For Lilah Walsh, CHS Banned Books Club co-founder and junior, reading banned books is extremely important. Walsh said the issues often targeted in book bannings include social, political and economic issues that are currently affecting the United States.

“The trends in book bans… are very racially based and they target LGBTQ literature, quite a bit, lots of opposing religious viewpoints, just non-Christian viewpoints, and it hinders a lot of the current climate of the United States… politically, socially (and) economically,” Walsh said.

Walsh is not alone in her opposition to book bans. According to a survey conducted by Hart Research Associates and North Star Opinion Research on behalf of the American Library Association, among 1,000 voters of various political standings, 71% of voters oppose efforts to have books removed from their local public libraries. Among 472 parents of children in public schools, 60% oppose the removal of books from their local public libraries.

Recent legislation

On May 4, 2023, Gov. Eric Holcomb signed House Bill 1447 which required schools to establish a procedure for parents and community members to request the removal of books if they are deemed “harmful” or “obscene.”

Media specialist Terri Ramos said this school’s process for removing books has remained the same despite this legislation.

“There’s a collection development policy, there is a request for removal policy and procedure. These things have always been in creation. They’ve always been a part of our policies and our guidelines,” Ramos said. “For example, our collection development, the last time it was updated, there were things in there about having information about AIDS. That’s just not a focus that we would have now, so obviously that was removed.”

Ramos said the Indiana code is currently clear on what the definition is for pornographic material and materials harmful to children, however new bills aim to remove these standards and make it easier to remove books for any reason.

“There are four points that must be met, and if those four points are not met, then it is not pornographic, or material harmful to children,” Ramos said. “What bills are being created currently are bills saying they want to go through Indiana code and remove anything that says obscenity or materials harmful to children and change it to a different phrase. In doing so, there is no four point standard by which to judge these materials. It would completely be up to whoever brings forward the challenge or the concern.”

Protecting students vs censoring topics

Sam Falkenstein, CHS Banned Books Club co-founder and junior, said there’s a fine line in this legislature regarding the removal of “harmful” or “obscene” content from schools. Falkenstein said there is a distinction between protecting children from sensitive topics and censoring important knowledge and information.

“In some cases, it does seem appropriate to keep things out of elementary schools or something, because they just aren’t appropriate for little kids to be reading,” Falkenstein said. “There’s definitely a line between when you’re trying to protect kids and when you’re trying to just keep things away (and) you don’t want anyone to acknowledge it.”

Walsh agreed with Falkenstein and said books with violence or sexual content don’t need to be included in schools, but other topics are often the ones targeted.

“What has been happening is that people are censoring books that primarily contain minority perspectives under pretenses of obscenity,” Walsh said. “That’s a big issue because it’s taking away perspectives from people who may be able to relate to them. When you take away perspectives, especially minority perspectives, it can be really hard on people who don’t typically have something to relate to in the media anyway… you’re further taking away things that they can relate to which has a mental health impact as well.”

Freedom to choose reading materials

Falkenstein said it is important for students to choose what they read, not only for fun but also in schools.

“Even just with school projects, there’s studies that have been shown choosing what you get to work with is very beneficial for success,” Falkenstein said. “Letting students sort of choose their own opinions helps people grow, and it creates more diverse perspectives.”

Walsh said it is especially significant to give students the freedom to choose what information they are absorbing with the issues currently taking place.

“In a world that’s just so polarized right now, everyone’s butting heads at the moment… it can help promote peace,” Walsh said.

Walsh also said parents should have a say in what their children are reading, but should not have a say in what books are available to an entire community or school.

“If it’s not your child, then it shouldn’t concern you,” Walsh said.

Falkenstein agreed with Walsh and said it goes back to the issue of protecting kids versus censoring ideas.

“If you’re one parent trying to make your opinion (impact) a school system entirely, you’re just censoring that, and taking away from everybody, not just the space you’re actually in control (of),” Falkenstein said. “I also do think there’s a certain point where when someone’s old enough, their parents don’t need to be (involved), unless it’s very concerning, if you’re reading just like, terrible stuff.”

Ramos agreed that parents should have a say in what their children read, but their opinions should not necessarily pertain to what other people’s children can read.

“Obviously, parental concerns outweigh any choices that that student makes, the parents have the final say, and that’s fine, but one parent can’t make that decision for all of the rest of the students in the school,” Ramos said. “So if your mom or dad, or whoever your caretaker is says, ‘No, I don’t want you to read this book,’ then that’s fine, but then they can’t tell my son or daughter that they can’t read that book. That’s not right.”

Freedom of speech

Falkenstein said she heard a professor speak about freedom of speech as not only expressing your opinions but also the freedom to listen to others.

“She described it as obviously the freedom to be able to say and express your opinions if it’s not hateful or suppressing other people’s opinions, it’s also the freedom to listen to other ideas, which I think encompasses a lot of what’s important,” Falkenstein said. “It’s trying to restrict people’s ability to listen. You don’t have to agree with the ideas expressed, you just have to be respectful and listen to them. If you just outright ban books without giving people the chance, then you’re taking away that right.”

Walsh agreed with Falkenstein and expressed the importance of reading banned books to gain insight into important issues without the deception the internet often provides in these stories.

“There’s so much misinformation online right now, and a lot of distorted perspectives and people telling you what to think… when you’re reading the stories from almost like a primary source perspective, it eliminates some of that bias (and) allows you to have your own opinions that aren’t influenced by others on these issues that are so prominent in the United States right now,” Walsh said.