editorial

“The arrogance of the board majority is appalling. The message being

that if you don’t see things their way, you’re not invited to the party.”

We wrote those words in December, when we criticized the Newport-Mesa

Unified School District board of trustees for once again snubbing fellow

trustee Wendy Leece by refusing to appoint her to the president’s post.

And while we stand by our statements today, the irony of those words

is now hard for us to escape.

The very same Wendy Leece, the very same trustee whom we defended even

though the content of her message often differed from the board’s and

ours, has asked that two books be removed from the classroom for the same

reason -- the content of the books’ message.

That’s unfortunate. Because if it’s wrong for the board to exclude and

vilify those things it doesn’t agree with, it’s wrong for Leece as well.

And it is almost always wrong to ban books.

We admit the rich tapestry that is literature is not always

antiseptic. And true, the books that Leece finds offensive -- “Snow

Falling on Cedars,” by David Guterson, and “Of Love and Shadows,” by

Isabel Allende -- have rough edges.

All great books do.

But instead of dwelling on the sexual content that Leece finds

offensive, we urge all to take a look at the bigger messages that these

books and most serious works of literature convey, those of humanity’s

struggles, triumphs and tragedies.

Further, the books in question are intended for high school students,

not elementary school pupils.

These are students who are faced with a deluge of less than wholesome

pop culture and teen idols every day. These are students struggling to

understand their own identity and answer their own questions.

Books can help them do that. Even these books.

We’re not saying that our teens should sign up for the Playboy

book-of-the-month club.

But we have to believe that force-feeding high school students what

amounts to daily doses of vanilla will most certainly leave them wanting

for more.