Grace Diviny, Staff Writer
On Tuesday, October 6th, the Center of Racial Justice and Inclusive Excellence, also known as Lee Hall, hosted a Banned Books Week Fair for students of Oneonta to check out a variety of books that have been considered unsuitable for schools to have as a result of the contents included. It was hosted in The Great Room downstairs, where people joining were given a ticket with a number on it for a raffle giveaway.
The room was styled as though it was a book fair reminiscent of elementary school book fairs and had a variety of well-known books such as “1984” by George Orwell, “The Handmaid’s Tale” by Margaret Atwell, “Looking for Alaska” by John Green, and “The Bluest Eye” by Toni Morrison. The event also had free food catering, so people could have something to enjoy while reading.
At around 7:00 PM, Director of the Center of Racial Justice and Inclusive Excellence and Anthropology professor Dr. Sallie Han went up to give welcomes to students before giving the stage over to librarian Michelle Hendley, who explained the backstory of Banned Books Week, in which it was started in 1982 by the American Library Association in response to a rise in a number of books that were challenged in schools, libraries, and bookstores. She also stated that books being banned has been something that has been around since the beginning of civilization such as The Odyssey in Ancient Rome.
While books with explicit and offensive language and topics unsuited for all ages are included, books with themes of race, gender, sexual identity, violence, and anything that challenges the idea of authority are also included in this category according to Hendley. However, she stated that according to the ALA, while books are challenged and banned, they remain available for many alike to read.
SUNY Oneonta History Professor Matthew Hendley then took to the stage to announce an interactive activity open to everyone attending, in which people could read a one-minute excerpt from a book of their liking. The first speaker was Provost Dr. Enrqiue Morales-Diaz, where he read a small passage of Pedagogy of the Oppressed by Paulo Freire. The stage was then opened to others, in which many signed up and went on stage. In between reading books, they also hosted a raffle giveaway where if someone had a ticket with the number they called out, students could get a free book of their choosing. In fact, I was one of the lucky winners whose number was called!
When asked about what this event means to her and the whole community, Dr. Sallie Han said for her, books are a crucial part of our culture, especially in how we retain knowledge and show our creativity. “The idea of restricting what people have access to, such as information and creative expression, is offensive to everything I believe in as an anthropologist and just as a human being.” Han stated before also expressing how important it is to fight for freedom when it comes to reading. “So, I just embrace this opportunity to celebrate the fact that these is our rights, and sometimes we have to stand up and defend those rights.”
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