The Clarion

Issue date: 10/7/09 Section: News

Schools and communities have been banning books since publishing was invented, due to unpopular or unorthodox ideas that the books may pressure. Since 1982 schools around the country have been participating in what's known as Banned Book Week. Banned Book Week, always in the last week of September, stresses the first amendment and the importance of freedom.

"Banned Books Week highlights the benefits of free and open access to information while drawing attention to the harms of censorship by spotlighting actual or attempted bannings of books across the United States," quotes the American Library Association (ALA) Web site.

The ALA goes on to say, "intellectual freedom, the freedom to access information and express ideas, even if the information and ideas might be considered unorthodox or unpopular, provides the foundation for Banned Books Week."

From Sept. 26 to Oct. 3 MATC Truax also participated in Banned Book Week. It gave the students a chance to stand up for what they believe in and let their voices be heard. Besides personally reading books that have been challenged or banned, the student-run Yahara Journal put together their third annual Banned Book Reading. Students and staff were invited to the cafeteria on Sept. 30 to read aloud from a banned or challenged books. Among the readings were "Fahrenheit 451," "To Kill a Mockingbird," and poems from Shel Silverstein.

Clare Dickerson, editor of the Yahara Journal, said, "you can keep your children from reading something, but you can't keep mine," when asked what got her inspired.

Dickerson went on to say that she likes to challenge people's ideas.

Dickerson favorite banned book is, "'The Perks of Being a Wallflower' (by Stephen Chbosky) because I like how the narrator of the book is really innocent and even though he falls from grace, the vernacular just has this innocence to it." Dickerson added, "I also really like 'The Bell Jar' (by Sylvia Plath) which is another story about a woman who falls from grace."

Banned Book Week and Banned Book Readings are becoming more known in communities and schools around the country. The Yahara Journal wants to stress the importance of the freedom to read what you want and to write what you want. "We just want to keep the books in school and keep challenging people's ideas," quoted Dickerson.

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