2008 Woodie Awards
Banned books read, discussed
Rebecca Rose
Issue date: 10/5/06 Section: News
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On Wednesday, Sept. 27, a small group of Marist students gathered at the Banned Books Read-A-Thon to celebrate their freedom. The Banned Books Read-A-Thon is just one of the many activities that take place nationally during Banned Books Week every year.
The Banned Books Read-A-Thon was orchestrated by junior Nicole Donolli. Nicole is a resident advisor at Gartland who became interested in banned books while researching programs that she could run for students on campus. Nicole discovered that books such as "Huckleberry Finn," "Goosebumps," "To Kill a Mockingbird," and "Of Mice and Men" were among the list of banned books. The list contained books that have themes such as sex, rape, indecent language, violence, adolescence, retardation, religion, racism, wizardry, and murder. Although these themes can be harsh, they all play a role in our daily lives. One person who attended the meeting said, "If you turn on the news for ten seconds, you'll see that someone was raped."
There were many excerpts read during the read-a-thon. Tom Goldpaugh read from "The Catcher in the Rye" by J. D. Salinger. This book was banned for its use of profanity. Thomas said that banning books is a good thing because it means that what was written has meaning. People are frightened when words have too much meaning. Thomas said that banning books makes more people want to read them. The only reason that Thomas read "The Catcher in the Rye" was because he was told that he wasn't allowed to.
Dr. Moira Fitzgibbons read a passage from "The Canterbury Tales" by Geoffrey Chaucer. In the excerpt, a woman, who has been remarried several times, is being ridiculed and called a slut for all of the sexual acts that she has performed. She counters this attack by saying that everyone has been given specific body parts that should be used for pleasure. At the time that this book was published, it was wrong to talk about sex. Also, the book was written in English. At the time, not many people read in English. Most texts were religious and written in Latin. The church leaders were unhappy by this publishing because it meant that the public was more informed.
The Banned Books Read-A-Thon was orchestrated by junior Nicole Donolli. Nicole is a resident advisor at Gartland who became interested in banned books while researching programs that she could run for students on campus. Nicole discovered that books such as "Huckleberry Finn," "Goosebumps," "To Kill a Mockingbird," and "Of Mice and Men" were among the list of banned books. The list contained books that have themes such as sex, rape, indecent language, violence, adolescence, retardation, religion, racism, wizardry, and murder. Although these themes can be harsh, they all play a role in our daily lives. One person who attended the meeting said, "If you turn on the news for ten seconds, you'll see that someone was raped."
There were many excerpts read during the read-a-thon. Tom Goldpaugh read from "The Catcher in the Rye" by J. D. Salinger. This book was banned for its use of profanity. Thomas said that banning books is a good thing because it means that what was written has meaning. People are frightened when words have too much meaning. Thomas said that banning books makes more people want to read them. The only reason that Thomas read "The Catcher in the Rye" was because he was told that he wasn't allowed to.
Dr. Moira Fitzgibbons read a passage from "The Canterbury Tales" by Geoffrey Chaucer. In the excerpt, a woman, who has been remarried several times, is being ridiculed and called a slut for all of the sexual acts that she has performed. She counters this attack by saying that everyone has been given specific body parts that should be used for pleasure. At the time that this book was published, it was wrong to talk about sex. Also, the book was written in English. At the time, not many people read in English. Most texts were religious and written in Latin. The church leaders were unhappy by this publishing because it meant that the public was more informed.
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