By Kimberly Chin
It is controversial, banned in some places and even considered naughty to some people, but that did not stop students and faculty from engaging in reading this week in public.
The American Library Association (ALA) hosted “Banned Book Week,” a weekin which people nationwide can celebrate intellectual freedom by reading books that have provoked and stirred the nation.
The ALA has worked on this project for more than 25 years, fighting to keep controversial books on library shelves and in schools. Part of what underlines the ALA’s message is to “remind Americans not to take freedom of speech and expression for granted.”
The first prevalent case of book banning was Board of Education vs. Pico, heard bythe Supreme Court in 1977. The Board of Education ordered that certain books be banned from junior high school and high school libraries, citing the books as “anti-America, anti-Christian, anti-Semitic, and just plain filthy.”
However, this was a violation of the fundamental rights found at the beginning of the Constitution, which grants freedom of speech. The Supreme Court ruled that the First Amendment limits the Board of Education’s discretion to ban books from school libraries. Since then, the issue has been a hot topic in politics.
Sarah McCleskey, head of access services, urged the ALA’s message because she said she felt “the library should do programming of general interest to the faculty and students so that all are reminded of the privilege as Americans to celebrate intellectual freedom.”
Andrea Libresco, special assistant professor in the School of Education and AlliedHuman Services’ Curriculum and Teaching, argued, “students do not enjoy the same liberties if they do not have the right to read ideas that are censored.”
The state has guidelines that do not warrant books to be removed from public access.
“Banning books restricts access to social views, to points-of-views,” Libresco said.
The program involved readings from books such as Mark Twain’s The Adventures ofHuckleberry Finn, Harper Lee’s To Kill A Mockingbird and J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series.
One of the most targeted pieces of literary work read was Are You There God, It’s MeMargaret by Judy Blume.
“Nothing is more targeted than child and teen literature,” Harriet Hagenbruch, a librarian who read the piece, said.
Among the readers was Eric Cavalho, a sophomore, who read an excerpt from To Kill A Mockingbird, one book he feels very passionately about. Among other works read were The Color Purple and the children’s book, The Great Gilly Hopkins.
Stu Vincent, assistant vice president of University Relations, argued that allowing one group to censor what one reads inhibits people’s right to their own opinion and deters the public of the access to other points-of-views.
“The right of access to books defends the principle of freedom, which Hofstra hopes to reflect,” he added.
