A controversial charcoal drawing that was covered up for more than a month is back on display in the Newark, New Jersey, public library. Kara Walker’s work “The Moral Arc of History Ideally Bends Towards Justice But Just As Soon…
Author: Maren Williams
Suspended Student Poet Allowed Back to School
We have a quick update on Courtni Webb, the San Francisco high school student who was suspended from school last month after a teacher found a poem that mentioned the Newtown shootings in her private notebook. According to a blog…
California Student Suspended for Newtown Poem
Remember the 16-year-old from New Jersey who was arrested last month after a teacher reported his notebook doodles of “what appeared to be weapons?” Now the same sort of hypervigilance on the part of school officials has caused another teen…
Pennypacker & The Pussycat: Political Cartoon Censorship in 1903 Pennsylvania
A recent snippet in Comic Book Resources’ column “Comic Book Legends Revealed” brought to our attention a 1903 tale of attempted cartoon censorship and political intrigue in Pennsylvania. We’ve found some more background info in an article by Steven Piott…
President Recommends Yet More Research on Video Games, Violence
Yesterday, President Obama issued his list of recommendations for Congress and executive actions he plans to take in order to address gun violence in the United States. As anticipated, video games received only a minor mention in the 13-page document,…
Veep’s Violent Media Debate Leading Nowhere
This week, President Obama is expected to issue a list of recommendations for Congress and executive actions that he may take in an attempt to prevent mass shootings similar to the one that happened in Newtown, Connecticut, on December 14.…
NEVERMIND: CT Community Cancels Plan to Destroy Violent Media
Last week we told you about a community organization in the town of Southington, Connecticut, that planned to collect and burn violent video games and other entertainment media. But yesterday, after much coverage from blogs and the press, SouthingtonSOS announced…
Library Director Who Banned NEONOMICON Defends Decision
Late last year, after several months of deliberation, Alan Moore’s graphic novel Neonomicon was removed from the Greenville County, South Carolina, public library system based on a unilateral decision by library director Beverly James. The ban went against a recommendation…
Connecticut Town To Destroy Video Games And Violent Media
In the wake of the mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary in Newtown, Connecticut, a community organization in the nearby town of Southington is organizing a buyback program to collect video games, DVDs, and CDs deemed to be violent. According…
Santa’s Pipe Missing from New Edition of Classic Poem
Many of the traits now attributed to Santa Claus in English-speaking countries — jolliness, rotundity, eight tiny reindeer, a penchant for sleigh travel and chimney diving — have their origin in the classic poem “Twas the Night Before Christmas,” written…