As the holiday season approaches, everyone is welcomed to participate in the Annual Toiletries Drive sponsored by Campus Ministry at Plymouth State. All donations will benefit the Pemi Bridge House located in Plymouth.

Helpful donations include unused shampoo, conditioner, toothbrushes, toothpaste, hair brushes, lotion, soap, dental floss, etc. Full sized and travel sized items are both welcomed.

A large basket will be available for donations near the Information Desk on the Main Level beginning on November 9th.

THANKS for your support!

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In our final Banned Books Week 2007 installment, we look at two works that were removed from shelves this year, stark reminders of the challenges of freedom.

Last February, public and school librarians noticed that the very first hint of spring was missing from their magazine shelves: Sports Illustrated’s Annual Swimsuit Edition.

In a statement released in March, Time Warner spokesman Rick McCabe said the company decided to withhold shipment of the swimsuit issue to libraries because they had received complaints in the past about the issue being too “risque.” American Library Association president Leslie Berger, called the decision by Time Warner’s decision “patronizing and paternalistic in the extreme.” Other libraries around the country concurred and were outraged at Time Warner’s supposition that the company knew best about what libraries wanted (or didn’t want) in their collections.

But librarian outrage isn’t always consistent or universal. Just two months prior, The Higher Power of Lucky by Susan Patron, was announced as the 2007 recipient of the prestigious Newbery Medal for children’s literature.

“‘Lucky’ is a perfectly nuanced blend of adventure, survival (emotional and physical) and hilarious character study… as well as a blueprint for a self-examined life,” said Newbery Medal Committee Chair Jeri Kladder. But in some libraries, the appearance of the word “scrotum” on the first page of the book was too much, even for an award-winning book, and several libraries removed it from the shelves entirely.

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In recognition of Banned Books Week 2007, Lamson Library is featuring a series of books that challenge our beliefs and test our commitment to free speech.

An Inconvenient Truth: the Planetary Emergency of Global Warming and What We Can Do About It by Al Gore. In the former Vice President’s second book on global warming, Gore writes, “…there is at least one absolutely indisputable fact: Not only does human caused global warming exist, but it is also growing more and more dangerous, and at a pace that has now made it a planetary emergency.”

The Politically Incorrect Guide to Global Warming (and Environmentalism) by Christopher C. Horner. Horner, an attorney and senior fellow at the Competitive Enterprise Institute, claims in this 2007 publication that “…although Al Gore and his cronies among the media elites and UN globalists endless bleat that ‘global warming’ is an unprecedented crisis, they really think of it as a dream come true. It’s the ideal scare campaign for those who hate capitalism and love big government.”

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Each September, the American Library Association and several other organizations celebrate Banned Books Week. In addition, we provide you with a list of the Top Challenged Books for the year. Take a look at the list; there are both old and new favorites.

But for Banned Books Week 2007, we want to try something different. Using two diametrically opposite publications (each with relatively known flaws), we want to challenge you to think about your freedom to read and what it REALLY means! As the writer and activist, Noam Chomsky, once said “If we don’t believe in freedom of expression for people we despise, we don’t believe in it at all.”

• Political Finger Pointing
• Hot or Not? The Global Warming Debate
• Blowing in the Wind…but in which direction?
• Holocaust Denied?
• Supposition and Self-Censorship

Would you read or watch the one to which you are totally opposed? Why or why not? We want to read YOUR comments!

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Each year on September 17th, all educational institutions in the United States pause to celebrate the oldest, active Constitution in the world today. English professor, Scott Coykendall, coordinator of PSU campus events this year, has focused on the First Amendment and the five freedoms it guarantees:

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech; or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble; and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.

Events on campus planned for Monday September 17th at the HUB include:

To learn more about The Constitution in the United States today read The Knight Foundation 2006 Follow-up Survey. This study of high school students found both support and skepticism. While students supported the freedom of the press and their rights to publish what they want in student newspapers, they also believed that the First Amendment, in general, went too far in the rights it guarantees. This follow up survey of a more extensive 2004 Future of the First Amendment Study, showed an increase in the number of students taking classes in the Constitution, and a greater understanding of the rights it grants to United States citizens.

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