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: [...]
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 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 [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
[polldaddy poll=1188091] Sherman Alexie book pulled Student sues for Facebook suspension RENT cancelled by director Bumper sticker suspension upheld Censored Girl, Interrupted replaced
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 [...]
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 [...]
Listening to: God is Dad [polldaddy poll=1187464] Juicy Campus v TSU "Spamming" student at MSU Professor Habib in the USA BYU and photos of gay students
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."
Maria Gonzalez covers the “I Fucked Your Boyfriend” bumper sticker story at the Walla Walla Union Bulletin in which a student was suspended for keeping a bumper sticker on her car after the school asked her to remove it. In a letter to the board, NCAC asks the district to “reconsider and repeal the discipinary action, and to [...]
The New Rochelle Board of Education announces that it will replace the 50 censored copies of Girl, Interrupted and that [N]o further modifications of this type, i.e., removal of pages, shall be permitted under any circumstances. It has always been the policy of the City School District of New Rochelle that students be advised in advance if a particular assigned [...]
Michigan State University student Kara Spencer sent out an email to 391 MSU faculty stating her concerns about plans to shorten the change the fall 2009 academic calendar and schedule. Her email called for a review of the decision. One recipient of the email - a plant biology professor - complained to university administrators, who called in Spencer for a [...]
Professor Adam Habib has been barred from speaking at US universities, presumably for his critique of the US and Middle East foreign policies. Today, After the government moved to dismiss the case, Judge George O’Toole of the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts ruled that the case will proceed. A South African scholar, Habib has written at the [...]
Following Barney Rosset's National Book Award in November (and NCAC's honoring Rosset as a Free Speech Defender), Newsweek has published a long piece on Rosset, his work and his role in bringing new literature and thought to the American conversation. An excerpt: Before Rosset challenged federal and state obscenity laws, censorship (and self-censorship) was an accepted feature of publishing. His [...]
According to the artist, his series of photographs of gay BYU students and their "support person" (which the artist defined as a family member, friend, or partner) was taken down from the Fine Art Classes show because "the topic of homosexuality is a bit much for the BYU audience". In his blog, he writes: While I knew this topic would [...]
And yet not without consequences. After the November 4th election of Barack Obama, 4 North Carolina State students hit the “Free Expression Tunnel” to spray paint messages that have now sparked a fierce debate on campus about how to respond to hate speech. The messages, including one that read “let’s shoot that Nigger in the head”, have prompted strong response [...]
A recent incident a Berkeley's Addison Street Gallery forced the City to review its guidelines on art shown in the gallery. The guidelines, which included a blanket ban on any representations of guns, had led to the cancellation to The Art of Democracy, a touring poster show. After letters from the ACLU and NCAC, the City decided to modify its [...]
Students at New Rochelle High School found that pages from their reading assignment, Girl Interrupted, had been ripped out. Turns out: school officials pulled the pages to remove content they deemed "inappropriate" because of sexual content and profanity. It appears that the books were censored without first undergoing a formal review process. NCAC is working on a formal response to [...]
juicy campus, tsu, aclu, first amendment, sarah falcon
Slate’s Emily Bazelon has a piece today on the Lori Drew case. The terrible backstory: in 2006, Drew, her daughter, and her assistant, created a fake Myspace profile of a 16 year old boy and sent messages to a teen neighbor, Megan Meier. After exchanging flirtatious messages, the “16-year-old” then wrote, “The world would be a better place without you.” [...]
Interesting post on Slashdot about how social network groups influence tastes of the members. The article's by Bennett Haselton (the founder of peacefire.org). The article cites a study showing that: They also noted that in the "social influence" worlds where users could see each others' downloads, increasing download numbers had a snowball effect that widened the difference between the successful [...]
2009 is approaching, and as we plan our next year, we want to know: what censorship issue is nearest and dearest to you? Your answers can help shape this blog and the kind of projects NCAC pursues. Feel free to write in answers. And send it along to friends and frenemies. [polldaddy poll="1158458"]
TTYL, Lauren Myracle.
And for a high school in Portage, IN, it also equals attention from journalists and student rights advocates alike. There are two issues at hand. One is the banning of a book, “The Perks of Being a Wallflower” by Stephen Chbosky, from the ninth grade English curriculum. The other is a decision by the school administration to institute a policy [...]
A friend of NCAC reading this blog at work saw the following: An 11th grade student was recently told to remove her bumper sticker from her car parked in the Wala Wala High School (WA) parking lot. The content of the sticker: "I **censored**ed Your Boyfriend." Content filtering at the office censored the anti-censorship blog. Brilliant.
In a very strong letter to the Des Moines Register, parent Wendy Sontag defends keeping And Tango Makes Three in the Ankeny Public School libraries. She writes: Like the Russells, I consider myself a "values-conscious Christian parent." However it is clear that the Russells do not speak for me. My two bright, caring daughters began their academic careers at East [...]
Jane Breskin Zalben is a well-known author and illustrator who has published more than forty-five books for young readers. She is the author of the well-known Pearl books as well as the critically acclaimed novel Unfinished Dreams. In this interview, she speaks with The Kids' Right to Read Project about the effects of censorship on her work.
Walla Walla, WA. A high school student is suspended for a bumper sticker on her car. Its contents: “I fucked your boyfriend” Camp Lejeune, NC. Civilian employee and Marine Corps veteran, Jesse Nieto, is ordered to remove stickers from his vehicle of a slightly more political charged nature: (AP) The messages displayed at least a half-dozen anti-Muslim decals including “ISLAM [...]
President Thabo Mbeki’s suppression of scientific information about AIDS has led to the deaths of thousands of people in South Africa. According to a new study conducted by Harvard researchers, the South African government could have prevented 330,000 premature deaths of AIDS patients had it supplied them with antiretroviral drugs. Those same drugs could have prevented pregnant women from infecting [...]
Something is missing from the school lib in Round Rock, TX. Last week, school Superintendent Dr. Jesús Chávez pulled TTYL by Lauren Myracle from district middle school libraries. All of ‘em. That equals a book ban. A.k.a. censorship! The super and some parents think the book is just ‘trouble’. But that’s up to each student 2 decide 2gether with his [...]
At DuPage College – a community college outside of Chicago – the board has recently proposed a policy change that would give far more power to the board of trustees. This would influence “such questions as the future of the curriculum, the role of the student newspaper, how outside speakers should be selected, and so forth”. And, perhaps most significantly, [...]
by Sarah Falcon On Wednesday, three Reform Jewish leaders testified in Austin, Texas against a language change in the school curriculum which would require teaching "strengths and limitations" of scientific theories. Texas' current curriculum requires teaching the "strengths and weaknesses" of scientific theories. Testimonies from two of the rabbis is excerpted below:
We've addressed the study that links sex on TV to teen pregnancy, and came on the side of education rather than fear about content on TV. Not everyone agrees: In reference to the article, “Study suggests TV shows may spur teen pregnancies,” is censorship still in existence as it was many years ago? If not, perhaps it’s time to go [...]
Listening to: MC Luscious An 11th grade student was recently told to remove her bumper sticker from her car parked in the Walla Walla High School (WA) parking lot. The content of the sticker: “I Fucked Your Boyfriend.” There was little controversy about the student’s expression until she was told by school officials to remove the bumper sticker or face [...]
TSU bans Juicy Campus on the university Internet network, in response to a concerned parent. Juicy Campus CEO disagrees. F.I.R.E. says, "it was only a matter of time."
In downtown LA, a new community space set up by the local chapter of Food Not Bombs (a group committed to “sharing free vegetarian food with hungry people and protesting war and poverty”) was playing host to a hip hop concert last Sunday night. The goal was to raise money for an upcoming anarchist bookfair. Guests and performers at the [...]
A study published this month in PLoS Medicine, documents self-censorship of scientists in response to a political controversy. According to Joanna Kempner, the study’s author, the controversy at issue began in July 2003 when Patrick Toomey, a Republican Congressman, proposed the discontinuance of five NIH grants that were unworthy of taxpayer funding. As a result, the Director of NIH received [...]
From Salon.com: Hours after Salon revealed evidence that two Americans were killed by a U.S. tank, not enemy fire, military officials destroyed papers on the men. Editor's note: On Oct. 14, 2008, Salon published an article about the deaths of Army Pfc. Albert Nelson and Pfc. Roger Suarez. The Army attributed their deaths in Iraq in 2006 to enemy action; [...]
The Department of Health and Human Services proposed a rule in August that values a religious doctor’s choice to refuse provision of services over a woman’s right to receive care. The proposed rule would protect the jobs of doctors who, on the basis of religious beliefs or moral convictions, refuse to provide abortion or sterilization services. In fact, those doctors [...]
