Censoring Censorship
When watching reality TV, it isn’t uncommon to see a censored gesture or word. The censoring is done for the good of the public, so the viewers don’t see or hear anything vulgar. But there’s another type of censoring that isn’t truly benefiting the public: the censorship of literature and language. While some books have been banned for years, the banning of language is new. By censoring language and literature in schools and elsewhere, students are being sheltered and many people are being deprived of the freedom of speech, even in our own state.
Schools often use literature to teach lessons, but a challenge that teachers are facing now is the banning of many classic books. One such book is The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger, which has been banned in some schools in Washington State. It teaches important lessons about coming of age, but it is being banned in many schools due to obscene …show more content…
According to WSU professor Selena Lester Breikss, “Use of … generally offensive language in class or submission of such material will not be tolerated” (Breikss). This “generally offensive language” included words like “illegal alien” and even “male” and “female.” Professors have the right to require formal language in academic papers, but they don’t have the right to determine what language their students use in their everyday discussion. Telling students they can’t refer to women or men as “males” or “females” hurts them in the future. The reality of life is people are going to use the terms male and female to refer to men and women. The censoring of these words agitated students, since their professors were threatening to hurt their grades if they used this terminology. Washington State University has since dealt with the problem and with the professor, and it benefits not only the students, but everyone who would be potentially affected by the
When watching reality TV, it isn’t uncommon to see a censored gesture or word. The censoring is done for the good of the public, so the viewers don’t see or hear anything vulgar. But there’s another type of censoring that isn’t truly benefiting the public: the censorship of literature and language. While some books have been banned for years, the banning of language is new. By censoring language and literature in schools and elsewhere, students are being sheltered and many people are being deprived of the freedom of speech, even in our own state.
Schools often use literature to teach lessons, but a challenge that teachers are facing now is the banning of many classic books. One such book is The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger, which has been banned in some schools in Washington State. It teaches important lessons about coming of age, but it is being banned in many schools due to obscene …show more content…
According to WSU professor Selena Lester Breikss, “Use of … generally offensive language in class or submission of such material will not be tolerated” (Breikss). This “generally offensive language” included words like “illegal alien” and even “male” and “female.” Professors have the right to require formal language in academic papers, but they don’t have the right to determine what language their students use in their everyday discussion. Telling students they can’t refer to women or men as “males” or “females” hurts them in the future. The reality of life is people are going to use the terms male and female to refer to men and women. The censoring of these words agitated students, since their professors were threatening to hurt their grades if they used this terminology. Washington State University has since dealt with the problem and with the professor, and it benefits not only the students, but everyone who would be potentially affected by the