University claims its choice to close an exhibit of visual art by Palestinian teenagers "isn't censorship." Brandeis student Lior Halperin (read an interview with Lior at Democracy Now!) curated "Voices from Palestine," an exhibit of visual art by Palestinian teenagers, to bring a different viewpoint to the campus. But four days into a two-week exhibition, school administrators have [...]
The web is still abuzz with discussion of Stephen Colbert's keynote address at the annual White House Correspondents Association dinner. If you missed his performance, you can see it here. The roast has generated such a preponderance of discussion, criticism (of both the press corps and Colbert himself), and even fawning admiration, it seems useful to point our readers [...]
In early June 2007, Norman Siegel, the students' attorney, announced details of a settlement between the students and the Parks Department. The city promised to pay a total of $56,750 in damages: $750 to each of the eighteen students and a participating professor, plus $42,500 for the students' legal fees.
By Jamie Malernee South Florida Sun-Sentinel May 5, 2006 A 10-year-old Coral Springs girl won't be allowed to sing a controversial President Bush-bashing ballad at her school talent show after her principal deemed it inappropriate and too political. The song, Dear Mr. President, performed and co-written by the singer Pink, criticizes the president for the war in Iraq and other [...]
Rep. David Wu (D-OR) has written an open letter to the GAO that requests follow up on allegations of "political litmus tests for science appointees, manipulation of scientific findings and reports by political appointees, and politically driven censorship of scientists." The text of the letter is reproduced below: David M. Walker Comptroller General Government Accountability Office 441 G Street, NW [...]
On April 12, 2006, San Bernardino County Supervisor Bill Postmus ordered Paul Gravett's Manga: Sixty years of Japanese comics removed from all San Bernardino County public libraries. The removal of the book was clearly based on objections to its content, i.e. a few sexually explicit drawings in a section about a manga subgenre.
Harry Potter continues to face challenges in public school systems. Most often, this challenges are brought by conservative Christian parents who are concerned that the book contains "witchcraft", i.e., wizards and witches, magic, and sorcery. Want to get involved? Here's how: On April 20, a hearing officer designated by the Gwinnett County Board of Education will hear testimony from the [...]
Supervisor Bill Postmus, Chairman 385 N. Arrowhead Avenue, 5th Floor San Bernardino, CA 92415-0110 Fax 909-387-3029 April 20, 2006 Dear Supervisor Postmus-- I am writing on behalf of the National Coalition Against Censorship, an alliance of 50 national non-profit organizations united in defense of free expression. We strongly urge you [...]
UPDATE:April 22nd, 2006: after winning a restraining order in federal court — so that administrators at Coral Academy of Science could not prevent him from reciting the poem of his choice — Jacob Behymer-Smith won 2nd place in the Nevada state finals of the "Poetry Out Loud" contest with his recitation of W.H. Auden's "The More Loving One." His performance [...]
Colorado Lawyers for the Arts presents: "Censorship and the Arts in America's Culture Wars": ART, FREE SPEECH AND THE LAW: COMPARATIVE AND CONTRASTING VIEWS A panel discussion and open forum presented by The Art Students League of Denver, Colorado Bar Association, Colorado Lawyers for the Arts (CoLA), Denver Public Schools and the National Coalition Against Censorship Friday, April 7, 2006: [...]
The New School presents a Writers-at-Large Symposium: "Writers of the Storm: Fake News, and Public Decency, in the Age of Terror" Writers-at-Large, a California-based writers' advocacy group, and The New School, are delighted to bring you a panel discussion " Writers of the Storm: Fake News and Public Decency in the Age of Terror." The forum will deal with our [...]
The United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan granted the Entertainment Software Association’s (ESA) request for a preliminary injunction to block implementation of the recently enacted Michigan statute seeking to ban the sale of certain video games to minors.
First Amendment Protected in Case Involving Video Game Violence Judge Whyte of the District Court of Northern California granted a preliminary injunction preventing a California statute from going into effect on January 1, 2006. The Act required that violent video games be labelled, and prevented the sale or rental of these video games to minors. In his decision, Judge Whyte [...]
Video Games Upheld as Protected Speech In a decision hailed by free speech advocates, the Illinois District Court Judge Kennelly issued a strongly worded 53 page opinion in which he concluded that both the restrictions on violent and non obscene sexually explicit games violate the First Amendment and granted a permanent injunction against their implementation. In his opinion, Judge Kennelly [...]
The American Association of University Professors, the National Coalition Against Censorship, and the American Civil Liberties Union of Arizona oppose ...
Statement from Connie Mitchell, Carmel High School Media Center: There are multiple issues in the Kite Runner incident in Indianapolis. The basic censorship attempt to remove it from the curriculum, and using adult vs YA books in freshmen classes are two. What concerns me the most, however, is "Superintendent Michael Copper has recommended that ALL material used in classrooms be [...]
March 14, 2006 — Jay Bennish returns to class. See The Denver Post. 100 students at Overland High School in Aurora, ...
Free Speech or Blasphemy? Censorship or Discretion? Click here for a statement from NCAC on the controversy surrounding the Mohammed cartoons, featured in Censorship News #101. We are presenting here a selection of the material published on the issue, and reports of incidents of censorship in connection with the cartoons. Resources An extraordinarily thorough summary of the controversy is [...]
The removal of three paintings from Lloyd Marcus’s series "STOREFRONTS” from the Deltona City Hall display celebrating Black History Month is a misapplication of the principle of separation of church and state. While government is barred from endorsing one religion above others by way of prominent display of religious symbols in government buildings, the inclusion of three paintings that refer [...]
FROM THE COALITION from the Student Press Law Center February 21, 2006 WASHINGTON, D.C. - The U.S. Supreme Court announced this morning that it will not hear a case that questioned the authority of administrators at an Illinois university to censor a student newspaper that published articles critical of the school. The Court rejected a request by former student journalists [...]
Nearly a year has passed since news broke that the administration was paying television commentators to tout its policies on the air, and was distributing pre-packaged video segments designed to be indistinguishable from local news reports. Although the Government Accountability Office decried these practices as illegal "covert propaganda," the Justice Department has instructed those responsible to ignore the GAO’s opinion, because it is “nonbinding.”
Potentially Harmful: The Art of American Censorship at Georgia State University, January 10 — March 10, 2006 Georgia State University presents Potentially Harmful: The Art of American Censorship in the Ernest G. Welch School of Art & Design Gallery. Featured artists: Dread Scott, Robert Mapplethorpe, Sue Coe, Lynda Benglis, Andres Serrano, Karen Finley, Alma Lopez, John Trobaugh, John [...]
"Paramount among the responsibilities of a free press is the duty to prevent any part of the government from deceiving the people" — Supreme Court Justice Hugo Black, 1971
We asked our Participating Organizations to contribute to Censorship News #100 by reporting on a topic of concern to their constituents. Below are a few responses that illustrate the wide range of censorship-oriented issues that the coalition is working to address.
On December 21, a bipartisan coalition struck down a measure to permanently adopt most of the USA Patriot Act. The Senate instead passed a five week extension, citing the need to institute more protections for Americans' privacy and civil liberties.
Dr. James E. Hansen, director of the Goddard Institute for Space Studies, found himself under close scrutiny by his superiors at NASA due to his attempts to inform the public about global warming.
In Hosty v. Carter (6/20/05), the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals decided that the framework for analyzing high school students' press rights established by the Supreme Court in Hazelwood vs. Kuhlmeier (1988) also applies to publicly-subsidized colleges and universities.
A federal district court in Connecticut has issued a preliminary injunction against a “gag order,” part of a National Security Letter, issued by the FBI to obtain library records. Institutions receiving National Security Letters are forbidden to inform anyone about the search.
Letter from NCAC, NCTE, ABFFE. AAP, and PEN American Center to Carroll County Public Schools Superintendent Charles I. Ecker Superintendent of Schools Carroll County Public Schools 125 North Court Street Westminster, Maryland 21157 Re: The Earth, My Butt and Other Big Round Things, by Carolyn Mackler Dear Superintendent Ecker: We write to express our concerns about your decision to remove [...]
(Click Here for NCAC's December 8th Letter to Superintendent Ecker) Originally published December 9th, 2005 in The Baltimore Sun By Gina Davis Sun reporter Amid a flurry of protests of censorship from across the country, Carroll County's school superintendent said yesterday that he is struggling with whether to keep a popular book for teens out of the district's libraries or [...]
Hampton University student protesters no longer threatened with expulsion - the University administration has stated that expulsion is "no longer on the table."
School board members and some parents from Dover, PA have been quoted in The New York Times as saying that "teaching intelligent design is a free speech issue." They're only right if they're talking about First Amendment protection against compelled speech.
In Hosty v. Carter (6/20/05), the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals decided that the framework for analyzing high school students' press rights established by the Supreme Court in Hazelwood vs. Kuhlmeier (1988) also applies to publicly-subsidized colleges and universities. The ruling, which applies in Illinois, Indiana and Wisconsin, has alarmed First Amendment advocates.
A federal district court in Connecticut has issued a preliminary injunction against a “gag order,” part of a National Security Letter, issued by the FBI to obtain library records. Institutions receiving National Security Letters are forbidden to inform anyone about the search.
The Public Broadcasting System pulled an episode of a children's show, Postcards from Buster, when Education Secretary Margaret Spellings complained.
The following is excerpted from an essay in the Magazine Section of The New York Times, 2/20/05.
From a so-called Academic Bill of Rights campaign to the resignation of a university president in Colorado, academic freedom is under attack.
Balance seems an unassailable ideal. But consider how the concept can be misused.
September 29, 6-8 PM Donnell Library Center Auditorium Featuring Judy Blume, Deborah Hautzig, Robert Lipsyte, Walter Dean Myers, Phyllis Reynolds Naylor, Peter Sís, and Rita Williams-Garcia - visit www.pen.org for bios of the participants. A webcast of the event is now available online from the NY Public Library Award-winning children's and young adult writers will read from banned and challenged [...]
John Whitehead Chairman Board of Directors Lower Manhattan Development Corporation One Liberty Plaza, 20th Floor New York, NY 10006 September 13, 2005 Dear Mr. Whitehead- On behalf of the National Coalition Against Censorship, the Brennan Center for Justice, the College Art Association, PEN American Center and other organizations and individuals concerned with democracy, civil liberties, and the arts I [...]