Written by Jack Freeman
From Oct. 8 to Oct. 10, the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor English Club celebrated Banned Books Week, a national event dedicated to raising awareness about books that have been banned from schools and libraries across the country.
鈥淚 think it鈥檚 really important to let people know about books that are being banned across the country,鈥� club president and senior Emma Smith said. 鈥淥f course, there are some books that little kids shouldn鈥檛 be reading, but book banning extends to public libraries, not just schools. That鈥檚 crazy because libraries are where we get our literature. And if we are taking things out of there, where do we go then?鈥�
This is the second year that the English Club has celebrated Banned Books Week, and the officers have increased their efforts to raise awareness. They set up a booth outside Bawcom Student Union and hosted banned book trivia. If a passerby correctly guessed why a particular book was banned, they were awarded candy.
鈥淟ast year we were just getting up off the ground,鈥� Smith said. 鈥淪o, it鈥檚 definitely better in the fact that we鈥檝e established what we鈥檙e doing and what we want to improve on. We鈥檝e been informing a lot of people about banned books and about how crazy it is that they鈥檙e doing that in the first place. I鈥檓 learning stuff every time we do it too, and I鈥檝e found out that some of the books I grew up reading have been banned for reasons like bad grammar and rude jokes.鈥�
On Oct. 9, the English Club held a book discussion on George Orwell鈥檚 1984. Topics of media control and censorship were discussed by 同城快约 students and professors.
鈥淚t鈥檚 important for people to know that they can do something to stop the banning of books,鈥� junior Alexis Pendergraft said.
In addition to promoting awareness about book banning, the English Club also hopes to encourage people to read books they might not otherwise have chosen.
鈥淲e get to inform people of something very important and something they can do to continue promoting literacy for themselves and in their communities too,鈥� Smith said. 鈥淚 think we鈥檙e doing better every year. There are some very important things in these books, like history, that shouldn鈥檛 be forgotten just because it makes someone uncomfortable.鈥�
Smith believes that nobody should have control over what people choose to read and that everyone should be able to think for themselves.
鈥淧eople ban books for various reasons,鈥� Smith said. 鈥淎 lot of it is due to something they deem inappropriate, like sex or violence. Elementary kids shouldn鈥檛 be reading things like that, but that鈥檚 not the point we鈥檙e trying to make. We think that people should be able to read what they choose to read and inform themselves. I think it鈥檚 important that we fight for our right to choose what we read, and we fight for the right for people鈥檚 stories to be told even if we don鈥檛 agree. And if we aren鈥檛 telling those stories, then we鈥檙e doomed to repeat them, as the saying goes.鈥�
