*Please note: This article is a student blog written by a Kevin B. Harrington Student Ambassador. The Ambassador Program is a unique opportunity for Saint Anselm College students of any major to be involved in supporting the Institute's various events and activities. To learn more about our student ambassadors please visit the NHIOP website.
On March 20th, the New Hampshire Institute of Politics hosted a Common Ground event for students to debate the issue of banning of books. This freedom of speech discussion was planned and organized by the Kevin B. Harrington Student Ambassadors.
The Common Ground series focuses on bridging the divide that political polarization presents in our modern political climate. As stated above, this Common Ground event was dedicated to the discussion of banning books and the constitutionality of it. The Institute’s mission is to educate, engage, and empower citizens of all ages to actively participate in the civil and political life of their communities and strengthen democracy. The Institute is a nonpartisan organization and has been dedicated to promoting a healthy democracy for over 20 years.
The evening started with the broad question of whether banning books violated the freedom of expression clause in the First Amendment. Many students agreed that it did and that it was limiting the rights of individuals to choose what they read. They also agreed that the banning of books limits the number of diverse opinions Americans can receive through reading. Another perspective that students acknowledged was the discrepancy between education across the country due to book bans. Students acknowledged that the banning of educational books, such as certain non-fiction historically accurate books or biology or anatomy books that are being banned or censored, creates large gaps in educational equality.
The topic then quickly shifted to whether the United States government should force ByteDance, the owners of TikTok, to sell TikTok to an American company or force shutdowns. Many students again agreed that while the stealing of our data is not a good thing, TikTok is not the only company engaged in data mining. Students concluded that both Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter all engage in some form of data mining and for the most part, on a more political scale.
The Common Ground discussion concluded that government intervention in the media, whether through banning books or forcing the sale of a private company, is not always the correct course of action. Students came up with various solutions to these problems, such as explicit content warnings on books where necessary or, in the case of TikTok, being more aware of one's online presence and how it relates to data theft. The Common Ground events at Saint Anselm College are wonderful examples of the Institute’s mission of promoting civic engagement in our community.