Update - Banning of 2008 Campus Read Book in Missouri

On August 9, we posted information about an April 2010 banning of the 2008 Campus Read book, The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-time Indian by Sherman Alexie, in Stockton, Missouri. The book won numerous awards, including the 2007 National Book Award for Young People’s Literature.

The Stockton R-1 School Board has now scheduled a special meeting on September 8, 2010, to discuss removing the book from the curriculum and the library.

For more details, check out the news stories from the Cedar County Republican.

Soccer at BSC!

For the Campus Read, we're reading about the Fugees playing soccer in and around Clarkston, Georgia. How about watching BSC's Mystics play soccer right here?

BSC soccer made its debut last year. If you haven't been to a game before, now's the time!

BSC Women's and Men's soccer teams will be playing at home (in the Bowl) on our campus this weekend.

Sat, August 28

• 1 p.m. – BSC Women vs. Century College
• 3 p.m. – BSC Men vs. Century College

Sun, August 29

• 1 p.m. – BSC Women vs. Rochester Community & Tech College
• 3 p.m. – BSC Men vs. Riverland College

Welcome to Campus Read 2010-11!

It's going to be a great year!

We're excited about the 2010-11 Campus Read selection, Outcasts United: an American Town, a Refugee Team, and One Woman's Quest to Make a Difference by Warren St. John. You can get your copy of the book at the BSC Bookstore.

We're also especially excited that Luma Mufleh, the coach of the Fugees soccer team, will visit our campus in November, and that the author of the book, Warren St. John, will be on campus in April.

Stop by the BSC Library and check out the Campus Read display in the hallway.

2008 Campus Read Book Banned in Missouri

The 2008 BSC Campus Read selection was The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-time Indian by Sherman Alexie. It was popular with students, faculty, and staff and led to great discussions on campus. Alexie also visited campus and gave a presentation to a standing room only crowd at the Belle Mehus Auditorium. In fact, he invited people who couldn't find seats to join him on the stage and sit there. His presentation was fun and funny as well as thoughtful and reflective.

In April 2010, the school board in Stockton, Missouri, voted to remove Alexie's book from the school. In July, they voted to reconsider their original motion. At their August 18 meeting, they will schedule a date for a special meeting to discuss the suitability of the book and answer in writing five questions posed by the school board.

Numerous groups have sent letters in support of keeping Alexie's book in the school, including the American Library Association's Office of Intellectual Freedom and a joint letter from the National Council of Teachers of English, the National Coalition Against Censorship, the American Library Association, and the American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression.

For more about the story, visit the Cedar County Republican.

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