Wikipedia) is an impressive project to collect leaked documents relating to government and corporate corruption. According to the website: Wikileaks is developing an uncensorable Wikipedia for untraceable mass document leaking and analysis. ... We believe that transparency in government activities leads to reduced corruption, better government and stronger democracies. All governments can benefit from increased scrutiny [...]

Brighton Michigan’s decision to punish “annoying” behavior

By |2020-01-05T23:16:17-05:00December 29th, 2008|Blog|

The new ordinance lets police ticket and fine ($100!) those who "repeatedly commit acts that alarm or seriously annoy another person and that serve no legitimate purpose." Seriously. Snark award goes to hotair.com: Michigan finds itself in such financial distress that its Congressional contingent has successfully harangued the White House into multi-billion-dollar loans to private enterprise.  I find that extremely [...]

Schools to monitor online activities of students

By |2020-01-02T15:58:07-05:00December 29th, 2008|Blog|

There’s a push nationwide to monitor and punish students’ online behavior. According to the Des Moines Register, West Burlington is believed to be the first Iowa school district to consider including cyberspace as part of its student conduct policy, which says bad behavior can sideline children from sports, dances and other school activities. The plan not only raises the hackles [...]

The reason for the season: year end analyses

By |2020-01-02T15:58:05-05:00December 29th, 2008|Blog|

FIRE analyzes two big online speech cases in colleges. Looking at the MSU student found guilty of spamming for sending out emails to professors, and the blocking of JuicyCampus at TSU, the article looks at the legal and social implications of these decisions and how they could shape expression on campus. Gene Policinski looks at the state of the First [...]

Student Press Goes to Washington

By |2020-01-02T15:06:26-05:00December 23rd, 2008|Blog|

With what promises to be the most crowded inauguration in US history, SPLC has issued an advisory to student journalists planning on covering the event: The Student Press Law Center is advising college journalists who plan to cover events surrounding the Presidential Inauguration to be held January 20 in Washington, D.C., to take several precautionary steps to avoid being arrested [...]

Kids’ Right to Read Project Opposes Banning of ‘The Perks of Being a Wallflower’

By |2020-01-03T14:09:01-05:00December 22nd, 2008|Updates|

The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky was banned from ninth grade classrooms at Portage High School in Portage, IN, in late November 2008.  The book was challenged by one parent who objected to sexual content in the novel, and the school board decided to remove the book from the curriculum.  In response to an article published in the school newspaper, the Pow Wow, which reported on the review process for The Perks of Being a Wallflower, school administrators imposed a new policy requiring that all future newspaper content be subject to prior review.  In December 2008, the Kids' Right to Read Project sent a letter to the school board and superintendent opposing the banning of the book and the new prior review policy for the newspaper.

Tango stays in the elementary school library

By |2019-03-07T22:31:41-05:00December 19th, 2008|Blog|

We were delighted to hear that the Ankeny, Iowa, School Board voted 6-1 this week to keep And Tango Makes Three in the district’s elementary school libraries without restrictions.  The book had been challenged by two parents who objected to the story of two male penguins who parent a baby penguin named Tango together. The Kids’ Right to Read Project [...]

NCAC signs letter to MSU President

By |2020-01-02T15:33:42-05:00December 17th, 2008|News|

NCAC and 10 other civil liberties organizations have joined FIRE and the Electronic Frontier Foundation in an open letter to the president of Michigan State University. The letter defends MSU student Kara Spencer who was charged with spamming. Here are excerpts from the letter: We the undersigned write to express our profound concern about the state of free expression at [...]

Brave New Vote

By |2019-03-12T18:26:53-04:00December 16th, 2008|Blog|

Last night, the Coeur d’Alene School Board voted unanimously to return 26 titles (among them Brave New World, Tom Sawyer, and Alice in Wonderland) to district middle and high school classrooms.  A committee of educators had reviewed them and recommended that they be approved by the board for classroom use.  The board voted in November in a 2-2 split vote [...]

Avoiding Controversy in Rowlett (AKA: Censorship)

By |2019-03-12T18:27:02-04:00December 16th, 2008|Blog|

Listening to: La Vie Boheme On December 12, the Dallas Morning News reported that Rowlett High School had canceled a production of the musical Rent after protest from some parents in the community. According to the article, the school’s theatre director made the decision in the interest of the students involved: “In light of everything that has happened, I need [...]

NC State Update

By |2019-03-07T22:31:39-05:00December 15th, 2008|Blog|

An incident at North Carolina State University in early November involving hateful words directed at President-elect Obama has sparked debate on campus about the extent to which Hate Speech is Free Speech. The debate has apparently spread to the UNC  campus as well. ABC News, Chapel Hill reports: After the controversy over racist comments spray-painted in the Free Expression Tunnel [...]

2nd Amendment: Censored evolution editorial was plagiarized

By |2020-01-05T23:16:14-05:00December 15th, 2008|Blog|

We left for the weekend with a piece on a student's editorial that was pulled from the school paper. From the student's perspective, and from the principal's response, it seemed the article was pulled because it defended evolution and failed to mention creationism. Unfortunately, as reported today in the Roanoke Times, the article was plagiarized. According to the editorial, the [...]

1st Amendment: BYU student’s photos back in art show

By |2019-03-07T22:31:22-05:00December 15th, 2008|Blog|

As jayhova pointed out in our comments section, the BYU photographer's pieces have been put back into the art show. Excerpted on the artist's blog, BYU's official statement stated that a "miscommunication" led to the removal of photographs of gay BYU students and a friend/partner/family member. We're glad to see that the pieces will be in the show and they [...]

Free Speech: A Two-Way Street

By |2019-03-07T23:18:52-05:00December 15th, 2008|Censorship News Articles|

In August Random House canceled publication of The Jewel of Medina, a historical novel about Mohammed’s wife Aisha, after a professor of Islamic studies warned it might be “offensive to some in the Muslim community,” and also “incite acts of violence by a small, radical segment." The professor alerted colleagues about the book; what follows is the response of one of those colleagues, Shahed Amanullah, editor-in-chief of altmuslim.com.

What’s wrong with this picture?

By |2019-03-07T23:12:12-05:00December 15th, 2008|Censorship News Articles|

To paraphrase H.L. Mencken, for every complex problem, there’s a simple solution — and it’s almost always wrong. Mencken must be smiling at the proposal to address the complex problem of teen smoking by including warnings to parents about movies that contain smoking, like the warnings about sex and violence.

Free Speech: Can We Afford It?

By |2019-03-07T23:11:33-05:00December 15th, 2008|Censorship News Articles|

The economy has tanked. Chaos in financial institutions has been averted for the moment only through the infusion of federal funds. Hardship is spreading, leaving people without homes and jobs, shrinking the middle class and creating panic in educational and cultural institutions.

Student editorial on evolution pulled by principal

By |2019-03-12T18:27:32-04:00December 12th, 2008|Blog|

A dispiriting story in the Roanoke Times on a student who's opinion piece on evolution was pulled by the principle principal (amusing typo, Sarah). Brandon Creasy, who is a student at Leonard A. Gereau Center for Applied Technology and Career Exploration wrote the article for the school magazine. The crux of his piece (printed in the Roanoke Times) is that: [...]

‘Girl, Interrupted’: The Uncensored Version

By |2020-01-02T15:33:40-05:00December 12th, 2008|Blog|

We were pleased to see that the Board of Education in New Rochelle, NY, will replace censored copies of Susanna Kaysen's memoir, Girl, Interrupted, with full text copies in New Rochelle High School classes. The Kids' Right to Read Project sent this letter to the school board, commending its decision. Here's an excerpt: We applaud your recent decision to replace [...]

A School Grows in Brooklyn?

By |2020-01-02T15:33:39-05:00December 12th, 2008|Blog|

A new article in Color Lines revitalizes the discussion around the Khalil Gibran International Academy in Brooklyn, NY. The school, which teaches classes in both Arabic and English, was conceived of in 2005 as a multicultural learning environment. “Since 9/11, Arabs have been targeted in New York,” said one Arab parent who did not want to be named for fear [...]

Students, Principals and fake Myspace profiles

By |2020-01-06T00:06:56-05:00December 12th, 2008|Blog|

Yesterday we wrote about the student who was suspended for a Facebook page she created criticizing her teacher. Today: we look at two Myspace student cases facing the court. In Layshock v. Hermitage School District, high school senior Justin Layshock created a fake Myspace profile of Hickory High School principal Eric Trosch. The profile said that Trosch was a “big [...]

Consumer tools to compare hospital care

By |2019-03-12T18:27:46-04:00December 12th, 2008|Blog|

The Boston Globe reported the launch of a new website that allows Massachusetts residents to compare the cost and quality of care at different hospitals in the state.  Patients now have access to previously confidential information that they can use to make informed decisions about the medical care they seek.  Consumers can compare, for example, patient satisfaction data and safety [...]

High School Censorship Poll

By |2019-03-07T22:31:36-05:00December 12th, 2008|Blog|

[polldaddy poll=1188091] Sherman Alexie book pulled Student sues for Facebook suspension RENT cancelled by director Bumper sticker suspension upheld Censored Girl, Interrupted replaced

Kids’ Right to Read Project Opposes Censorship of ‘Girl, Interrupted’

By |2020-01-03T14:17:07-05:00December 12th, 2008|Updates|

Teachers at New Rochelle High School in New Rochelle, NY, removed pages from Girl, Interrupted, reportedly due to complaints about sexual content and profanity.  The school board issued a statement opposing the censorship and announced that full text copies will replace the censored copies.

Kids’ Right to Read Project Opposes Banning of ‘The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian’

By |2020-01-03T14:08:38-05:00December 12th, 2008|Incidents|

School officials in Crook County, OR, removed The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie from ninth grade English classes at Crook County High School after one parent complained about a passage that discussed masturbation.  The Kids' Right to Read Project sent a letter to the Crook County superintendent and school board, opposing the book's removal.

The Absolutely True Story of a Book Banning

By |2020-01-02T15:33:32-05:00December 11th, 2008|Blog|

Sometimes, book banning is as simple as: Parent complains to school board about book (offending excerpts in hand). School board member agrees book is “inappropriate.” Good-bye, good literature. The Crook County School Board in Prineville, Oregon, did just that with nationally-renowned author Sherman Alexie’s National Book Award-winning young adult novel, The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian.  The book [...]

Former Student Sues School After Suspension for creating Facebook Page

By |2020-01-02T15:33:30-05:00December 11th, 2008|Blog|

In November 2007 Katherine Evans, a senior at Pembroke Pines Charter High created a Facebook group criticizing her teacher. Three other students weighed in to comment: all supporting the teacher. Two days later Evans took down the page. Two months later, the school principal Peter Bayer told Evans that she would be suspended for three days for “bullying and cyberbullying [...]

RENT CANCELED

By |2019-03-12T18:28:00-04:00December 11th, 2008|News|

Rowlett High School (TX)  has canceled a scheduled production the musical, RENT: School Edition,  after controversy arose over the play's content. the Dallas Morning News reports: After weeks of community debate and a packed school board meeting, the school's theater director canceled the upcoming performances of Rent: School Edition. ''In light of everything that has happened, I need to think [...]

It gets juicier

By |2019-03-12T18:28:16-04:00December 11th, 2008|Blog|

JuicyCampus sues Tennessee State University. Bonus: Excellent editorial from Brandeis University's student newspaper on why Brandeis should not ban JuicyCampus. Excerpt: "Students encouraging administrative control of which pages students can and cannot view on Brandeis' network are encouraging a restriction of their First Amendment rights."

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