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 [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
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.
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
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 [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
See it in full effect. Inspired by Anatomy of the #AmazonFAIL protest.
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, [...]
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? [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
Chill. Porn is a genre like any other – science fiction, crime drama, horror. Why should the pleasure derived from viewing it be a guiltier pleasure from the one derived from viewing serial killers slashing throats? To each, after all, her own. (And, yes, women watch porn too). Porn is also – whether you like it or not – protected [...]
What our censorious culture is keeping from us. Deconstruction of an editorial in April's French Vogue. From Jezebel.com: ... It's a cigarette-fueled, pregnancy-padded, bottle-fed primer in that which cannot be done in Vogue's American pendant. ... Smoking is one of Carine Roitfeld's Favorite Things; she once told the Guardian she wouldn't want Anna Wintour's job because in America, you can't [...]
A Naperville, Illinois, school has canceled a speech by Bill Ayers, a professor of education, because of objections to his association with the Weather Underground 30 years ago. Ayers was scheduled to talk about his field, urban education, to a high school social studies class. All the students had parental permission to hear him speak. Word of his appearance leaked [...]
Ohio lawmaker wants to make sexting a misdemeanor Last week, the Columbus Dispatch reported that Ohio State Representative Ron Maag (R-Lebanon) plans to introduce a bill in the Ohio state legislature which would make the creation, exchange, and possession of nude materials between minors a First-Degree Misdemeanor. According to Representative Maag, Local prosecutors have brought to my attention that under [...]
Last week, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments in the matter of Citizens United v. The Federal Election Commission, Case no. 08-205. This is an interesting case in that the Court, among other things, needs to determine whether Hillary: The Movie, a 90 minute documentary about Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign with a decidedly conservative bias, is considered an “electioneering communication,” [...]
In recent weeks, a Spider-Man comic book and Nintendo Power magazine have been challenged in school libraries in Cleveland, Ohio, and in Millard, Nebraska, respectively. Parents have asked whether a scantily-clad cartoon woman (in one case) or violence in a video game magazine (in the other case) constitute appropriate reading materials for students in school. Here, NCAC takes a look [...]
A victory for free expression! Last week, three Pennsylvania high school students and their families brought suit against a Wyoming County prosecutor over allegations of First Amendment violations. Yesterday, a U.S. District judge sided with the teens, and issued a temporary restraining order against the prosecutor. The judge held that the prosecutor's proposed action violated free speech and parental rights. [...]
The Naperville, IL, School District has cancelled a visit by Bill Ayers at Naperville North High School after the visit scheduled for April 8th sparked heated controversy in the community. Ayers is a professor at the University of Illinois at Chicago’s College of Education. His radical activism and involvement in the 1960s group, the Weathermen, has drawn criticism. The event [...]
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. Last month, three high school students in Wyoming County, Pennsylvania faced the threat of being charged with the possession/dissemination of child pornography, when their school [...]
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.
We are very happy to report that Utah Governor Jon Huntsman has vetoed bill HB 353. That bill would have punished sellers for "violating" what were previously voluntary age restrictions. In his letter to the Utah Speaker of the House David Clark and Speaker of the Senate, Huntsman writes: While protecting children from inappropriate materials is a laudable goal, the [...]
In an email to faculty today BGSU Interim Provost Mark Gromko stated that “the piece was initially removed so that […] legal review could occur.” Apparently BGSU administrators were wondering whether “the sculpture constituted child pornography or breached restrictions on depictions of child abuse under Ohio law.” As is easy to ascertain, child pornography and depictions of child abuse both [...]
Jack Thompson, who penned HB 353 (the bill pending in Utah that we asked you to help stop) has written a letter to President Obama calling for a national plan similar to the one proposed in Utah. In response to a recent tragedy in Germany where a young man shot 15 people at his former school, German and American media [...]
Statement from the National Coalition Against Censorship Regarding the Recent Removal of an Artwork from an Exhibition at BGSU Firelands’ Little Gallery The recent removal of artwork by James Parlin from an exhibition of sculpture in the Little Gallery at Bowling Green State University Firelands is an unacceptable violation of the academic freedom to openly discuss ideas and social problems [...]
HB 353 has been passed in the Utah state senate, and now sits on Governor Jon Huntsman’s desk. This bill would hold retailers responsible for selling minors material labeled for mature audiences. Sellers of books, movies, video games, and music could be penalized up to $2000 for “violating” age guidelines created voluntarily for informational purposes only. This bill takes a [...]
Reported yesterday in the Salt Lake Tribune, Breaking Dawn, the final book in the Twilight Series has arrived at Brockbank Junior High. So why can't students check it out? Following a parent's complaint, has not been put on the library shelves. As far as we understand, the book was selected for educational reasons and should be kept in the library. [...]
In an article published today in The Chronicle of Higher Education, Peter Schmidt responds to the call to stop ideological exclusion, the denial of visa to foreign scholars, writers, etc. based on their political positions. In this article, "Obama Must Tread Fine Line on Scholars Barred From the U.S. for Their Views," Schmidt warns that stopping this exclusion entirely may [...]
A sex column in the University of Montana Kaimin, its student-run newspaper, is the brunt of attacks by a couple professors on campus, one of whom has demanded its cessation. Bess Davis’ “Bess Sex Column” has been targeted as “state-funded porn”, though its author would label it “vanilla” compared to the sex columns of other university newspapers. According to the [...]
We’ve noticed that the State of Oregon has been a hotbed for censorship incidents lately. Here’s what’s been happening around the state: A Portland fifth grader has decided not to perform his act about President Barack Obama in his elementary school’s talent show after the principal forbade him from wearing a mask that depicts Obama during the performance. The principal [...]
Following good news of Steve Martin’s bailout, there’s more bad news on the high school drama front. USA Today reports on the firing of a teacher who led a class project on The Laramie Project – a play and film based on responses from Laramie residents after the murder of Matthew Shepherd. The teacher – Debra Taylor – led a [...]
