N.C. State students celebrated their freedom to read at N.C. State’s third annual Red, White and Banned event Tuesday in honor of National Banned Books Week.
NCSU Libraries and Alpha Psi Omega National Theatre Honor Society hosted Red, White and Banned to protest schools, bookstores and libraries that have banned books in the United States. Eight actors and a pianist highlighted scenes from seven works to an audience of about 75 people.
“A lot of people don’t know many of the books that are banned,” said Diana Quetti, a senior in communication who helped organize this year’s event. “I think it’s really important to appreciate them even though they may be a difficult topic to read through, because they’re obviously an important part of our libraries and of our schools.”
Banned Books Week was launched in 1982 to celebrate controversial literature by recognizing that each piece contains truth about our culture. Since 1982, more than 11,300 books have been banned, many in an attempt to protect children from subjects of sex, profanity and racism.
The first event was a reenactment from Matilda, Roald Dahl’s popular children’s book that was frequently banned in the 1990s for depicting child disobedience. A scene was performed by Quetti and Brittney Stinnett, a sophomore in management. Quetti chose Matilda because she grew up reading the novel and was surprised to find that it had been banned.
“I loved the character of Matilda and her adventure and her courage and how daring she was, but [for] how smart and of course how brilliant she was as well,” Quetti said. “I think she was such a great character that to highlight those themes in this piece would be a great choice.”
Quetti wasn’t the only performer who chose to address children’s books. Sarah Thornton, a junior in zoology, performed a monologue from Bridge to Terabithia, which was banned for promoting witchcraft and violence.
Antrone Burke, a senior in religious studies and president of Alpha Psi Omega, sang the song “Left Behind” from the play, Spring Awakening, which was banned for addressing abortion, child abuse and teen suicide.
“For a lot of the people that chose their scene, they related to it in some way,” Burke said. “I’m sure with every other scene, everyone can say something like, ‘Oh, I can relate to that, and that’s a part of my life,’ which is why these books need to be exposed and read.”
D.H. Hill set up a small stand in the theater library where the books could be checked out. Quetti and Burke agree that books will continue to be banned but that does not mean they should not be read.
“A lot of people don’t know there is a National Banned Books Week, so we really wanted to highlight that and let people know it is still a current topic,” Quetti said. “People are banning books still today, so it’s a really important topic to keep talking about.”
