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in support of free expression
The information presented here by the National
Coalition Against Censorship (NCAC) may be freely redistributed in its entirety,
provided that readers are informed that the information was obtained from
NCAC's World Wide Web site and that credit is given to the appropriate source
of whatever information is used. Permission is expressly granted for the information
obtained to be made available for file transfer from installations offering
unrestricted anonymous file transfer on the Internet. Information found here
may not be sold for profit or incorporated in commercial documents without
the written permission from the National Coalition Against Censorship.
©Copyright 2005 NCAC
WEB DESIGN
Jeanne Criscola Criscola Design
YFEN
Express Yourself! Op-Eds
Youth Art
"We Must Save The Children" by Zane Scheuerlein
"In 2006, a group of parents at Evanston Township High School spied on the Facebook sites of several students. They reported some of these to the school administration for disciplinary action. Zane’s poster above is an allegory done in the style of artist Barry Kite." - www.youthlab.net
Youth Poetry
Read Bill of Wrongs by Jacqueline P. Grand Pre, winner of the NYCLU's Bill of Rights poetry contest.
Recent Op-Eds
Response to concern over Angels in America by Adam London
NCAC and four other free speech organizations recently wrote a letter supporting Deerfield High School's decision to keep Angels in America in their AP English curriculum despite complaints from local groups attacking the play as "pornography". Here, a recent graduate of Deerfield High School responds to the controversy and shares how the challenging material they studied in AP English helped prepare him for college.
The Golden Compass by Kate Havard
"People often underestimate children when it comes to books- and believe that they can't separate reality from fiction- Remember when people thought the Harry Potter books would turn kids into Satanists? All they did was turn kids into readers."
Letter to NCAC: Video Game Censorship by Jesstin Jacobs
HS Senior and video gamer explores the debate over whether or not to regulate the content of video games.
The Boston Bomb Scare: Youth Culture as Terrorist Threat by Zane Scheuerlein
"Rock music was considered radical and distasteful by much of the adult world at the time. But those same longhaired hippies who were once told by elders to 'cut your hair' and 'love it or leave it' are now adults. Some of them are music producers and corporate executives who make millions off the selling of youth culture and some are city officials, lawyers and police officers.
One would think that the same people who invented youth culture would have developed an understanding and sensitivity toward young people that their own elders denied them. And yet the 'generation gap' continues to instill outrage, disgust and fear in the hearts of many, a reality made glaringly apparent in a recent series of events known as the Boston Bomb Scare. And what is the symbol of this latest scare? Youth culture icons — the Mooninites."
Freedom of Religion, not Freedom From Religion by Alex Weisler
"I thought I’d be aghast. I thought that little, liberal me was going to seize on this supposed “violation of the separation between church and state,” and write this month’s column about my raw outrage. Well, I’m not. Still in the dark?"
Freedom of Speech "At the Schoolhouse Gate" by Melissa Bykofsky
Melissa Bykofsky was awarded $10,000 for taking First Place in the New York Press Association's First Amendment Contest with this essay.
What Do You Think?
We want to hear form you. Send us an opinion-editorial (op-ed) of no more than 750 words that addresses one of the following issues:
1. Abstinence-only sexuality education
2.
Internet Filtering software in schools and libraries
3.
Suppression of Gay/Straight Alliances on high school campuses
4. Censorship of student newspapers and Web sites
5. Parental advisory stickers in music
6. Lack of representation of young people of color in the media
7. Self-censorship in communities often victimized by hate crimes, including Muslims and gays/lesbians
8. School Dress Codes
9. Withholding of money for school programs and projects deemed "controversial"
10. Censorship of “offensive” or “controversial” student art, theatre, music, photography, poetry, etc
11. Removal of "controversial" books from school libraries
Email brian@ncac.org when you have a piece you’d like to share.
Also visit www.ncac.org/YFEN/Express_Yourself.cfm to find other ways to express your thoughts about free expression!
Thank you!
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