Editorial: Censorship Will Harm Students Everywhere
by: Bailey Weber
Photo by Zaini Izzuddin on Unsplash
This is the first issue of The Insider that I am officially editor-in-chief for and I cannot wait for you to read the informative and fun news we have provided for you. We are proud to supply you with as much information as we can.
However, libraries around the country are losing this luxury, as the banning of books accelerated in the United States in 2021, and has continued in 2022.
In this issue, we cover the censorship of video games. There have been discussions for years questioning if gaming causes violence or is bad for mental health.
But, most of the books being banned right now do not focus on violence. What they do have are LGBTQ+ people and people-of-color as main characters.
This means that organizations around the country are limiting students to read stories that they might relate to. It also means that government officials are not providing materials for students to learn to think for themselves.
Advocacy groups are pushing to ban books that contain explicit content, as well. This include sex, sexual assault, and rape.
Schools continue to limit topics taught in education, and sexual education in particular. How are students supposed to learn about safe sex if they are not being taught how, and books containing it are banned? Without books, how can students bring up difficult conversations like sexual assault?
What we can do to try and stop this is use our voices. We can talk about what is going on with those around us and inform them why it is a problem, even if they don’t think it directly affects them. You can call on your legislators to protect young adults from losing their First Amendment right. You need to vote in November for the lawmakers that will focus on identifying the problems in America and intend to do something about them. We must voice our support of these candidates.
You can also continue to educate yourself concerning censorship in your state and push for a change.
We need to allow the future of this country to have a mind for their own. Students should not be limited on what they learn about, whether it be sexuality, racism, assault, activism, or religion.
Society needs to be able to read, because without stories, who are we really?
Other stories in vol. 17, issue 1:
Resources for Students After Overturning of Roe v. Wade
Blue and Gold Week: Expectations versus Reality
Q&A with Officer Connor Tibbe, Newest Member of Pitt Greensburg Campus Police
People of Pitt Greensburg: Dean Hoffman
Q&A with Chryss Allaback, New Visual and Performing Arts Professor
Meet the New Director of Dining Services
Q&A with New Volleyball Coach, Kevin Conroy
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