![]() ![]() “I own all three of these books,” said Levi Valentine, a trans man active in the transgender community in Sheboygan, who also works with Sheboygan area students through the county. Book challenges are an attack on the LGTBQ+ community, others sayĪlthough several people during public comment stated their opposition to books is not homophobic, some of them and others opposing the books have publicly expressed homophobic or transphobic views. Librarians selecting library materials are highly trained as to what material is appropriate for students, and new books receive multiple reviews by professional librarian associations before being ordered, school board president Mary Lynne Donohue added. The three books removed from South High are not in any other SASD school libraries, Harvatine said. The statute also specifies an exemption for school libraries, which should “reflect the cultural diversity and pluralistic nature of American society.” ![]() Under state statute, obscene materials do not include materials with serious artistic, literary, political, educational or scientific value. Harvatine said the school district does not have any pornographic material, saying that is “just the farthest thing from the truth.” Explicit graphic novels demonstrating the sexualization of minors do not belong in the school district." Haley Stuckmann, a recent SASD graduate and a candidate for school board, said: "The books that were found in South High School's library this past weekend do not reflect and focus on academic education. “The bottom line is, I don’t want my children exposed to porn in a school setting.” “Like someone else had brought up, if we were to bring a Playboy magazine into school, how would that go?” Tracy Allee said. People also worried what “pornography” might be remaining in Sheboygan schools. Many people addressing the school board about the books said they supported their removal because sexually explicit content is inappropriate for school libraries. Sexually explicit content is inappropriate for kids, some say Here's what to know about the changes and community response. More: Sheboygan school district updates middle-school curriculum on STDs and gender identity. More: February primary will narrow down candidates for Sheboygan school board. Harvatine said the books were removed from South High’s library because “each book contained one or more illustrations that depicted sexual acts.”įormolo did not remove two other novels, “Lawn Boy” by Jonathan Evison and “Ace of Hearts” by Myriad Augustine.Īll five books are about LGBTQ+ people or characters. The books removed from South High School were all graphic memoirs, or memoirs told in comic-strip format: Maia Kobabe’s “Gender Queer: A Memoir” and Alison Bechdel’s “Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic” and “Are You My Mother?” Within a day or two, South High School Principal Kevin Formolo informally resolved the concerns by deciding to remove three of the five books, Harvatine said.Īt a crowded school board meeting following the decision, many people voiced concern about "disturbing" and “pornographic” materials being made available to children in school libraries, while others opposed the removal of the three books, which they saw as a political move harmful to LGBTQ+ students.Īlthough the challenges are unusual for SASD, Harvatine said, the book challenges are on the rise nationwide and in Wisconsin. The following day, Sheboygan County for Freedoms, a local organization, posted a call to action on Facebook encouraging people to oppose the books being available to students in local schools.īy Sunday morning, district leaders had received “quite a number” of emails about the books, including one asking that they be removed from the library, Sheboygan Area School District superintendent Seth Harvatine said. SHEBOYGAN - On a Friday in late January, a group of Sheboygan residents went to South High School to review five books in the library.
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