EDITORIAL
Students, society
hurt by book bans
Tin* Color Purple by Alii a Walker is a book often road
by high school students in English classes Some might
have read it in college literature classes or on their own.
Hut if some parents in function City classes got thair
way. the book might not be read bv anyone at Junction
City High School.
Several parents objected recently to the inclusion of
Walker's book on a reading list for an elective English
class for seniors at junction City High on the grounds
that the hook is "saturated with filth.” A committee
appointed by Don Anderson, district superintendent,
voted to keep the book on the reading list. Now the
debate will move to the school hoard, with parents
threatening to vote out those members of the board who
don’t vote to ban the bool.
junction City High School is jus! one of the latest
schools to he targeted by .1 group of parents claiming to
represent community values in the quest to remove lit
erature from the reach of teachers and students From
Ilut klrbvrrv l inn to \ Catcher in thr H\ r. books are
being challenged and in some t uses removed from pub
lic school curricula.
Hook banning is clangorous Thorn'* no question about
that. Bui oven more of a throat is the attitude of some
{unction City parents who apparently think that their
< hildren should only read items that fit in with their reli
gious or sue ml norms and shelter them from the rest,
No student is required to read Thr Color Purple. Stu
dents in June lion City have the option to read different
selections in lieu of Walker’s work I in* idea that
"pornography." as several parents call The ( olor l*urph\
is lining fore ed upon unsuspecting, innoc ent high school
students l(> and 17-yoar-olds. no less is preposter
ous.
Heading, being a form of education, presents ail with
new ideas and experiences that someone might not oth
erwise be able to relate to. Heading also helps students to
< haltenge their own thoughts and beliefs, something that
is essential for students about to step out into the world
as citizens for the first tune Students should have the
right to read a wide variety of materials during their edu
t ation and throughout life.
The students in question are licit young and it is
unlikely that the contents of the bouk would come as
sh.H kn.g '(. eveii !!.,• iiwsi sh.-itered .idolesi ei.t Students
need to hear, see and experience different points of view
and experiences as a way of bettering themselves a* peo
ple.
Students vvill lose if The Cohn Purple is removed from
the list, but tlrev will not be the only victims Society
will be the ultimate victim if parents dot ide to pic k and
< house what literature that their children get to read,
what opinions they get to see or what experient es they
get to participate in.
function City should keep Walker's, and all, books on
the shelf. Reading promotes learning. Banning perpetu
ates ignorant e.
Emerald
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HERRORiS.na <!/
the r-.'XPIDDKP myth
■ COMMENTARY
Not all men potential rapists
M ■ ' it- f ■ : "
Thi’ current display in tin*
1 Ml about rape ,ns an
ness is the set olid attempt
by one group or .mother on cam
pus to link the objet lifiuilion of
people in the media and rape
(his s« hool \ear They presented
the images of suduttively i lad
women and men selling mainly
women's products to mainly
women in major (mainly
woman's) magazines edited by
(you gues.eil it) mainly women
The wall display goes on to ask
questions and asks for a
response Two of the questions
deal with the subjet t of media
objectification and rape but the
question presented in the mid
dle panel of the wall does not
That question asks. “Are all rnen
potential rapists'"
That question is the most big
oted, sesisl offensive question I
have ever hoard In the first
plai e. the answer is no’ Not all
men me potential rapists To
think that even a small fraction
of men are potential rapists dis
plays a profound ignorance of
the male condition and our sen t
ei v The person who could evmi
entertain such a question dis
plavs a level of feminist condi
tinning unsurpassed by even
The Manchurian Candidatr It is
apparent that the level of inflam
matory rhetoric concerning gen
der issues has escalated to the
(mint when; it would share even
the lawyers in the O | Simpson
trial
Beyond being an absolutely
ludicrous question is the bu t
that its answer could never be
yes It directly impugns the
charac terol all men everywhere
by implying that it could be
true. The question is a simple
yes or no question where ves is
not a valid answer and the no
answer merely states the obvi
ous fact that all men could not
Ih- potential rapists
What possible insight into
rape could be gained by such an
obvious attack on men? How
does the question relate to the
objectification oi women and
men in the media and the pos
sible link to r«[Mf' Why the ques
tion at alt? The question is not
rbetorii ally informative 1mm a use
the only possible answer is no!
The question does not ask for
information nor is it relevant to
any discussion a 1)0ut rape or its
causes The question is, howev
er, pejorative, offensive, in flam
matory and slanderous There is
no possible si enario under
which the answer could 1m* yes
The question "Are all men
potential rapists?" does not pro
mote debate, discussion, or
awareness about rape it is a
naked attack on the t.harai ter of
the men of this University and
the world, it is hateful speec h
and harassment it creates an
intimidating and hostile envi
ronment that presupposes guilt
based on gender alone.
This is not the env ironment 1
had in mind when i came to this
University The ODE typii ally
runs 100 percent more articles
and editorials supporting or
defending women's issues than
men's Kverv bulletin hoard on
campus has al least two sexual
harassment notices and more
AS1!() Women's Center-support
ed activities than you could
shake a stii k at There is a
woman's studies curriculum,
the gender-exclusionary
Sfla-riiiu program and a massive
intrauniversity support system
solely for women The Women s
Center has a paid staff to
research women's issues and
receives a huge amount of fund
ing for gender specific activities
When 1 look around the Univer
sity for an equivalent support
structure and advocacy group
lor men, 1 see none Bat ! am
asked it I am a potential rapist
All in all. I would say that this
University spends a huge
amount ol money supporting
women and their issues and
very nearly nothing on men and
their issues
I think maybe it is time for an
ASi’O Men's ( i-iiter Men need
,i well-funded center to research
men's issues and maybe dispel
some of the common miscon
ceptions. like all men may he
potential rapists or the majority
of men are batterers We need a
plat e to communicate amongst
ourselves and make common
cause against the problems we
face that no one on campus
seems willing to address. We
need to reach out to young black
men who will most likely be
shot, go to jail or commit suicide
before they are 20 years old and
given them fw< k some hope. We
need to address the fact that the
highest rate of suicide in Ameri
ca belongs to young white
males We need to make sure
that gay men have a place of
acceptance and to know that
they are not lesser men due to
their sexual preference We need
to find solutions for domestic
abuse, light for our reproductive
rights and demand equal and
fair treatment in the courts with
respect to custody and support
for our children. We need to
increase the level of our com
mitment to the education of our
children and the prevention of
social injustices due to the igno
rance of others
i he answer to the question,
"Ant all men potential rapists'”
is no! It you do not believe that,
then contact me at me«-«.gtad
stone and 1 will explain to you
whatever part of no you do not
understand.
You may also t unmet me at
that e-mail address if you are
interested in forming an ASUO
Men's Center
Mu haul Emhcott is a chrirusln
ma/oral the Univanitv
■ COMMENTARY POLICY
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the public concerning topics of interest so the University com
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