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Opinion: Banned Books Week is important


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BY KAITLYN CLEVELAND

MASS COMMUNICATION JUNIOR

When I say banned books or marginalized authors, what do you think of? Do you think of the banishment of books because of the racial issues, profane dialogue, biased views or the unpopularity of the subject matter? Or, do you think of the classics like The Great Gatsby, Gone with the Wind, The Scarlet Letter or The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (yes, these books were challenged or banned)?

If your mind brushed through these different aspects, you would be on the right track of what is meant by banned books and marginalized authors. Many books were challenged or banned by schools, libraries and bookstores because of the content found on the pages inside. In honor of the authors who had their publications banned or challenged, Banned Books Week is celebrated nationally. For the 2017 celebration of Banned Books Week, we commemorate the freedom to read.

There are an extensive amount of books available to us to read today. We have the authority to dictate what goes on and what stays off of our personal reading lists. However, when a book is labeled banned, it causes no one to read it. With the freedom to read, each individual makes the decision to read it or to not read it. There are multiple genres and thousands of authors out there waiting for you to pick up and start reading. Find your perfect fit and never stop flipping the page.

English Honor’s Society, Sigma Tau Delta, writes the ways for Banned Books Week at Loyola University New Orleans. Sigma Tau Delta calls for all bookworms, english lovers and Loyola students wanting to get involved to share your favorite quotes from a marginalized author or banned/challenged book. Do not be shy; send as many as you like – the more the merrier. The quotes will be projected in the One Loyola Room in the Dana Center.

In addition to the display of the students’ favorite quotes, there will be a bake sale and raffle in the One Loyola Room on Sept. 26 and 28, from 11:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Join in the raffle for a chance to win a bundle of books donated by Blue Cypress Books. The collection will contain a variety of books from marginalized authors and banned books.

The money Sigma Tau Delta makes from the bake sale is going towards improving southern schools’ literacy. It is our job as students to promote the importance of reading and the benefits you receive from actively reading. Reading does not just pass the time; it creates a world different from our own. It is a free ticket to different centuries and places, while learning about historical or fictional people. Reading pushes our imagination and feeds our creativity. For these reasons, we should not take for granted our freedom to read, but put that freedom to work and read some more.

Taken from the words of The Lorax, “Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It’s not.”

It is our year to raise our books high and proud and participate in Banned Books Week 2017, which will be the week of Sept. 25, 2017 in the One Loyola Room.

Please send your favorite quotes to [email protected]

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Opinion: Banned Books Week is important
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