Our View

By:

Shandra Jordan, editor in chief

Kyle Endres, campus editor

Liz King, asst. design managing editor

Christopher J. Ortiz, opinion editor

According to today’s front page, an Evans’ mother is protesting

a book her child picked up in the children’s section at a local

library. She disagrees with the content of the book and is asking

that the book be removed from the library’s shelves. If the library

doesn’t, she has threatened to picket and circulate a petition.

The editorial board feels although library’s should be selective

and more conscious of what books they place in the children’s

section of a library (community input should also be welcomed),

censoring books is not a solution to preventing children from what

parents may deem inappropriate.

Adults should be the final filter between their children and the

material they read, see and hear. We know it is not possible to

shadow children 24/7, but censoring goes against the concept of

free access to information. If community members feel the book is

inappropriate for children (the mother said the book contained

positive views of masturbation and acts of gay sex), the library

should consider placing the book on shelves only adults have access

to. To us, censoring is enforcing one person’s beliefs and ideas on

others and infringing on people’s rights.

The library has not to date granted a request to pull a book for

its shelves. Good for them.