2008 Woodie Awards
Rights to Freedom
Rochelle Siegel
Issue date: 10/2/06 Section: News
- Page 1 of 2 next >
Should the press be restricted in the content they are allowed to print? Should the government have control over what is put in the newspapers? As Americans we have been given the right to freedom of speech which allows us to also read what we want but it seems as though at times these rights have been becoming somewhat limited.
In Lake County, students cannot discuss or learn about the Darwinian theory of evolution. Textbook pages which contain material on intelligent design and evolution were stapled together.
Marvin Newman, Legal Studies and Communications Professor, stated that he always teaches the novel "Huckleberry Finn" because of its morals but also because it is on the list of banned books.
Professor Newman wants to engage people and allow them to think about where they stand on certain issues.
Director of Olin Library, Jonathan Miller, posed the question, "Do you have the right to read freely?" Based on the fact that the government is the largest producer of books and reading documents Miller believed many things are censored from the public.
Online publishing is increasing but take notice to the fact that things published online can be taken away or edited just as easily as they were uploaded onto the web. Unlike books, online information is not owned by the library but only has access to it.
An example of information that has been removed from the web by the government is all information that could possibly help terrorists. The removal of this information occurred after the September 11 events. Information seems to just disappear.
Creative Writing Professor Connie May Fowler feels that some authors include certain things in their work just to get publicity. In Professor Fowler's experience the material that is most challenged deals with sex, witchcraft, and religion. Her first book "Sugar Cage" was challenged by parents who demanded it be taken off the shelves. "Parents were upset about sexual thoughts a 17-year-old character had."
In Lake County, students cannot discuss or learn about the Darwinian theory of evolution. Textbook pages which contain material on intelligent design and evolution were stapled together.
Marvin Newman, Legal Studies and Communications Professor, stated that he always teaches the novel "Huckleberry Finn" because of its morals but also because it is on the list of banned books.
Professor Newman wants to engage people and allow them to think about where they stand on certain issues.
Director of Olin Library, Jonathan Miller, posed the question, "Do you have the right to read freely?" Based on the fact that the government is the largest producer of books and reading documents Miller believed many things are censored from the public.
Online publishing is increasing but take notice to the fact that things published online can be taken away or edited just as easily as they were uploaded onto the web. Unlike books, online information is not owned by the library but only has access to it.
An example of information that has been removed from the web by the government is all information that could possibly help terrorists. The removal of this information occurred after the September 11 events. Information seems to just disappear.
Creative Writing Professor Connie May Fowler feels that some authors include certain things in their work just to get publicity. In Professor Fowler's experience the material that is most challenged deals with sex, witchcraft, and religion. Her first book "Sugar Cage" was challenged by parents who demanded it be taken off the shelves. "Parents were upset about sexual thoughts a 17-year-old character had."
Be the first to comment on this story