Reagan Binek
Updated: 3 hours ago Published: 5 hours ago
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The Matteo Borough School District has become a leader in book banning in Alaska. While book banning has become a major issue nationwide, the rate at which books are banned in Matteo Borough is alarming. While many parents may not want their children to read certain books, limiting the books students are exposed to at school can have long-term effects, including reduced critical thinking skills and awareness of social issues.
The Matt-Su Valley School District's Library Citizens Advisory Committee is reviewing 56 books in question, including classics such as “The Great Gatsby” by F. Scott Fitzgerald, “Why the Caged Bird Sings” by Maya Angelou and “Catch-22” by Joseph Heller. The committee's concerns range from anti-white messages and sexually explicit content to the use of profanity and racial slurs.
On April 22, 2020, the committee voted to remove these books, along with The Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison and The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien, from the school curriculum, and to remove four more books from schools in 2023. These objections completely ignore the time periods in which these books are set or written, and the experiences the authors described.
Some parents argue that certain topics, such as sexual assault, are inappropriate for students under a certain age to read. They fear that books that touch on such issues will encourage bad behavior and the impact it will have on their children's innocence. Those who support book bans believe it is parents' responsibility to ensure that they consent to all topics taught in schools, and argue that parents should play a greater role in making sure that school curricula are appropriate.
These targeted bans are a blatant attempt to create a one-sided view of the world and history. Many of the banned books feature people of color and LGBTQ+ characters, and parents claim that these characters are inappropriate for their children to read. However, book bans often have the opposite effect to the intended one, as older books, especially, often experience a surge in popularity after being banned. In an information age where mass media is digitally accessible, book bans are largely ineffective. Ironically, most people who disagree with a book have never even read it and therefore do not fully understand the context of a small controversial part of the book.
Removing books from schools also limits students' access to information and reduces the range of perspectives to which they are exposed. In Board of Education v. Pico (1982), the U.S. Supreme Court concluded that removing books from school libraries simply because some people do not like the content violates the Constitution because it limits the fundamental right to receive information. School districts must consider the fundamental right of parents to make decisions about their children's education without infringing on the rights of others.
Legislation must be enacted at both the state and federal levels to stop the spread of book bans. Furthermore, Supreme Court rulings must be respected and enforced. In 2023, Illinois signed a law against book bans, becoming the first state to protect libraries from restrictions on the materials they can add to their collections. A few months later, California followed suit with protections for school libraries. Alaska should adopt similar protections for libraries to ensure equal access for all students. As the cycle of book bans continues, society becomes more ignorant and even more closed off. This ignorance permeates the nation’s laws, producing laws based on personal beliefs rather than science.
Reagan Vinek is a junior at South Anchorage High School.
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