Book Bans in schools have always existed and continue to exist in today’s time, and while it may seem like they come from good intentions, the lasting impact of these bans could have large consequences for the newest generation. 

According to PEN America, over 10,000 books were banned in the US alone last year, and that number is only climbing. 

Banning books from school usually boils down to sex, gender, racism, as well as history. However, more recently, the number of bans has been increasing, as has the pattern of authors and subject matter. Doing so not only puts a leash on what students are allowed to read but also gives them the opportunity to learn and grow. If book bans persist, what’s to stop them from restricting what students can read more and more, even at places like Rowan?

One book I found helped me grow as a person and helped me through a difficult time in my life was The Perks of Being a Wallflower, which is now being banned for being sexually explicit, having LGBTQIA+ content, drugs, as well as dealing with heavier topics such as rape and the psychological effects on children who have suppressed it. Taking away books that deal with heavy issues like sexuality and mental health does not make them disappear, it will just make students who deal with them have a harder time. 

It hurts to know this newest generation won’t get to read about my favorite book in their school library and that schools continue to force students to read what a system deems right while restricting freedom of speech and claiming it’s helping future generations. It is not just The Perks of Being a Wallflower, either. 1984, The Handmaid’s Tale, To Kill A Mockingbird, and thousands of other classic novels that have been taught and impacted students have been taken out of schools. 

Perhaps the worst example of this wide ban is The Diary of Anne Frank, which surprisingly was not banned for the depictions of the holocaust but was banned for being “sexually offensive” for passages of the book where she describes her anatomy as well as her feelings towards Peter. Taking this important piece of history away from newer students because of mentions of the female body is not only immature but unfair to the students as well.

In an age where technology is swaying attention away from reading and kids are picking up a book less, why are we cutting libraries in half? Books used to be a way for young students to grow and learn, but as time passes, what a student is allowed to learn from grows thinner and thinner. In an attempt to protect children from obscene material, schools are preventing students from being independent in choosing what to read and censoring content that could have a lasting impact on students.

Suppose Rowan’s next generation of students is restricted in this way. How will they be expected to go out of their way to read independently or even look for books that weren’t already curated for them by a system that was afraid to show anything outside of the status quo? This is a larger issue than just prohibiting the reading selection at a library. This is about taking away students’ autonomy to conform and squeeze into a pre-established mold. 

Banning books isn’t new, and it isn’t going anywhere. This is why supporting books that tackle heavy topics well and give voices to those who need them is so important today. Banning books is banning the potential to grow, and if we really want kids to start reading more and putting their phones down, then why are we taking so many of their options away?

For comments/questions about this story DM us on Instagram @thewhitatrowan or email opinion@gmail.com