Spartan Solutions, a team of PRSSA club members, hosted the event. The team is competing in the Bateman Competition, in which teams from around the country compete to create the best PR solutions for an organization.  

The PRSSA Bateman team has been working with Every Library, a non-profit organization that works to increase library funding and raise awareness about the impact of book bans. Since November, they have held events to raise awareness about banned books and recently displayed banned books at the MSU Library.  

Group leaders led the attendees through conversations surrounding intellectual freedom, censorship, marginalized voices in literature and the positive impact reading has had on their lives.  

To begin the discussion, public relations junior Aubrey Marquette spoke about what intellectual freedom means to her. 

“Intellectual freedom means having the ability to read, write, say anything I feel, have people give their opinions as well and share common ground with people,” Marquette said. “A lot of times how we make friends and build connections with people is through intellectual freedom.” 

Intellectual freedom was at the core of the discussion and the center of Spartan Solutions’ mission. They are striving to protect libraries and fight book bans to ensure that everyone has the right to explore, learn and thrive.

Members of the MSU Book Club, who attended the event after recently reading "Naked Lunch" as a part of their banned book month, spoke about the history of book bans and the impact of censorship. 

Math and computer science sophomore Nizar Slama spoke to the political motivations that lie behind censorship. 

“It’s always been in the playbook of authoritarian governments," Slama said. "Nazi Germany burned books for a very long time on the rise to power. You want to eliminate other perspectives, to embolden your own.” 

Slama also discussed how the recent executive orders restricting federal funding to schools with Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) Programs impact fields of study one might not expect. 

“Coming from a math background, there’s been a controversy in the math community about a lot of papers being withdrawn,” Slama said. “The main reason why is because there are keywords like 'identity.'"

Although the identity referenced in those papers is a mathematical identity, that does not exclude them from the sweeping impact of censorship. 

Broadcast journalism junior Aphe Wojcik spoke about how book bans often target literature that features marginalized voices. 

“It also follows a model which works to oppress marginalized voices within various communities, which is what the goal is in terms of an authoritarian government,” Wojcik said. “More specifically, to minimize the amount of information that is given to the public about those communities.” 

Wojcik later spoke about their parents encouraging them to read and the impact that reading and literature has had on their education.

"The more that I got into reading the more that my test scores got higher," Wojcik said. "I ended up excelling in all of my classes. It really does help to gain those perspectives in terms of growth of your mind... I think taking away information in that regard would only do a disservice to your child."

The conversation dwelled on the impact of “controversial” literature in schools and several attendees expressed that experiencing uncomfortable literature was important for their personal growth, especially at an early age.  

Social studies education junior Mckenzie Maher recently read "The Bridge to Terabithia" with her book club, a novel that deals with themes of grief and loss when the young protagonist’s best friend passes away. She spoke about themes in the book and the absurdity of it being banned.  

“One of the reasons they wanted to ban it is because of the sad themes and there was also a religious aspect to it,” Maher said. “I thought it was really silly to have this idea that because of this sad topic, it should be banned. I think it’s ridiculous to think that children don’t go through these bad days... children experience grief, it’s kind of ignorant to think that won’t happen.”

With LGBTQ+ and BIPOC topics being common targets of bans, public relations professor Amanda Vasas spoke about the importance of educators exposing their students to diverse perspectives. 

“There has to be a diversity of voices," Vasas said. "We need to be exposed to as many perspectives as possible to have that empathy, to be able to connect with their audiences. I, as an educator, am doing students a disservice if I’m leaving out critical elements of communication... It’s not some newfangled thing or some leftist thing.” 

Creative advertising junior Tate Rudisill, spoke to the inherently radical nature of storytelling and emphasized the role literature plays in shaping one’s mind. 

“I think books and film and storytelling has to be liberal, it has to be a radical thing and that’s probably where a lot of the issue around banning books is coming from. It’s a fear,” said Rudisill. “It’s a fear that things can change, that you can change your mind or that you can grow as a person.” 

The discussion concluded with attendees emphasizing ways to increase awareness about book bans. Some methods discussed include checking out books from a local library, attending library board meetings and speaking in defense of titles being challenged, sharing and reading banned books, staying informed about book bans, submitting a censorship report to the American Library Association to defend a book being challenged and more. 

Although certain books may be facing bans, those bans can always be challenged. Neuroscience senior Donald Moinet stressed the power of community involvement in fighting book bans, “If you disappear, then the fight disappears.”