Censoring Islam in Georgia?
Parents in Georgia are outraged over lessons that teach the history of Islam. And the state is taking the complaints seriously, removing a program guide called "Respecting Beliefs."
At Wesleyan, Protesting a Paper—And Threatening to Destroy It?
Protests and criticism are one thing-- calls to defund a Wesleyan student newspaper over an op-ed go too far. Student government officers, and the newspaper itself, must do more to support free expression.
Students Speak Out: A Curious Incident of Censorship
Telling students to avoid books containing "wayward beliefs" implies we are incapable of thinking for ourselves. The removal did not give parents the freedom to parent, but instead attacked freedom of thought.
“Free Speech Forever” Youth Film Contest Winners
Winners of the 11th Annual Youth Film Contest 1. Anne Wade (Cullowhee, North Carolina) "Don't Let Them Take Your Voice" ARTIST STATEMENT: “My film is a black and white silent film that was created out of a desire to speak out against censorship in schools across the nation using a unique and creative idea that engaged myself and [...]
Policing Expression: NJ School Removes Student Project
A student project on police and community relations angers local cops-- and school administrators respond by removing it.
#Donttakeitdown: Students Speak Out Over Removal of Police Brutality Artwork
After receiving complaints, a Maryland high school removes police brutality artwork. But the students at Oxon Hill aren't submitting to censorship-- they are fighting back.
Warning to Students: Watch What You Tweet
Students at a Pennsylvania high school are told by local police that what they tweet could be a crime.
Evolution Wins: Cherokee Trail High Allows Production to Go Forward Uncensored
NCAC congratulates the students of Cherokee Trail High for speaking up and speaking out against censorship, and is gratified that the administration chose to do the right thing by respecting its students' free expression rights.
Aurora Students: Censored, Then Uncensored?
Theater students get word that their show is canceled due to inappropriate content. But once the news hits the local TV, the administration changes its tune.
Students Won’t Let Censorship Bring the Curtain Down
A group of Florida students were set to perform at the Florida State Thespian Festival in Tampa. They did-- but outside the venue.
Student Journalism Censored — But Not For Long
A high school newspaper investigation into drugs was deemed unsuitable for publication by the school's principal. But a local news outlet heard about the story and decided that good journalism deserves to be read.
Art and Free Speech Groups Speak Out Against Symphony Censorship
NCAC is joined by several international organizations in protesting the New York Youth Symphony's decision to cancel a controversial work.
Silenced By The Symphony? Young Composer’s Piece Yanked from Carnegie Hall Debut
A young composer's Carnegie Hall debut was scrapped over concerns that his composition, which quotes Nazi and Soviet themes, was offensive.
2013 YFEP Film Contest: “Video Games in the Crosshairs”
Our theme in 2013 was “Video Games in the Crosshairs.” We invited teens 19 and younger to reflect on gaming and respond to those who trumpet a single narrative about video games and media violence. We asked them to show us why gaming matters, what attracts young people to it, what role it plays in our culture and to explore [...]
Resisting School Censors, Students Will Stage Almost, Maine in NC
In late October, NCAC mobilized its partner organizations to pressure school officials in North Carolina's Maiden High School to reinstate a cancelled production of Almost, Maine. Now, the students will be staging a production of the play at an alternate venue.
Curtain Comes Down on “Almost Maine” in North Carolina
(UPDATE: Good news! The students organized and managed to stage their performance at a local playhouse, thanks to a Kickstarter campaign.) NCAC and other organizations committed to artistic and intellectual freedom sent the below letter to Maiden High School in response to the cancellation of the scheduled January production of John Cariani's Almost, Maine due to concerns about the play's content. Although [...]
Student Production of “Almost, Maine” Cancelled because of Same-Sex Storyline
(UPDATE: The students organized and managed to stage their performance at a local playhouse, thanks to a Kickstarter campaign.) A mere week after the legalization of gay marriage in North Carolina, a school in Maiden has decided to cancel a scheduled January production of Almost, Maine over, yes, the presence of a same-sex couple in the play's storyline. In a case [...]
PA High School Cancels “Spamalot” Over Homosexual Themes
UPDATE: We've just heard that, in apparent retaliation for speaking about the cancellation of the play, drama teacher Dawn Burch, has been just fired. Stay tuned for action alert and letter to the school board. In a letter sent to the South Williamsport Area School District today, the National Coalition Against Censorship (NCAC), the American Booksellers Foundation For Free Expression, the [...]
Pennsylvania High School Cancels Spamalot because of “Homosexual Themes”
A production of Spamalot planned for 2015 has recently been cancelled by the South Williamsport High School in Pennsylvania. Why? Made public in August as the result of Right-to-Know requests, internal emails sent by the school principal, Jesse Smith, clearly demonstrate that the homosexual themes of the play prompted the cancellation. The principal suggested in the communications that the show [...]
School Film Club Disbanded in New Hampshire
NCAC's Youth Free Expression Project sent a letter to the Newfound Area School District warning of the "constitutionally suspect" dissolution of a high school student film club. The official reason for disbanding the club was its supposed failure to advance "student performance in core academic subjects like reading and mathematics” or “complement their regular academic program.” But in conversation with [...]
The Curtain Lifts on RENT in Connecticut After Controversy
Tomorrow is opening night for Trumbull High School students and for a performance of the musical Rent that almost wasn't.
The Winners of Our 2013 Film Contest: Videogames in the Crosshairs
The results are in! The winner of this year’s Youth Free Expression Project Film Contest, addressing the theme Video Games in the Crosshairs, is “Future Warfare III” by Ani Akpan of the Bronx, NY.
Jailed for a Facebook post: 19-Year-Old Justin Carter, State Sensitivity and the Half-Million-Dollar Bail
Justin Carter, 19, was jailed for a Facebook comment Have you ever lost your temper and said something in the heat of the moment you later came to regret? Did you end up waiting 5 months in jail for a trial because your family couldn’t make your half million dollar bail? That’s exactly what Justin Carter’s family and [...]
Youth Free Expression: Learning and Coping through Open Conversation
Books like "When the Leopard Lost His Spots" can be useful tools to help kids understand gender and identity Every parent wishes their child could be spared the worst of life. War, lingering sickness, hurt and hate: all of these are things most would rather keep far distant from the lives of their children. Yet, we are all called to [...]
Free to Tattoo You and Me
Tattoos and the practice of tattooing have existed for centuries and across many cultures. In the U.S. 1 in 4 adults under 50 had a tattoo, According to a 2006 study by Northwestern University; a 2012 poll conducted by The Harris Poll found that 20 percent of adults of any age have at least one tattoo. The attitude toward tattoos in American culture has shifted considerably in the last twenty years: today, tattoos are second only to ear piercing as a mainstream body modification.
Harlem Shook: How Many Students Have Been Suspended?
So far hundreds of students have been punished for their involvement in the making of one of thousands of videos in this most recent and pervasive Internet trend. • The Mound-Westonka community in Minnesota was angered and disappointed when students –including six hockey players– were suspended hours before a critical and ultimately season-ending game. • At least 30 students were [...]
2012 YFEP Film Contest Semifinalists
Congratulations to the 2012 semifinalists of the YFEP Film Contest! You can check out their videos below or on YouTube. "Banned" by Matthew Dunbar "Wickedly Scholastic" by April Jackson "Textbook Censorship - a Modern Day Book Banning" by Nathan Waters "You're Reading What?!?!" by Daniel Boyle and Grace VanKan "You're Reading What?!? Controversial Books" by [...]
Kevin Bacon Says Let the Kids Harlem Shake
Apparently the attitudes of Beaufort weren't reserved to the fictional realm of "Footloose." Pretty hilarious. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cTEOkc2kZx0
Seriously, Just Let the Kids Harlem Shake
In case you blinked and missed it – the Harlem Shake video meme has been sweeping the internet for the past month. Tens of thousands of versions of the Harlem Shake video have been made and millions of viewers have watched them on YouTube and beyond. Everyone appears to have jumped on the meme wagon, firefighters, people in offices, division [...]
Don’t Shake Down Kids Over ‘Harlem Shake’
NCAC issued a statement sharply criticizing school administrators across the country for levying suspensions on dozens of students for filming or participating in the popular “Harlem Shake” video meme. Do you think the suspensions are fair? Take our survey.
“Banned”: An Impressive Claymation Video About Book Censorship
Matthew Dunbar's short film is one of our 2012 Youth Free Expression Project Film Contest semifinalists. Like what you see? "Like" this video on YouTube and it could become our 2012 People's Choice Award Winner!
VIDEO: When it Comes to Reading Books, Teens Can Speak For Themselves
Often the books we find the most affecting, the most informative are the ones others want to ban or keep us from reading. Alexis Opper's statement of youth power is one of our 2012 Youth Free Expression Project Film Contest semifinalists. Like what you see? "Like" this video on YouTube and it could become our 2012 People's Choice Award Winner!
Watch “Redacted” A Short Teen Film About Book Censorship
Sarah Grabman and Evan Horowitz submitted their whimsical reflection on how the censoring impulse can even seep into your own head and self-perfection. This film is one of our 2012 Youth Free Expression Project Film Contest semifinalists. Like what you see? "Like" this video on YouTube and it could become our 2012 People's Choice Award Winner!
You’ll Never Guess What Dirty Dirty Book this Teen is Reading
Kids these days! Daniel Boyle and Grace vanKan tell a story of enlightenment for our 2012 Youth Free Expression Project Film Contest. Like what you see? "Like" this video on YouTube and it could become our 2012 People's Choice Award Winner!
Teen Film: Controversial Books Help Us Learn and Grow
Rebecca Onstott is one of our 2012 Youth Free Expression Project Film Contest semifinalists. Like what you see? "Like" this video on YouTube and it could become our 2012 People's Choice Award Winner!
Watch “Waking,” a 4-minute Dystopian Look at a World Without Books
A world with no great books is a black and white dreary bore, says Eden Taylor Ames in her film. Eden encourages us to shed our blinders in one of our 2012 Youth Free Expression Project Film Contest Semifinalists. Like what you see? "Like" this video on YouTube and it could become our 2012 People's Choice Award Winner!
VIDEO: Unlock the Books for All the Read!
A person or group of people shouldn't limit what others can read and see, Naomi Clements expresses in her film. Naomi is one of our 2012 Youth Free Expression Project Film Contest semifinalists. Like what you see? "Like" this video on YouTube and it could become our 2012 People's Choice Award Winner!
Today’s Featured Teen Film: Speaking Out and Shutting Down Censors
Sometimes those with authority are the ones telling you a book isn't appropriate, other times the voice of the censor is internalized. David Raygoza explores a battle over a good book in one of our 2012 Youth Free Expression Project Film Contest Semifinalists. Click here and watch this year's semifinalist films and to learn more about our film contest. To [...]
Are Textbooks All Fact? A Teen’s Response to Textbook Censorship
Watch Nathan Water's video on textbook censorship, a book banning for the modern era. Nathan is one of our 2012 Youth Free Expression Project Film Contest Semifinalists. Like what you see? "Like" this video on YouTube and it could become our 2012 People's Choice Award Winner! To learn more about textbook censorship, check out NCAC.org
What Do Teens Think About the Mexican-American Studies Ban?
Watch this awesome video by Gio Garcia, a student in Tucson, and find out! Gio is one of our 2012 Youth Free Expression Project Film Contest Semifinalists. Like what you see? "Like" this video on YouTube and it could become our 2012 People's Choice Award Winner! New reports out about the dissolution of MAS in Texas indicate that the program [...]