Opinion Thursday, November 21, 2013
The Appalachian | TheAppalachianOnline.com
Staff Opinion
Staff Opinion
Challenged book should remain in Watauga school Kevin Griffin Opinion Writer
Within education there is always potential tension between truths one is taught and values that one holds. Education is a process of challenging the way people view the world by exposing them to new ideas. For the past month, Watauga County schools have been dealing with this conundrum in the fight over the teaching of Isabel Allende’s “The House of Spirits.” Objections from parents over the graphic portrayal of sexuality and violence in the novel have led to an effort to have the book removed from the curriculum, an effort that was rejected by a committee in late October, ac-
cording to the Watauga Democrat. An appeal has since been filed to continue the process of challenging the book. It should be noted that the school has agreed to offer “Moby Dick” as alternate reading, the Watauga Democrat reports. In some ways, this is more difficult than other education controversies. With backlash against the teaching of evolution, for example, we have hard science to answer the protest. Literature is different. It is by nature more subjective and value-centered, so shouldn’t parents be able to exercise control over what their children are exposed to? To a limited degree, but if we indulge it too far, we have an education system that does not fulfill its purpose. Any book worth reading and studying is likely to be offensive
to someone. Such books provide opportunities to discuss values and ideas, and why it is that the books can be offensive. “The House of Spirits” has been particularly acclaimed for the way it deals with these themes, and for the sophistication of its prose, as measured by the Lexile Framework for Reading. An unsettling element to the discussion came up at a recent joint meeting of the county commissioners and the school board. Commissioner Perry Yates said during a hearing on the matter, “As a Christian, as a believer, as a morally decent human being, that would not be read or taught in my house, and I don’t feel like it should be taught in Watauga County Schools,” according to the Watauga Democrat. Another commissioner, Da-
vid Blust, expressed a desire to have a rating system in place for books. This view of education is much more detrimental to education than anything in the book. Education is about broadening the range of ideas students explore, and the way they discuss them. This should certainly be the case in high school English classes. Narrow views such as those expressed by the commissioners and those opposing the teachings of the book are working against that key purpose of education. Students have been offered an alternative book. The appeal against the book should ultimately fail.
Badenchini, a freshman journalism major from Apex, is an opinion writer.
Staff Opinion
Underwhelming voter turnout is unfortunate Elizabeth McMichael Opinion Writer
Recently, Watauga County held its municipal elections in order to elect the local government leaders for the next term. Unfortunately, the amount of people that actually exercised their right to vote was underwhelming. According to the North Carolina Board of Elections, only 11.7 percent of registered voters actually voted in Boone’s municipal elections. This means that only 11.7 percent of people in Boone had to speak for everyone in elect-
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McMichael, a freshman chemistry major from Raleigh, is an opinion writer.
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and hope that the newly elected officials will do what we want them to. This phenomenon is not exclusive to Boone. According to a report on voter turnout from the Bipartisan Policy Center, some 93 million eligible citizens did not vote in the 2012 presidential elections. What is the point of having the right to have a say in our state and federal governments if we choose not to exercise those rights? A report from ABC news suggested the theory that the reason people don’t vote is because they don’t see the effect of their vote. “As aggregate, voting matters,” Michael Magdzik, a political science student at Yale University, said in an interview with ABC. “But for any one in-
Erica Badenchini
dividual, one vote rarely matters.” But each vote counts in making a difference because it is another drop in the bucket of what you and other people want. With the mindset that one vote doesn’t matter, we have more and more people sitting out in the election process. So, we can stand by and let whoever does vote decide for us, or we could choose to vote the next time there is an election. The only way we’re going to get the representation that we seek is by taking the step to elect people we believe will do what we need them to.
Griffin, a sophomore journalism major from Madison, is an opinion writer.
McCrory struggling in rising sea of disapproval
ing officials that will directly affect various aspects of our community. It is particularly important to encourage voting on a college campus. Starting to exercise your duty to vote at an early age is a good idea. According to civicyouth.org, people between the ages of 18 and 29 make up 21% of the voting eligible population in the U.S. That is a large portion of the population that should start to vote more. The lack of turnout also means that we cannot be certain that the changes being made will reflect the wants and needs of everyone in Boone, because a small percentage had their say in who was elected. Instead, we will have to sit
NC museum should be open to sea level rise discussion
The director of the N.C. Museum of Natural Sciences has successfully prevented the screening of a documentary focusing on the effects of sea-level rise in his museum’s Science Cafe, according to indyweek.com. “Shored Up,” directed by Ben Kalina, deals with the struggles coastal communities face due to super storms and rising sealevels. The N.C. Coastal Federation, a nonprofit, hoped to show the film at the Museum of Natural Sciences during their weekly talks about science and technology. That is, until director Emlyn Koster decided to veto the idea. His reason? According to emails the museum provided to INDY week, Koster wrote, “We want to engage the public… rather than focusing on an hour-long film in a theater.” He went on to say that the museum needs to “ensure a science-centered approach.” This would be fine, if the film was not firmly rooted in science. Coastal Federation officials told INDY week that the science in the documentary is backed up by research. It seems to me that Koster has a different motive to preventing the screening of “Shored Up,” one that is quite possibly based on politics. In 2012, North Carolina legislators passed a law that prevents the scientifically sound measuring of sea levels along the state’s coast. This law places restrictions on state agencies, making it difficult to prepare for sea-level rise, according to INDY week. The same article states that the result is that developers are free to build in low-lying, weak areas along the coast free from additional regulations. This law seems to allow developers to scam real estate buyers. Coastal Federation officials admitted that the documentary does not allow the opposing parties to rebut this argument. However, the film was reviewed with museum management, and it was decided that a panel discussion would be held after the movie to allow those with differing points of view to express their ideas, according to INDY week. According to the report, Koster would not even allow this and canceled the screening. It is hugely disappointing that the director of the museum, who vocalizes his desire to teach factual science, does not advocate a film that does just that. I can appreciate that the museum wanted to share opposing views, but preventing the movie from showing altogether is a blow to freedom of speech. If Koster is concerned about the reputation of his museum, I think he has more to fear by preventing “Shored Up” from screening.
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