James Parlin's sculpture "The Middle School Science Teacher Makes a Decision He'll Live to Regret" provoked controversy and censorship when it was included in an exhibition of the artists' work at Bowling Green State University Firelands. Some even claimed the image was illegal child porn and condemned NCAC for opposing the censorship.
The National Coalition Against Censorship asks you to support Governor Huntsman’s veto of House Bill 353. We agree with the Governor that H. B. 353 poses both constitutional and practical problems.
Another legal action over the practice of sexting has emerged. Only this time it is the alleged "sexters" who are suing state prosecutors on the grounds that criminalizing sexting infringes on their First Amendment rights.
The Knowledge Project's Isabelle Katz Pinzler moderates a panel at Cardozo Law School. "Constitutional Crisis of Conscience: Pharmacists & Emergency Contraception"
Contemporary Threats to Free Expression A Symposium for College Professors May 1-2, 2009 Capital Community College in Hartford, Connecticut Friday, May 1 1:30 – 1:45 PM: Welcome (Don Noel and Joan Bertin) 1:45 – 3:15 PM: Historical overview of the development of contemporary First Amendment law (Chris Finan) 3:15 – 3:30 PM: Break 3:30 – 5:00 PM: Censorship in [...]
In an email to faculty BGSU Interim Provost stated that “the piece was initially removed so that [] legal review could occur.” Apparently, BGSU administrators wondered whether “the sculpture constituted child pornography or breached restrictions on depictions of child abuse.”
Writing that "the language of this bill is so broad that it likely will be struck down by the courts as an unconstitutional violation of the Dormant Commerce Clause and/or the First Amendment," Utah Governor Jon Huntsman has vetoed bill HB 353.
Last week, the Utah Legislature overwhelmingly approved House Bill 353, the “Truth in Advertising” amendments in yet another effort to legally enforce the private voluntary rating schemes used by industry to inform consumers about the contents of movies, video games, and music. We strongly oppose it and urge you to veto it.
NCAC has joined many First Amendment, civil liberties, and minority rights organizations in a letter calling on an end to "ideological exclusion." During the Bush administration, international academics and writers were denied visas to the United States based on their political beliefs.
High school students, educators, and free speech advocates from around the city will gather at the New York Film Academy on Saturday, March 28 for Youth Voices Uncensored, an afternoon of film screenings and discussions about how youth media can address important social and political issues.
The Kids' Right to Read Project sent the letter below to the school board and superintendent at Crook County Schools to oppose the ongoing ban on classroom use of The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie. After the superintendent removed the book in violation of district policy, a committee reviewed the book and voted to reinstate it. The book was returned to the library, but it remains suspended from classroom use while the superintendent, school board, and a committee review the district’s policies on instructional materials.
NCAC joined other free speech organizations in sending a letter urging members of the Topeka, Kansas, library board to restore The Joy of Sex and three other sex education books to public library shelves.
NCAC is a co-sponsor of this year's Sunshine Week. Running March 15-21, Sunshine Week "is a national initiative to open a dialogue about the importance of open government and freedom of information."
On March 28, 2009 more than 75 young people from around New York City came together to share films with each other and discuss the role of grassroots media in advocating for the changes they want to see in society.
Provost and Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs at UNCW Resigns Brian Chapman, Provost and Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs at the University of North Carolina Wilmington, resigned this week after a less than a year-long tenure. The resignation came shortly after the UNCW Faculty Senate passed a motion admonishing the UNCW administration for not consulting with the Women's Resource Center, [...]
Rosemary DePaolo Chancellor UNC Wilmington 601 South College Road Wilmington, N.C. 28403-3297 [email protected] February 27, 2009 Dear Chancellor DePaolo- On behalf of the National Coalition Against Censorship, an alliance of over 50 national non-profit organizations united in defense of free expression, I would like to express deep concern over the removal of a substantial part of The Century Project photo [...]
On February 25, school board members in La Grande, OR voted to uphold Superintendent Larry Glaze’s decision to censor a student production of Steve Martin’s “Picasso at the Lapin Agile”, ignoring spirited and articulate appeals from the High School principal and drama teacher. It was yet another disturbing case of school officials catering to the more censorious voices in their community. Prior to the board meeting, NCAC urged Superintendent Glaze to reconsider his decision.
A Symposium for College Professors: May 1-2, 2009
Capital Community College in Hartford, Connecticut
The symposium is a unique opportunity for college faculty to hear top experts in the field of free speech and discuss the latest First Amendment debates.
The Wyandotte, MI, School Board has banned The Bookseller of Kabul by Asne Seierstad from classrooms and the library at Roosevelt High School while the book is reviewed by a reconsideration committee. One student's parents and her "spiritual mentor" object to violence and sexual content and asked that the book be removed in the fall. The book was being taught in honors English classes. It was removed from the library and placed in the superintendent's office earlier this month.
Does your state still require you to say the Pledge of Allegeiance? According to the Supreme Court deicsion WEST VIRGINIA STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION V. BARNETTE (1943) (see below in "lawsuits worth knowing about") it is unconstitutional to make students recite the pledge of allegiance. However, some states still have statutes that require students participate in the pledge at school. [...]
Free speech organizations joined in criticizing a decision by the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals upholding the Miami-Dade County School Board’s banning of the children’s picture book Vamos a Cuba.
Cleburne ISD Superintendent Dr. Ronny Beard removed The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett from the Cleburne High School curriculum in Cleburne, TX, after parents complained about sexual content in the book. The Pillars of the Earth had been part of the senior honors English curriculum at Cleburne High since 1996. Parents complained after the book was assigned this past summer, even though the teacher offered an alternative assignment for those who objected to the book.
The Kids' Right to Read Project sent this letter to the superintendent and school board, opposing the book ban:
The panelists will speak on matters including gender stereotyping in the programs, the suppression of information mandated by the program, the impact on LGBT students, and the human right to sexuality education.
Were there times you were afraid to speak up? Do you sometimes wish you spoke your mind more? Do you wish you censored yourself more? Have you changed what you’ve written for fear it would get you into trouble? In your art, music, writing, or filmmaking do you ever stop yourself from doing what you want because you are [...]
Night Talk by Elizabeth Cox was challenged in fall 2008 for its sexual content by one parent who requested that the book be removed from the library at South Gwinnett High School. A school-based committee denied the request in November 2008 and decided to keep the book in the library.
The Kids' Right to Read Project sent a letter to the System Review Committee and Assistant Superintendent for Teaching and Learning, opposing the challenges:
The Censorship in Camouflage Project consist of a series of discussions and publications exploring structural, economic, political and cultural factors—in addition to the more frequently debated legal issues—constraining artistic expression.
NCAC joined over 260 organizations in supporting an amendment to the economic stimulus legislation that would increase whistleblower protections for federal employees. On January 28, 2009, the House of Representatives unanimously adopted this amendment.
Rachel Vail is the author of over 30 books and short stories for children and young adults, including her most recent, critically-acclaimed, picture book, Jibberwillies at Night (2008). A strong proponent of the freedom to read, Ms. Vail spoke with the Kids’ Right to Read Project about censorship and her experiences and responses to it as a writer.
Newman-Crows Landing Unified School District Superintendent removed Bless Me, Ultima by Rudolfo Anaya from district high school classes after one parent objected to the book as “anti-Catholic.” The ACLU of Northern California and PEN American Center joined in sending a letter to the school board opposing the ban.
NCAC's Svetlana Mintcheva discusses images of atrocity, censorship and contextualization with Clifford Chanin (National September 11 Memorial and Museum), curator/activist Leora Kahn, and war correspondent Sydney Schanberg. February 4th at the Museum of Jewish Heritage in New York City.
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.
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.
Pulled books, Picasso's Stalin poster taken down, obscenity charges for manga, Kokopelli sculpture taken down, images of guns censored.
Censorship News Issue 108
Newsgroups, FCC and Comcast, Lieberman and Google, Child Online Protection Action found unconstitutional.
First Amendment rights have taken a beating in the last eight years. With new faces in Washington, this trend may be reversed. Here are some of the issues to watch.
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.
The Supreme Court has a full docket of First Amendment cases. Some of them are
confusing even to the Justices. The article looks at: Ysura v. Pocotatello Education Association, Pleasant Grove City v. Summum, FCC v. Fox Television Stations, Wyeth v. Levine, and Citizens United v. FEC.
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.
The latest edition of NCAC's newsletter Censorship News is out. This edition includes First Amendment policy and practices that can be addressed by the Obama Administration, Supreme Court cases being argued on First Amendment grounds, and Joan Bertin's editorial on free expression during economic recession.
