After a week of controversy, students at New Rochelle High School today received brand new, unexpurgated copies of Girl, Interrupted.
The City School District of New Rochelle came under widespread criticism when this web site revealed on Monday that several pages of the book, deemed “inappropriate” by school officials, were ripped from somewhere between 50 and 90 copies of the book which had been recently assigned to a 12th grade film class.
The school district announced Wednesday a Special Meeting to be held at the high school next Tuesday night. In response to the controversy, Superintendent Richard Organisciak has added an agenda item euphemistically entitled Use of Appropriate Course Materials.
New Rochelle School District
Mr. Cox. Why don’t you get a real job instead of suing people for a living. Who cares what happened 7 years ago. The problem has been corrected so move on. If you hate the district so much then why don’t you move to another city. You have wasted tax payer’s dollars with your useless lawsuits and wasted valuable time having teacher’s give depositions on meaninless lawsuits. Why don’t you do something positive with your time. There are many families in New Rochelle that are just trying to survive. Your children go to the district so why do you feel the need to trash it. Set a positive example for your children and do something worthwhile with your time. New Rochelle has a wonderful reputation and your children will be graduating from there. Why make a mountain out of a molehill. Move on and make a positive donation to your school system.
Please register Mr. Daly
I have already commented on the series of comments made recently and that “someone” appears to be hiding behind the anonymity of cyberspace to cast aspersions in order to deflect attention from the real problems facing the district.
For the record, I have never brought a lawsuit against the district.
This book censorship did not happen “7 years ago”; it was ongoing when I reported on it last week.
The problem has not been corrected because the problem was not simply torn books but the apparent lack of a policy on book selection or book challenges or that the policies were not followed. We still do not know who challenged this book or what their motives were – religious, political, etc. Motive goes directly to the heart of the Supreme Court ruling in Pico (1982); motive may make this action a violation of the student’s First Amendment rights.
I don’t “hate” the district but the district is not the people temporaily entrusted to run it. This sounds like George W. Bush, “you’re either with me or against me”. I would remind Mr. Daly and others in positions of authority in the the District that they are but temporary stewards; the OWNERS of the district are the residents of New Rochelle not them. And the rent is coming due.
“You have wasted tax payer’s dollars with your useless lawsuits and wasted valuable time having teacher’s give depositions on meaninless lawsuits.”
What lawsuits? You must have some pretty bad sources if someone told you that I’ve brought lawsuits against the district.
I think holding elected officials accountable is a very positive use of my time.
I don’t see the correlation between this web site and “many families in New Rochelle that are just trying to survive”. Maybe you can explain that one.
I have written here that there are many fine people working in and for the New Rochelle school district. I have news for you – some of them are BIG supporters of this web site. The problem is that you are confused. What you have done is arrogate the interests of the entire school district and all the residents of New Rochelle to yourself. You do not speak for everyone in New Rochelle. The head of a teachers union speaks for the union membership.
As for setting a positive example, I believe in teaching children to think for themselves, to speak truth to power. I am proud of the fact that of all the students at New Rochelle who were given the censored version of Girl, Interrupted it was my son who came forward to challenge that with the result that the defaced book he was given was replaced. I am also proud that my daughter took it upon herself to create a Facebook group to encourage students and alumni of NRHS to show up at the board meeting tonight to express their outrage that pages were torn from books in an overt act of perhaps the most pernicious form of censorship – bowdlerization.
If more students can be taught the value of standing up to protect their First Amendment rights, to use the power of a free press to speak truth to power, to stand firm in the face of attacks from entrenched interests then I’d say these are students that have learned a very valuable lesson.
What lesson do you think is taught by protecting those who would censor, by suppressing open discussion at public meetings, by making threats and engaging in retaliation.
If you don’t like this site then don’t read it but this site is not going anywhere.