On Censorship
from the other side of the screen
Editorial Column by Alexa Manning – October 2026
You may have already seen our Instagram post on Banned Books Week and you may have already heard about the “Cornell 7”. It may not be obvious on the surface, but these two topics are deeply connected.
Banning – and burning – books is one of the oldest forms of censorship. The first emperor of China had texts burned, and even buried scholars alive, in order to control the way his subjects thought and behaved. King Louis IX had wagons of Talmud manuscripts burned, the Spanish destroyed Mayan artifacts and codices, and Nazi Germany burned thousands of titles that didn’t adhere to their definition of “German”.
Each of these examples shows one party’s close-mindedness and rigidity of thought manifesting as the silencing of the other party by destroying information, enacting violence on a people, and vandalizing their identifying symbols. This censorship dehumanizes the voices being oppressed and also limits the compassion of the oppressors. It blocks access to the information that could inspire critical thinking and resistance.
Florida has more book challenges and bans than any other state. Stories, whether real or fiction, are being removed from schools because they touch on important topics. The parents at these schools refuse to challenge their own thinking, so instead they challenge the books that would give their children access to perspectives different from their own in the hopes that they’d be removed from classrooms and school libraries.
Maybe today’s book bans don’t look the same as historical examples, but it is the same philosophy repackaged. When Russia began its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, wartime censorship laws were put in place. Similarly, Israel censors foreign news networks. These are both active, violent colonizations that include limiting information to their own populations in order to control national ideology.
All over the world authorities like governments, church officials, and parents censor stories that would only benefit their audiences. All Boys Aren’t Blue by George M. Johnson is frequently challenged for containing LGBTQ+ content. This book is important because it normalizes queerness and shows the challenges of being a young gay boy. If the reader isn’t questioning their sexuality themselves, they will learn more about an experience they will never have and feel more compassion towards others.
Each of these titles include topics that children will eventually encounter: Beloved by Toni Morrison discusses slavery and violence, Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret by Judy Blume references menstruation, The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien criticizes the Vietnam War, Anne Frank: Diary of a Young Girl contemplates puberty. If these are facts of life and history, why should they not be prepared?
Literature is a time machine, a spaceship, and a portal into magical universes. But, most importantly, it is a tool for human connection. Books hold a slice of life, experience, love, and hurt. When you open it up, you invite that little slice to find a new home with you and promise to carry it onward.
The Cornell 7 is what happens when children are not given the opportunity to learn about the world and how people experience it differently. It is horrible what those boys did and it is equally terrifying to know that none of the 57 people in the group chat tried to intervene. What’s worse is that this incident has only made it to the news cycle because Jane Doe is suing, not because Cornell University reported the crime or supported her in any way.
It is clear that these frat bros consider women to be objects—less than human, sites only for male pleasure and violence.
Their world view has been insulated, never challenged and never cracked open. They haven’t learned to value perspectives outside of their own. They are one-dimensional beings that are not expected or encouraged to grow.
As I scroll through Instagram, tapping through stories, I only see women discussing the Cornell 7. Infographics about raising boys who stand up for what’s right, but no men making statements or condemning the guilty parties. Self defense classes, pepper spray, sharing locations with friends. Women are expected to hold the responsibility for preventing victimization on a personal level and now for the labor of deconstructing rape culture interpersonally
Us women can only scream into the void for so long, the real change comes from the oppressors. Ukraine and Palestine can only be free with the intervention of powerful nations just as women can only be free with the intervention of men. Censoring stories, news networks, and literature holds the entire world back.
This year’s theme for Banned Books Week is “Let Books Be”. Letting books be means letting books be read, loved, and shared, but also letting books be challenging. Endeavor to be challenged. Fight for the freedom to read. Let books be so our world can be better.
