The fifth annual banned book event took place outside of Penfield Library on Thursday, Sept. 26.
The event included many tables for students to interactively learn about banned books and censorship throughout the history of the United States. It was organized by the creative writing program and Penfield Library. Each table had a focus that the person working at the table was trying to teach the person visiting it.
These tables included one filled with different graphic novels that have previously been banned. Underneath the books was a sheet of paper explaining why the books were banned. Books from “Maus” to “Captain Underpants” were sitting on the table.
Another table was run completely by students. It focused specifically on the Hollywood Ten, a list of blacklisted screenwriters that were said to be communist. The table consisted of a television with clips from the screenwriters’ movies and a “choose your fate” game, where one has to choose the path playing one of the Hollywood Ten.
The students were passionate about what they were presenting, and made sure to get people to play their game.
“Censorship is something to be scared about when you’re a writer,” creative writing major Emily O’Brien said.
More tables included one sponsored by Penfield Library where students create their own buttons, a table focusing on blackout poetry and a table filled with banned books.
The banned books table, supervised by the Director of Creative Writing Leigh Wilson, had a game where if you threw one of the books into a frying pan, they would give you the book for free.
While supervising the event, Wilson would chat with students about which books they liked, or what banned book they were interested in reading. Wilson wants this event to raise awareness in students that censorship will still happen in some places.
“I wanted to read ‘Lord of the Flies,’ but I couldn’t find it because it was banned in the public library,” Wilson said.
The event was intended to inform students about censorship and the banning of books in certain places. The organizer of this event, professor of creative writing Juliet Giglio, has been working with this event for five years and feels that students need to be educated on this topic.
“It’s that time of the year, that you call attention to the fact that books are still banned around the U.S.,” Giglio said.
Giglio said that many places around the U.S. are still banning books, in both private and public libraries. In specific regions, if someone reads something that offends them, they are still able to go to the board or complain to someone in charge and get the book off the shelves.
Harry Potter is one of the most recent books that have been banned. Just this month, it was ordered to be banned by a Catholic priest in Nashville, Tennessee. Censorship like this is what brings all of the creative writing department and Penfield Library together to spread awareness that this is still going on.
Students were excited to learn about this, many stopping on their way to class to play a game or to find out which books were banned.
Students were particularly excited to receive banned books as a free prize. Many expressed their excitement to Wilson about how they will be reading it this weekend during the four day break.
Photo by Nicole Hube | The Oswegonian
