By Sara Gladysz and Sara Gonzalez
Staff Writers
Mr. Marcus Lewis remembers a time a mom called and told a school administrator that she didn’t want her son reading “The Adventures of Tom Sawyer” by Mark Twain.
There were too many “n-words” and she didn’t want her child to be exposed to that.
“She wanted the teacher to block out the curse words,” Mr. Lewis said.
One wonders how that mother reacted when her son had to read “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” a few years later.
“Huckleberry Finn” is consistently one of hundreds of books banned by schools and libraries, according to the American Library Association’s list of banned books.
Last week marked the 28th Annual Banned Books Week, which celebrates the freedom to read challenged books.
In an attempt to protect children, many schools and libraries reject books because of their use of sex, profanity, and racism.
At Bishop Amat, the students have the liberty to read most of the books that are often challenged by other high schools.
English teachers said they are proud that this school reads so many of the books on the list.
“I love that schools read banned books because they bring up issues that need to be discussed,” English teacher Mrs. Jackie Rogers said.
Ms. Christine Shaw said reading controversial books in class is important.
“Controversy should be discussed, so the right ideas could be uncovered,” she said.
While many organizations choose to limit exposure to controversial books, the American Library Association supports the rights of the First Amendment.
According to their document “Books Challenged & Banned in 2008-2009,” “This freedom, not only to chose what we read, but also to select from a full array of possibilities, is firmly rooted in the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, which guarantees freedom of speech and freedom of the press.”
The document also stated, “Individuals may restrict what they themselves or their children read, but they must not call on governmental or public agencies to prevent others from reading or seeing that material.”
Bishop Amat students read many of the books banned by libraries and schools, including “Perks of Being a Wallflower,” “Grendel,” “Brave New World,” “To Kill a Mockingbird,” “The Catcher in the Rye,” “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn,” and “The Color Purple.”
Marcus Lewis teaches the often-banned “Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban.”
“Unfortunately those [organizations that ban books] are people with simple minds who would like people to conform to their limited view of the world,” he said.
Many of the students said they are grateful to be able to have such a variety of books available to them.
“I think reading controversial books is productive and opens students’ minds to make their own opinions,” said senior Tiffany Eiley. “It’s always good to try something new.”
Students also talked about the negative effects of banning literature.
“I think banned books are stupid because anyone who bans literature is ignorant,” senior Andrew Lane said.
“It’s like they’re banning reality,” said senior Krystal Petrasanta.
Students are even able to apply how a banned book has helped them understand a different era.
“For example, ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’ was from a different time and a different point of view,” said senior Cassandra Mesa. “People should know that [controversy] was wrong and things should be different now.”
