NCAC Executive Director Joan Bertin, Toni Morrison, Fran Lebowitz at the Free Speech Leadership Council launch
Click on the photo to see more photo's from last night's Conversation with Toni Morrison, launching NCAC's Free Speech Leadership Council.
Free speech advocates make some noise, and books will remain on shelves in West Bend
The West Bend, Wisconsin public library battle finally ended Tuesday with the best decision possible. The Library Board voted unanimously to keep the challenged books on the shelves, “without removing, relocating, labeling, or otherwise restricting access,” according to the West Bend Daily News. An inspiring demonstration of support for free speech among West Bend community members influenced the decision. Last [...]
What about Souter? A closer look at the Supreme Court’s outgoing Associate Justice
With all the focus on and furor over the nomination of Judge Sonia Sotomayor, it is easy to lose sight of the Justice she is replacing—indeed, he likes it that way. But any discussion of how Sotomayor will influence the Court’s freedom of expression jurisprudence is incomplete without some reflection on the Justice whose robes she will fill, David Hackett [...]
Bill O’Reilly, the death of Dr. Tiller, and free speech
Did Bill O’Reilly’s speech about Dr. George Tiller violate the law? Probably not. It is despicable? Certainly. Should it be condemned? Absolutely. Following news of Dr. George Tiller’s murder, journalists quickly began looking at the organizations and individuals who’ve taken radical positions against abortion providers. The most mainstream is Bill O’Reilly, whose show on the Fox network has frequently mentioned [...]
The Good News: Sotomayor’s decision in U.S. v. Quattrone, gagging gag orders
Evaluating where Sonia Sotomayor stands relative to the principles espoused by the First Amendment is frustrating task for two reasons. First, Sotomayor has not authored that many opinions on free expression issues. More importantly, those opinions she has drafted have been fact specific and have narrowly applied existing laws. Her judicial style prohibits straying into “big picture” territory. That being [...]
Bill O’Reilly, the death of Dr. Tiller, and free speech
Did Bill O’Reilly’s speech about Dr. George Tiller violate the law? Probably not. It is despicable? Certainly. Should it be condemned? Absolutely.
Launching the Free Speech Leadership Council: A Conversation with Toni Morrison
This Wednesday, June 3, National Coalition Against Censorship’s launches the Free Speech Leadership Council with A Conversation with Toni Morrison. Talking with Fran Lebowitz, Morrison will talk about her new book Burn This Book and her experiences with censorship. Just recently, Morrison's Song of Solomon was pulled - and then returned - in AP classes in Shelby, MI. This book, [...]
On Sotomayor and censorship: First the bad news…
Judge Sonia Sotomayor’s record of First Amendment cases has been under scrutiny since President Obama nominated her to the Supreme Court last week. Let’s start with the bad news: In Doninger v. Niehoff (2008)*, Sotomayor was part of a panel of judges who decided that a high school student’s blog posts, made from a home computer, were not protected speech. [...]
Students Speak Out on Teacher Layoffs
It’s not every day that students’ voices are heard concerning school policy. Indeed, most major decisions in public education are made with little or no student input. But with teacher layoffs pending in school districts across the nation, hundreds students in Los Angeles sought to change that dynamic last Friday, staging a walkout to protest plans to fire more than [...]
Locker lending library of banned books makes reading cool
The Canturbury Tales, Candide, the Holy Qur’an, The Evolution of Man, and The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy: all these titles are on the list of books banned at a Catholic high school somewhere in the U.S. But that also means you can find them among the texts of Kat Atreides’ covert lending library, which she runs out of her [...]
Reading about it will make you do it?
We’ve read recently about controversy over YA author Laurie Halse Anderson’s recent novel, Wintergirls, in which a high school girl struggles with anorexia and her friend’s death from the disease. Critics of the book say it serves as a “how-to” guide to anorexia for young people. In related news, school officials at Williamson County Schools in Franklin, Tennessee, have decided [...]
Nostalgia time! NCAC blogger Rebecca is moving on…
Rebecca Zeidel has been an astute and dedicated* blogger here at NCAC blog. Chairing the Kids' Right to Read Project (a project co-sponsored by NCAC and ABFFE), she's written about book censorship, science censorship, and censorship of youth voices. Today's her last day, so I thought we'd bring out one of her more infamous blog posts: Super sez: ‘TTYL’ has g2g [...]
Libel Tourism: Taking a vacation from your First Amendment rights
The New York Times weighed in Tuesday on "libel tourism" and advocated for the Senate bill that would protect U.S. citizens’ First Amendment rights from the more stringent laws of other countries, notably England. Senators Arlen Specter and Joe Lieberman recently introduced the Free Speech Protection Act of 2008 in the U.S. Senate. A bi-partisan effort prompted primarily by concern [...]
Elementary Exclusion: Student not allowed to give presentation on Harvey Milk
Natalie Jones, a sixth grade student at Mt. Woodson Elementary School, CA was censored earlier this month after her principal and superintendent failed to apply Ramona United School District's policy reasonably and professionally. Natalie was told she would only be allowed to give her independent research project class presentation on Harvey Milk during lunchtime recess and then only to students [...]
How to get rich quick with the iPhone. Maybe.
The process for developing iPhone applications is simple: you need a catchy idea, a smart programmer (or two, or more) and lots of time. Easy. Once you’re done, you can then submit your application to the Apple store for review. Once accepted, you set a price and start sharing profits with Apple for every app downloaded. And then, [...]
Speaking Freely Online: craigslist Reminds South Carolina Attorney General Henry McMaster of This Right
First Amendment jurisprudence celebrates the metaphorical marketplace of ideas. The website craigslist may very well be an actual representation of this metaphor in that it invites users all over the world to share their ideas, sell their used couches, find roommates and advertise other services, including sensual massages and escort services. I think most readers of this blog agree that [...]
Confronting Censorship with a Flowchart
The ACLU and the ACLU of Tennessee filed suit in Federal Court against two Tennessee school districts, charging the schools are unconstitutionally blocking students from accessing online information about lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender issues. NCAC was involved in an initial response and has been following the case. Now see the story in flowchart form: See it in full effect [...]
Monday Book Censorship Brief
A lot is happening in the world of book censorship. Here’s the most up-to-date news… Toni Morrison has been censored from yet another curriculum – this time from an advanced English class in Shelby, Michigan. Superintendent Dana McGrew ordered the teacher to remove Song of Solomon from the classroom. McGrew said her decision “was based on the fact that I [...]
A Conversation with Toni Morrison
The Inaugural Event of the Free Speech Leadership Council of the National Coalition Against Censorship Wednesday, June 3, 2009, 6:30 to 8:30 PM Hosted by Jane Friedman Awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1993, Toni Morrison is the author of many novels, including The Bluest Eye and Beloved, which are widely taught, and frequent targets of censorship [...]
Tempest in a teapot: Really, is Miss California being punished for her honest, free speech?
Antonio Finns in the Sun-Sentinel lauds Miss California Carrie Prejean for "defend[ing] free speech rights just beautifully." In the Miss America competition, she showed her support for "opposite" marriage (which we understand as "straight marriage") and not gay marriage. She lost the pageant. And since then, the conversation keeps devolving: with claims that she [...]
Teen sex! No fun with iPhone! Holocaust denying! Cyber bullying!
It's five, and my Firefox windows is a few tabs away from crashing. Let's go through 'em, shall we? Bristol Palin is now a celebrity spokesperson for the teen pregnancy prevention run by the Candies Foundation. You may have heard of Candies, a tween/teen clothing store which markets the "floral lace thong" for 7-16 year olds. I'd add a link [...]
Art becomes a peep show at Shasta College
Debbie Smith’s painting, “See It Go” was selected for inclusion in the year end student art show at Shasta Community College in Redding, CA. Styled on the mid-20th century-era “Dick and Jane” books, it depicts two children playing outdoors and a man wearing an open blue bathrobe exposing his sexual arousal. According to press reports, “in response to [...]
Update on “The Story of Stuff” – it’s “spreading and spreading”
We reported in February about a teacher who was punished for violating the school's academic freedom policy by showing two videos, including The Story of Stuff. Yesterday, the New York Times reported that the video "has become a sleeper hit in classrooms across the nation." The article continues: "[M] any educators say the video is a boon to teachers as [...]
What it means: Nine Inch Nails and the iPhone application*: Annotated edition (*4+)
I should have put money on it – or at least Twittered – my Monday prediction that Apple would re-allow the new Nine Inch Nails application into the iPhone Store. The Apple store pulled the application because the application – which had NIN albums – included the controversial album, The Downward Spiral.* Trent Reznor, who’s very internet savvy, first sent [...]
Calling for a book burning in West Bend, Wisconsin
We’ve been covering the challenges to several books in West Bend, Wisconsin, including Geography Club and The Perks of Being a Wallflower. Meanwhile, critics there recently called for restrictions on a third book, Baby Be Bop by Francesca Lia Block. The Christian Civil Liberties Union’s Milwaukee branch has, in fact, filed a legal claim, arguing that the plaintiffs (all of [...]
Fleeting Expletives and the 9-Second Nipple: The Supreme Court Defers to the FCC’s Decision Making in FCC v. Fox & FCC v. CBS
On Tuesday April 28, the Supreme Court handed down a decision in the matter of FCC v. Fox Television Stations, which on its face appears to be hostile to free speech interests. In a 5-4 decision, the Court sided with the FCC, finding that the agency had not been arbitrary or capricious in its sanctioning of Fox Television Stations, Inc. over two instances of live broadcasts where the F- and S- words were uttered. The FCC had determined that these instances of “fleeting expletives” were indecent, but not protected by the First Amendment--- despite a long standing tradition of fleeting instances of indecent content being immune from FCC sanctions. Every cloud has its silver lining, however. This case’s silver lining is that it will ultimately be fantastic for free expression, in that Justice Antonin Scalia, in writing for the majority, declined to make a decision regarding the constitutionality of the FCC’s new policy regarding fleeting expletives, instead sending the case back to the lower court for further deliberation on this issue.
2009 Film Contest Announced/ NYC Students Sound Off About Free Speech in School
On March 28, 2009, students from all over New York City gathered at the first annual Youth Voices Uncensored. This video, shot and edited by Kyle Graffam, captures highlights from the day as participants discussed the topic of this year's 2009 YFEN Film Contest: Free Speech in School (Does it Exist?) Apply online
Contentious Quilts, not for cuddling?
The quilts that grace the pages of Quilter’s Home’s March/April edition are probably not what your grandmother would have made. Their contemporary subject-matter and the direct approach of the quilting artists caused a stir with Jo-Ann Fabrics who refused to carry copies of this particular issue. It seems, however, that the magazine itself was instrumental in creating the stir: “Shocking [...]
Knoxville to Students: No LGBT Websites
In February 2009, NCAC and the ACLU of Tennessee jointly responded to a situation at a Knoxville, TN high school where internet filters are currently blocking constitutional protected material on the web, specifically sites that provide political and educational content around LGBT issues. The censorship was discovered by Andrew Emmitt, a senior at Central High School: When I found out [...]
Contested speech on college campuses
Student Press: No Socialists Allowed At least that seems to be the case at Central Connecticut State University where student journalist, Marissa Blaszko, was apparently fired last month from the school paper because of her connections to the student club, Youth for Socialist Action, and her anti-war politics. In response to the decision, Blaszko released a statement saying: They informed [...]
#amazonfail explained in a flowchart
See it in full effect. Inspired by Anatomy of the #AmazonFAIL protest.
Vermont Looks to Decriminalize Teen Sexting
The Vermont Legislature hopes to tackle the problem of teens facing criminal charges for sexting. The Senate has endorsed a proposal for a bill that would carve out a sexting exception in child pornography laws. Under this proposed law, people between the ages of 13 and 18 would not face child pornography charges for sending graphic images to one another, [...]
Amazon removes GLBT books from search, some books back in online store
The twittersphere has been, well, a-twitter (sorry!) about a story this weekend of Amazon pulling media with GLBT content from it’s sales ranking. Search #amazonfail to have a look. The excuse? The books were “adult” materials. However, it became quickly clear that it was GLBT content that was defining “adultness,” rather than the potential age-appropriateness of the content. The impact? [...]
The fight over Texas science policy continues…
On Friday, March 26, the Texas Board of Education struck down a bill that required evolution be taught with consideration of the "strengths and weaknesses" of the theory. The new bill, however, is not a striking victory for advocates of depolicized, science-based education. According to the NCSE: ...the revised biology standard (7B) reflects two discredited creationist ideas — that "sudden [...]
Student Speech “Muzzled”
Marking the anniversary of Thomas Jefferson’s birthday, the First Amendment Center has issued their annual “Muzzle Awards”, a dubious honor given to “outstanding” Americans in violation of First Amendment principals. The story published on FAC's website notes that more than half of this year’s recipients are community college or K-12 administrators. While this bit of news is no surprise to [...]
More challenged books: couple petitions West Bend, WI, public library
In another case of challenged books from public libraries, a Wisconsin couple has petitioned for the reclassifying of several Young Adult books to Adult. Ginny Maziarka and her husband feel that books like The Perks of Being a Wallflower, The Geography Club, and Deal With It! a whole new approach to your body, brain and life as a gURL should [...]
‘Gossip Girl’ and ‘The Bermudez Triangle’ Challenged in Leesburg, FL
We wrote some weeks ago about censorship and cyberbullying on the TV show, Gossip Girl. Now, Gossip Girl (the book), and The Bermudez Triangle are under fire. One parent in Leesburg, FL has challenged The Bermudez Triangle by Maureen Johnson and Only in Your Dreams: A Gossip Girl Novel by Cecily von Ziegesar because she objects to sexual content and [...]
Provost of UNCW resigns, short tenure overshadowed by censorship
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, Faculty Senate Steering Committee and other interested parties before requesting [...]
‘Hoops’ Challenged
In honor of tonight’s NCAA Men’s Basketball Championship, we bring you basketball-themed book censorship. Indeed, a story about a basketball star really is at the heart of a controversy in Council Bluffs, Iowa, where one parent has challenged Hoops by Walter Dean Myers. But the basketball itself doesn’t seem to be the main problem. The parent objects to profanity and [...]
Facing internet censorship: technologies to combat censorship, international pressures
Starts at 8:20. NCAC on internet censorship on the "Listening Post" on Al-Jazeera. From Al-Jazeera: The segment focuses on the role and responsibility of the Western companies who provide the technology to police the Internet, as well as how to get around the controls to access material that many governments do not want their citizens to see. NCAC's Svetlana Mintcheva's [...]