College Students Refuse To Read Award-Winning Novel Because It Violates Their Christian Beliefs

[riversedge]

Well, if they do not like it--IMHO--then they should critique it--be part of a discussion. Don't have to like it. But going to a University should open the mind. Not close it.


http://www.thenewcivilrightsmovement.com/davidbadash/college_students_refuse_to_read_award_winning_novel_because_it_violates_their_christian_beliefs

by David Badash
August 24, 2015 8:37 AM


College Students Refuse To Read Award-Winning Novel Because It Violates Their Christian Beliefs

Some freshmen students at Duke University are protesting the assignment of Fun Home, claiming reading it would violate their Christian beliefs.


Fun Home is an award-winning, New York Times best-selling graphic novel and memoir that was adapted for the theatre and recently won five Tonys, including the coveted Tony Award for Best Musical. The book and the Broadway show both deal with the very personal, challenging, and emotional issues of its author, Alison Bechdel, including growing up, discovering she is a lesbian, and learning her father, who commits suicide, was gay.

The book was assigned to incoming Duke University freshmen as part of their summer reading list, but as Claire Ballentine at The Chronicle, Duke's student newspaper, reports, several Christian students strongly objected to the book and refused to read it, citing their deeply-held religious beliefs.

“I feel as if I would have to compromise my personal Christian moral beliefs to read it,” Brian Grasso wrote on the Duke University Class of 2019 Facebook page, a closed group. He cited its “graphic visual depictions of sexuality,” as part of his reason. “Duke did not seem to have people like me in mind,” he added. “It was like Duke didn’t kno
.....................

“Reading the book will allow you to open your mind to a new perspective and examine a way of life and thinking with which you are unfamiliar,” freshman Marivi Howell-Arza wrote.

[Iggo]

1. Reading violates their beliefs?

Fucking idiots.

[Nuclear Unicorn]

5. At least they're merely abstaining. The current trend is for social media mobs to demand censorship.

[Johnny2X2X]

70. Exactly

The norm today is for them not only to refuse to read it, but for them to demand that no one else reads it either.

[Blue_Tires]

33. They probably only got into Duke as a legacy

or mommy+daddy scratched out a big donation...

[LWolf]

51. For some,

ANYTHING that challenges them, that requires them to think, violates their beliefs.

They are taught to question nothing and reject anything that questions the world view they've been conditioned to.

[Iggo]

54. LOL...then why go to college?

[yardwork]

59. My thought exactly. Duke is pretty expensive.

Why bother?

[LWolf]

69. Because they want the paper.

The status that comes from having gotten that paper. It represents power.

I deal with these people all the time. I'm a teacher. There are parents every year that don't want me teaching their children to question. It's an issue every year, because that's the foundation of my classroom. So far, I've had admins who back me. I've been lucky.

My students aren't adults, so their parents have more influence. I have to work with them, and am pretty good at doing so.

College students are adults. There shouldn't be any pandering to their need to be insular.

[Warpy]

152. They want the hunk of paper for the good job

or the commission as an officer in the military (more likely) because WAR is never against their Christian beliefs.

They really all need to go to bible schools and leave the state schools and name schools like Duke to people who want to think.

[thesquanderer]

67. It's not the reading. It's the graphic images.

Remember it's a graphic novel. While ironically "graphic" does have an alternate definition of "explicit," in this case it means "illustrated." So while it may be an "explicit" novel as well, what they are objecting to is that it is an "illustrated" novel. Note the quote from the article (I know, almost nobody ever actually reads the linked articles before commenting on them...)

“The nature of ‘Fun Home’ means that content that I might have consented to read in print now violates my conscience due to its pornographic nature,”

(emphasis added)

It's the visual images he is objecting to, as pornography. He was open to reading it otherwise.

[TheBlackAdder]

79. Fail the course, period! In college, you are supposed to be adults, developing critical thought! nt

[ProgressiveEconomist]

128. This was not a course assignment,

but rather recommended summer reading, if I read the OP correctly. Challenging your professor in this way is something very few grade-grubbers would dare attempt IMO.

[Betty Karlson]

108. "Christians" define themselves by their level of insulation from "the gay"

Hence their insistance that it violates their beliefs: reading this would reduce the insulation. This is also behind all that silly "no marriage licence for you" language.

---

Of course, Christians wouldn't mind reading the book, or issuing that licence, since they know it is possible to honestly disagree with government policy, even on hot-button issues.

And quite a few Christians will be happy to broaden their mind by that book, and delighted to send a same-gender couple of to their buptials.

There are people of hate, people of faith, and people of good faith.

[Orsino]

109. The book, a fine one, is all about questioning dogma.

Students who've led very sheltered lives might not feel ready for it--but I'll go ahead and assume homophobia.

[awoke_in_2003]

148. They can't even be bothered to read the bible

A piece of work that gives fiction a bad name.

[bulloney]

160. It sounds like it could be a continuation of the lifestyle in their home.

Only hear, see and read what you want to hear, see and read. God forbid if you're exposed to something that makes you uncomfortable or you don't agree with.

[Gman]

2. Then give 'em a zero

[ladyVet]

32. Yep. Zero for that assignment.

Nobody is asking them to live the scenario in the book, just read it for future discussion, leading to a grade. So they can pass the course. And graduate.

"Deeply held religious beliefs" should be ground for immediate dismissal from the school, so more deserving students can have a chance.

I hear Liberty University is still around. Maybe these students should go there.

[Jamastiene]

151. That should be a nationwide rule.

If they start pulling their "deeply held religious beliefs" to refuse to learn or participate in their coursework if it happens to involve any gay themes, they should be shipped off on the first bus to Liberty University. Why should the majority of people have to put up with their insolence? They make a big stink about anything and everything to do with gay people and half of them wear mixed linens and/or eat at Red Lobster. They are only making a big to-do about it to out-Christian each other. They are proud of themselves for that nonsense. It's all about their pride. Seems they haven't read their Bibles either, or don't understand it.

[Bettie]

61. That's what I'd say too

Give them a zero for that assignment.

They chose their action, they can accept the consequences for it.

[sinkingfeeling]

71. +1

[ejbr]

104. I disagree

They should get an "F" for freedom of choice

[Gman]

119. That works too.

[ejbr]

137. ....

[earthside]

3. Poor reasoning for college students.

The 'book' sounds like trash to me (call it a 'graphic novel' ... it's a comic book).

From the reviews I've read the story line sounds like a wallowing in everything that so-called 'political correctness' is infamous for attempting to foist on the public.

But the students are wrong to default to their 'Christianity' as an excuse not to look at the comic book at all. They ought to read a chapter of two and if they don't like it, write or report their critique.

Of course, the teacher or professor ought to also be open-minded enough to accept that some students might indeed think that this comic book is trash. Open-mindedness does go both ways.

[Blue_Adept]

6. Best to use the right term - graphic novel

Because that's what it is.

A comic book is the monthly single issue floppies that used to be released to newstands.

Graphic novels are either the compilations of them or the original works that are created and sold in bookstores. Like the John Lewis multipart series that's topping the graphic novel best seller list on the New York Times among others.

[mahatmakanejeeves]

49. "In its review, the New York Times called it 'a comic book for lovers of words.'”

'Fun Home' set to spark discussion among incoming freshmen

Monday, June 8

Duke’s 2015 summer reading selection is poised to generate “interesting discussion” when the freshmen arrive on campus this August.

“Fun Home” by Alison Bechdel was chosen by the Duke Common Experience selection committee—a group composed of faculty, students and staff—for first-years to read during the summer. The book is a graphic memoir that deals with weighty topics such as suicide, sexual identity, death and abuse, and it will serve as a focus of conversation during the Class of 2019’s orientation week. The decision came after the committee debated six other final selections.

“I was hesitant at first to support it as a welcoming text to Duke University,” said junior Ibanca Anand, a committee member. “Then I realized how critical these discussions are for so many of us, and it's important that we establish this school as a place that is open and unafraid to talk about things that affect people." ... She said the committee’s decision was not as easy as last year when “Americanah” by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie was selected unanimously.

“Fun Home” follows the story of Bechdel’s childhood as she comes out as lesbian and finds out that her father was gay. After his apparent suicide, she embarks on a process of reflection and discovery that leads to revelations about her father and her relationship with him. In its review, the New York Times called it “a comic book for lovers of words.”

Freshmen skipping ‘Fun Home’ for moral reasons

By Claire Ballentine | Friday, August 21

For some members of the Class of 2019, the choice of “Fun Home” as a summer reading book was anything but fun.

Several incoming freshmen decided not to read “Fun Home” because its sexual images and themes conflicted with their personal and religious beliefs. Freshman Brian Grasso posted in the Class of 2019 Facebook page July 26 that he would not read the book “because of the graphic visual depictions of sexuality,” igniting conversation among students. The graphic novel, written by Alison Bechdel, chronicles her relationship with her father and her issues with sexual identity.

[TheSarcastinator]

18. your well-informed, intelligent critique clearly indicates

that you are more qualified to make the reading selection for incoming University students than the faculty at Duke. If only they had your finely tuned critical senses and could determine what is "trash" and what is literature without even reading the book in question or having a clue as to its genre and impact, they could live up to your amazingly high educational standards.

[alarimer]

21. I think the subject matter is very important

Saying "it's only a comic book" implies that it's for kids. Many of these graphic novels are not intended for kids at all.

Literature is more than just all those dead white male authors that we call "the classics." People haven't stopped writing, so teaching only those classics leaves out a whole lot of other stuff that is just as worthy.

[DetlefK]

23. graphic novel =/= comic book

The medium (a series of images and text) is the same, but the content is different. That's like sorting all movies into the two classical theater-play categories of comedy and drama.
Comics are light entertainment. Graphic novels tell deep stories. That's the difference.



For example: The "Rohrschach"-issue from the "Watchmen"-series.
A Rohrschach-image is mirror-symmetric. In this issue the panels on each double-page were mirror-symmetric. The layout of the novel itself mirrored the artistic content! You won't find that in "comic books". This is attention to detail and message.

[earthside]

27. It's right on the cover of 'Fun Home'.

So, it's a "tragicomic" book.

[Orrex]

82. That distinction is pointless, arbitrary and self-serving

Watchmen was certainly a comic book when it was published. No one called it a graphic novel until the bound edition was released. Ditto for Moore's V for Vendetta and Swamp Thing. Frank Miller's run on Daredevil, specifically spanning issues 175 through 191, told a deep story. These were comic books when they were written, they were comic books when they were drawn, they were comic books when they were published, and they're comic books when they're released as bound editions.

The only people I've ever seen get upset about the distinction, in fact, are artists or fans who are for some reason ashamed of their chosen medium.

It's like science fiction authors who insist that their science fiction novels aren't science fiction, such as Atwood and Ellison.

[DetlefK]

95. And "science-fiction" used to be called "scientific romance".

We can argue what genre a piece of art belonged to when it was created, but that would be useless. It only matters what genre a piece of art belongs to in hindsight.

[Orrex]

103. Science fiction was also called "s/f," "sci-fi" and "scientifiction," while we're at it.

For that matter, comic books were "funny books" for decades.

I would be interested to review the yardstick by which one work is anointed as "a graphic novel," while another is denigrated as "a comic book." Surely there must be an unimpeachable source for this information? Who has authority to hand out these ironclad and inviolable designations?

More to the point, what is the value of arbitrarily assigning these labels?

[DetlefK]

107. As I said, I draw the line at the nature of the content.

I see no use in calling an unfunny "graphic novel" a "comic".
I see no use in calling a Garfield comic-strip something else but a "comic".

[Orrex]

113. That, too, is arbitrary. Not to mention hopelessly subjective.

I see no use in calling an unfunny "graphic novel" a "comic".

Many superhero-themed comic books are unfunny. Are these therefore "graphic novels?"

As long as we don't pretend that the distinction has any real meaning beyond "personal preference at a given moment," then there's no problem. But when people insist that this title is a "graphic novel" while that title is only a comic book, then it's simply an exercise in public masturbation.

[surrealAmerican]

28. You're making the same mistake these students are making.

You're judging a book you haven't actually read as being against your beliefs. It's just that your "beliefs" in this matter are that graphic novels are trash not literature.

[earthside]

38. I judge books all the time.

I don't have to read all the way through a Barbara Cartland novel (for example) to decide that it is pulp romantic fiction not worthy of my time.

Highfalutin comic books called 'graphic novels' are fine for what they are -- the particular work in question just sounds politically trashy to me from reviews I have looked at.

All I am saying is that the Christian students are wrong in a college setting to use their religious beliefs to boycott the book completely. They should use reasoning and critical skills to object ... and the instructor should be fine with that because higher education is all about being open-minded.

[starroute]

106. So you judge books without having read them

And though you might read partway through a Barbara Cartland novel before deciding it's not worth your time, you don't even have to go that far with a graphic novel. You know they're jumped up gutter trash without taking a look. And you believe that if the college students had just used their "critical skills" to explain why they were refusing to read the book, the teacher would have been fine with it.

A couple of points. One is that there's an emerging genre of intensely serious graphic novels, many of them autobiographical in nature, that includes titles like Maus and Persepolis. Here's a listing of some of them: http://flavorwire.com/451552/25-essential-graphic-novels/view-all

Second is that the visual style of these graphic novels is very far from the neo-pulp of most comic books. They're often a bit gritty, typically in black and white, and without the idealizations and exaggerations of superhero comics. Here's a page from Fun House:



And third is that graphic novels are increasingly where the action is. They're where writers with something important to say know they can say it in a way that will make an impact. And any college reading list that attempted to stick to print-only works would be cutting itself off from something very vital and creative.

[RadiationTherapy]

126. What a beautifull merging of image and words.

The two work synergetically, as they ought.

[Hekate]

139. TY for the link. I have Maus and In The Shadow of No Towers by Spiegelman, also Persepolis....

I'm an old print on paper aficionado, but have to say graphic novels are quite an emergent art form in literature.

[Hissyspit]

31. Yawn.

[Puzzledtraveller]

125. me too

[beerandjesus]

52. For what it's worth, I've actually read it...

....and it's very good.

Not the greatest thing ever written, but nowhere near as bad as some of the crap I read in school!

[yardwork]

53. I actually read the book, and I would not call it trashy.

It's a coming of age story not unlike most others. It's not particularly political at all - not "politically correct" either. Just a story about a person growing up and coming to terms with an eccentric family.

[beerandjesus]

55. Jinx!

[yardwork]

57. Lol!

[Rhythm]

111. ...and done in a medium best suited to someone who is both

...a talented storyteller as well as an illustrator.

I read this in my Modern Literature class at WVU a few years back.
Weirdly (because i was such a fan of her ~actual~ comic strips in the '80s/'90s), i didn't know that Fun Home existed until i saw it on the book list!

[cali]

60. it is not trash. far from it. it's brilliant and funny and sad

And it has fuck all to do with political correctness.

[niyad]

93. that "trash" won five tonys.

[haele]

122. Well, "Maus" is just a comic book then, also.

Along with "Persepolis". But I wouldn't expect a 10-year old to enjoy or understand either.

Look I consider Ayn Rand trash, but we still had to read "The Fountainhead". Holder Caulfield in "Catcher in the Rye" was a whiner, and don't get me started on Faulkner. Pilgrim's Progress or Milton? Arrgh!

I think I understand where you're coming from, but I beg to differ. I come from a classical education background; open mindedness in a college class is not two way issue; the instructor intentionally assigns reading assignments that are challenging for a reason.
The student is there to learn how to defend their position in class when they come across a topic or assignment they don't like, not to have their personal opinions and comfort zone re-enforced.
Earlier this year, my ethics instructor actually marked critiques and argument discussion papers down if the student(s) seemed to be using the same logical arguments for every situation.
It didn't matter if she agreed with your position or not, she wanted to see that you understood the situation laid out by either the facts in hand or the author of the argument, and that you were able to address what was presented to you rather than what you believed was the right answer.

College is not supposed to enforce "black and white" thinking, it's supposed to get a student to think outside their experience and understand where the root causes of different situations, whether or not they personally agree with a situation or experience.

It's not a matter of political correctness or "touchy-feely", it's about understanding that there are other cultures. habits and ways to look at things out there in the real world, and it's best to know what you are actually dealing with other than trying to script other people's lives to match your own reality.

To live in your own head and not see other people is not only selfish, it's dangerously limiting.

Haele

[Codeine]

145. So a prose novel can be art, a drawing can be art, a film can be art,

but something that incorporates all those art forms at once can't in itself be art?

[malaise]

4. Fail them and kick them out

let them go to Falwell's fake university and the other quack colleges.
Not one fugging student is telling me what goes on a course outline or reading list.

Fuck them!!

[Nuclear Unicorn]

7. Yes, because all must conform to received wisdom -- especially at college.

I'm sure if the script were flipped you would be demanding tolerance.

[KittyWampus]

10. I would expect any student to write, on their own, some sort of critique

of a work. If they haven't read the book, they don't know what it says.


It'd be one thing, as a poster above said, if they read to a certain point and then found it objectionable and used that as their basis for a review.

[Nuclear Unicorn]

20. But that's not how colleges work anymore.

Whenever speakers or material is deemed offensive to some the speakers are disinvited or shouted-down or the students are given "safe spaces" to tend to their outraged sensibilities. When these stories were playing out I said it was a bad idea, that it set a bad precedent. I was castigated every time.

These students are simply not participating while the rest of the class carries on and those who demanded others be shut down are upset that some are not participating. It's strikes me as amazingly hypocritical and a little on the fascistic side.

[HFRN]

89. some preach 'tolerance' for everything...but dissent

because that, can't be tolerated

[Nuclear Unicorn]

97. They bastardize the virtue of tolerance to enforce the vice of their own tribalism. nt

[Blue_Adept]

11. If you don't do the job you don't keep the job

Same thing here.

[tkmorris]

16. They don't have to conform to anything

They are free to critique the hell out of the book. They can rip the bloody thing to shreds if they desire, but what they CANNOT do is refuse to complete coursework the school has assigned and expect to remain in the class.

[Nuclear Unicorn]

22. "They can rip the bloody thing to shreds if they desire"

Can they? Or maybe they'll be hauled in front of student government for hate speech. I know it's only a matter of time before someone in this thread accuses me of being a hate-monger/homophobe. There may even be an alert in the offing.

As to my defense of the practice of non-participation, please see Post #20.

[Generic Other]

83. They are freshman

They haven't even arrived on campus yet. I say rescind their offer of admission, refund their tuition, and move down the list. They can re-apply when they are college ready. Or not.

[Yo_Mama]

132. What on earth? This isn't coursework, it's a sexually explicit novel assigned to incoming freshmen

as a part of orientation. I'm glad they have the guts to say no. Students are just being taught to be doormats nowadays.

[no_hypocrisy]

8. They should read it and then criticize during discussion.

This reading exercise may introduce critical thinking skills to them.

[KittyWampus]

12. Exactly. College professors already lament incoming students have poor writing skills

My guess is the Christian Fundies have never been taught independent or critical thinking.

[no_hypocrisy]

14. In college, I once withheld my "homework" in musical composition because I felt it was inferior.

My professor kept me after class, played my composition, and criticized me for both not taking responsibility for my work and denying her a teaching opportunity. Turns out I was the only one in the class who produced the work exactly to her specifications.

Critical thinking means accepting flaws in one's logic as well as learning from one's success.

[KittyWampus]

44. Trying and failing. Taking your "lumps". That's how you learn. I am really good

at some card games. I learned by playing with good players and losing a lot and observing how I was beaten.

In Tai Chi, when you come to 'sparring' in push-hands with a partner, you have to learn to allow yourself to be uprooted and pushed over without getting upset.

In cloth doll making, I used to teach how to needle sculpt faces. Many were afraid to do that cause they'd sew one head and freaked out cause they wanted their first one to be 'perfect'. So my advice was to sew and stuff at least three and use the first one as a "victim" to get the feel of it and experiment. Almost always, that gave people a sense of freedom and fun and their first attempt was usually pretty darned good.

Sorry for the long-winded reply. Just musings on a Monday.

It's okay to make mistakes. Being criticized is an opportunity to self-reflect and either modify or solidify.

[progressoid]

9. Educashun is hard.

[likesmountains 52]

13. Have them read Josh Duggar's Memoirs instead! Good Christian stuff!

[DetlefK]

15. Do they read menus that mention pork?

[pipoman]

17. Interesting reading this thread responses

And seeing the threads about "micro aggressions" treated as if that ridiculous shit is brilliant, warranted, and justified....

We are in an era which could result in the end of liberal education environments. Limitations on speech and justified refusal to do what is required based on feelings is a slippery slope.

[riversedge]

19. Yes, I truly am becoming scared

for America. The slippery slop gets slippy-er day by day

[TexasProgresive]

24. My how times have changed

In my day the professor would've said, "OK, you have choices. 1st do the work assigned, 2nd don't do it and get a zero for that work and 3rd see if you have time to drop this course since you are unable to do your assignments. Use the door you entered in by and do it quietly."

[a la izquierda]

41. I'm assigning a memoir of a trans nun in the 17th century.

If a student objected to reading it (I also assigned it for a different class last semester), that's their problem. Not mine. Don't read or do the work? Get a zero.

I care not.

[TexasProgresive]

50. In this case a la izquierda you are

a la derecha. I am glad that you are a strong teacher.

[a la izquierda]

85. Thanks!

I don't have time for students who get offended because something challenges their beliefs. I don't get offended when students challenge MY beliefs (and it happens every semester).
Either grow up or don't go to college if the intent is to never leave one's comfort zone.

[Rhythm]

112. ^^^ THIS! ^^^

[Hekate]

138. Title and author please? I need to add to my summer reading list!

Currently I'm reading 3 memoirs of women who served in WWI -- two nurses and one F.A.N.Y. I downloaded them for free from Project Gutenberg, but at least one has a subsequent edition for sale on Amazon.

I want to audit your class, please!

[a la izquierda]

144. This one is called _The Lieutenant Nun_

The original author was Catalina de Erauso, but I can't remember who translated it offhand. It's great!
I teach mostly race and gender in Latin America (I specialize in indigenous populations), but this semester, my students will read this in a survey of Latin America.

[alarimer]

25. Their beliefs must be pretty fragile, then, to be challenged by any one work.

I've always found this argument baffling. "I can't read this because of my Christian beliefs." This makes no sense to me at all. What are they afraid of? That they read (or watch, or hear) something that might change their mind about their beliefs? How fragile is their belief system if that is the case?

We all know that critical thinking puts the lie to religion. Once you start to think for yourself, you see what a bunch of bullshit religion really is. I suspect THIS is what they are afraid of, why their preachers and parents have enforced this on them. They are not allowed to see anything that might challenge their beliefs, because they know it will fall apart. It's the only way religions keep the majority of their adherents, but outlawing those things that challenge them. The Catholic Church was opposed to the printing press and printing bibles because of this.

[ladyVet]

40. These people are taught that the Devil is always trying their faith.

They believe that if they are exposed to sin, then they will fall, and go to Hell. They can't trust anything that isn't in the bible, because Satan is always tempting them.

It's a fucked up way to live, but there you are.

I hope Duke stands fast and delivers a firm message: do the work, don't do the work and fail the class, or drop the class. The more we kowtow to these people, the worse this country gets.

[yardwork]

161. It was a summer reading assignment for incoming first year students.

No grades, not part of a class assignment, totally voluntary. The students who code not to read the book were treated respectfully, according to the article in the student paper, The Chronicle.

[fbc]

26. I thought the punchline was going to be "The New Testament"

[underpants]

29. As a basketball fan let me just chime in

F^<< DUKE

[CanonRay]

30. I hear Liberty University has a few openings.

Maybe they can transfer?

[SheilaT]

34. I will admit, that novel does not sound like anything I would myself

want to read. But I'm not a college student, and when I was, I did the assignments.

In addition, I am not fond of graphic novels myself. I grew up reading comic books, as well as regular print books, and the times I've dived into a graphic novel, I try to read it as if it were a comic book, and you just can't. They tend to have a density of words, pictures, and ideas that force the reader to slow down, and read carefully. I just can't break my comic-book reading mode, and I'll admit I haven't really tried. The problem is me, not the literary form.

But I do wonder why schools keep on assigning books that are almost bound to create an uproar. I gather this was required of all incoming Freshman, not just those in a particular lit class. But this kids were all accepted into a good secular school, so they should get over themselves and read the book.

[TexasBushwhacker]

43. Maybe they didn't think it would cause an uproar

Maybe they assigned it because it's contemporary and thought provoking. Isn't it funny that they could probably assign books that included rape, torture and murder and no one would bat an eye.

[LittleGirl]

35. stupid teens that have been brainwashed

I had to read parts of the bible for my christian university religion studies (as an atheist) and it didn't change my world view, it deepened my atheism. Idiots, all of them.

[TlalocW]

36. We had a couple of students like this when I went to college

And we were part of a program called the Honors College - students that got various scholarships and had to take slightly more advanced non-major classes. The book was, "Siddhartha," by Hermann Hesse. Two ladies objected to it because the various religious ideas in it weren't Christian.

As for me, I had started picking up and reading a different newspaper unavailable to me in my hometown, and it had a slightly different comics section so reading that at the same time as Siddhartha made me notice the similarities in terms of blissfulness and following your own path between the main character of the book and Zippy the Pinhead.

TlalocW

[Botany]

37. The professor picks the reading material not the students

Gee, if you don't read the material then you fail the class end of story.

Years ago @ Ohio U aka Harvard on the Hocking if you took a freshman
english / comp class you had to read "The Metamorphosis," by Kafka which
I didn't like but I would not have dreamed of telling the instructor that I
wouldn't read the book.

[EL34x4]

45. This wasn't a book assigned by a professor...

...in a class that you have the option of not enrolling in.

It was assigned to all incoming Freshman.

[yardwork]

56. And it is not graded. Students can decline to read it.

It's just kind of silly to do so. Kind of goes against the whole idea of going to college.

[Botany]

80. If you are going to go to a college it is a good idea to read the books that your college wants you

.... to read.

[Bluenorthwest]

39. Fun Home goes to Broadway

[retrowire]

42. this op honestly comes off as christian bashing

they merely refuse to read it, which is their right.

they aren't calling for it to be removed or censored.

personally I think that's close minded of them but it is their right. refusing to read the book infringes on no one else's rights so I see nothing wrong with this.

in the end this thread is calling them out for public mockery which is wrong of anyone to do. let them believe and live as they please.

[tabasco]

48. There is no bashing anywhere in the OP

You seem to suffer the same faux persecution as many Christians these days.

[retrowire]

74. then why make a show out of this? why is it worth talking about?

give legitimate reasons.

[tabasco]

116. Because it's interesting when people pay to go to college presumably to get a well-rounded education

and then refuse to do so because of their religion/superstitions.

In the development of an open, democratic society, religion has always posed a threat to free expression and free thinking. It's a fundamental conflict present in much of our history. In this day and age, we see the pressure of religion in our education system, most evident in the denial of the science of evolution. Religion has posed a threat to free thinking for centuries. Perhaps read a history book sometime.

[font size=6]HOPE IT HELPS![/font]

[retrowire]

117. why the text shouting lol?

calm down.

everything you just said, I know. so I'm sorry you wasted your time thinking you've just enlightened someone today.

that said, in my democracy, in my country, all are permitted their pursuit of happiness so long as it doesn't infringe on others pursuits.

these Christians aren't infringing on anyone else's right to read the book. leave them be.

[tabasco]

118. Perhaps you missed the first sentence in the linked article:

Here, I made it easier to read for you:

[font size=4]Some freshmen students at Duke University are protesting the assignment of Fun Home, claiming reading it would violate their Christian beliefs.[/font]

They are protesting that the book was on the list. They want the university to "disappear" the book. They are crying about it on Facebook and in letters to newspapers. So, yes the innocent little darlings are infringing on others' right to a well-rounded education.

Now, more right-wing crazies are getting involved.

However, a conservative think tank argues the graphic novel has content too graphic for college freshmen.

...

South Carolina lawmakers threatened to cut funding at the College of Charleston two years ago when the book was put on a summer reading list.

Duke, a private university, issued the following statement about the book selection: "We do understand that the novel may make some readers uncomfortable. It may create arguments and conversations, which are important to a liberal arts education.”

http://www.wral.com/controversial-summer-reading-assignment-raises-concerns-at-duke/14713290/

Good on Duke for standing up to these intolerant Puritan wannabes.

[Psephos]

135. you are the Puritan

When exactly did protesting become an infringement of *others'* rights?

We each have a right to protest and voice our beliefs. Meanwhile, others have the right to act or not act upon those expressions.

[bvf]

64. No, it's idiot-bashing.

The idiots in question just happen to be christian.

[yardwork]

65. With all due respect, that's nonsense.

They are college students. They are supposed to be stretching their minds and becoming exposed to new ideas that cause them to question their beliefs.

The fact that students at a highly selective university are using religion as an excuse not to do their homework is deserving of ridicule.

[Orrex]

66. Not quite

Last edited Mon Aug 24, 2015, 11:32 AM - Edit history (2)

Some freshmen students at Duke University are protesting the assignment of Fun Home, claiming reading it would violate their Christian beliefs.

So it's not that "they merely refuse to read it." In fact, they're protesting the assignment of the text, meaning that--in their enlightened view--no one should be required to read it.

You're correct in that they're free to refuse to read it, but if it's required for the course then they need to accept the penalty for refusing to do the work. Let's wait for the end of the semester when they sue Duke because they got a failing grade after failed to complete the required reading.

[retrowire]

75. i agree to accepting the penalty for not doing it n/t

[geek tragedy]

77. it's their right to fail a class, yes, they don't have a right to get a passing grade

while refusing to do the required reading

[retrowire]

78. agreed. n/t

[LittleBlue]

158. It's optional summer reading

Many universities have optional summer reading, which has no influence on their grades.

As incoming freshmen, none have even attended a single class.

[tabasco]

46. Fuck 'em

If it's too late to withdrawal from the class, tough shit. Fail the assignment.

[Geronimoe]

47. Give them an F

I would just give them an "F" for refusing to learn.

They can not learn if they already have a belief system that cannot be challenged.

I on the other hand do not believe in Christianity but have no problem reading the Bible.

[packman]

62. Yah, Let them read the Bible as an alternative

with all its "Christian" values - murder, sodomy, incest, mass murdering of children, vengeance, etc,, etc.

[Jerry442]

58. Even more shocking depravity these kids were subject to:

14 And Moses was wroth with the officers of the host, with the captains over thousands, and captains over hundreds, which came from the battle.

15 And Moses said unto them, Have ye saved all the women alive?

16 Behold, these caused the children of Israel, through the counsel of Balaam, to commit trespass against the LORD in the matter of Peor, and there was a plague among the congregation of the LORD.

17 Now therefore kill every male among the little ones, and kill every woman that hath known man by lying with him.

18 But all the women children, that have not known a man by lying with him, keep alive for yourselves.

[Orrex]

73. Hey--spoiler alert!

[Generic Other]

90. Ouch!

That left a stain. My childhood Bible has only these kind of passages marked out. Can you cite chapter and verse so I can go underline it?

[Jerry442]

100. From Numbers 31. These from the KJV. nt

[Teamster Jeff]

63. Fundies are all book burners at heart

[Nuclear Unicorn]

84. How does their not reading a book deprive others of the ability to read the book?

[mountain grammy]

68. Fine! flunk em!

[Baitball Blogger]

72. One of the most laughable moments I had with all this new awareness

of racial tension occurred when the newspaper suggested that our churches could help alleviate the misunderstandings.

Really? Have you looked into the belief system of some of these churches? In some of them, blind obedience to autocratic leaders is imperative. Personally, I think blind obedience to autocratic leaders IS the problem.

[Initech]

76. Giving critical thought to a subject they are unfamiliar with violates their beliefs?

Then why are they there?

[xocet]

88. ...to tick off the box labeled credentials and to keep their unquestioning faith intact...?

[xocet]

81. FYI...

Here is a piece from Democracy Now! that describes the associated musical:

Thursday, July 30, 2015
Alison Bechdel’s "Fun Home": The Coming-Out Memoir That Became a Hit Broadway Musical

In a Democracy Now! special, we look at the acclaimed Broadway musical "Fun Home," which swept the Tony Awards last month. Composer Jeanine Tesori and lyricist Lisa Kron made history as the first female duo to win a Tony Award for Best Original Score. "Fun Home" is also the first-ever Broadway musical to feature a lesbian protagonist. The musical is based on the 2006 best-selling graphic memoir by Alison Bechdel, "Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic." The memoir is a poignant exploration of family, memory, first love, coming out and a daughter’s relationship with her father. The title comes from the Bechdels’ nickname for their family business: a funeral parlor. Throughout the memoir, Bechdel — the artist and protagonist — sketches out her hazy memories of growing up in rural Pennsylvania and coming to terms with her sexuality as she tries to make sense of her father’s suicide. Her father was secretly gay and took his life shortly after Bechdel came out as a lesbian. We speak to Bechdel, Kron and Tesori, and air highlights from the Broadway musical.

...

http://www.democracynow.org/2015/7/30/alison_bechdels_fun_home_the_coming

[Mike Nelson]

86. A big part of college...

...is looking at different ideas, and debating. You don't have to like or agree with everything! Give these kids an "F".

[liberal N proud]

87. Weak belifes if they can't survive reading a story.

[3catwoman3]

136. You are right on the money, liberal N proud.

I have thought, for years, that many of those who proclaim so loudly the alleged strength of their faith are actually quite afraid that it is just the opposite. Should not a truly strong belief system serve as a bulwark, a protection, an immunization against challenges to said belief system. That is exactly what medical immunizations do - they do not promise you will not be exposed to dangerous illnesses, but rather, that you will be strong enough not to be struck down by them should exposure occur.

A belief system so easily assailed seems fragile indeed.

[BlueIdaho]

91. Most college professors

Attach reading lists to their syllabi. It is the student's responsibility to decide if they will accept the "social contract" a syllabus represents. If they choose not to do an assignment for any reason - they will suffer the natural consequences of their action - or inaction.

More disturbing is the irrational overheated persecution complex of modern christians. Their beliefs in a magical super-being do not elevate them to any special status. They are no different from a student that got drunk and was too hungover to do their work.

No work, no score, no score, no grade.

[rurallib]

92. I am guessing they have no problems with reading the bible

filled with sex and violence and lots of myths passed off as true.

[NYC Liberal]

94. Gee, given how many books have Christian/religious themes or overtones,

I wish I could've done this in school. I would've barely had to read anything!

[Hiraeth]

96. To remain ignorant by choice is a right but, they will be left out

of a lot of intelligent/cogent conversations in their adulthood. Of course, they probably won't miss it as they will spend a huge portion of their time with like minded people at the church of their choice.

Just give them the -F- that they deserve for this portion of their grade for that class and move on.

Please, stop making stupid people famous.

[niyad]

98. well, no "duke did not seem to have people like "you" in mind." of course not. this university

is probably operating under very old assumptions that people who attend universities are there to LEARN, to THINK, to develop critical thinking skills. silly them.

why don't you and your like-minded brethren go to liberty, or oral roberts, or any of the other "christian" institutions, whose sole function seems to be turning out little, unthinking, brainwashed idiots.

by the way, you could always drop out of the class, take your incomplete, whatever. whahhhhhhhhhh,
professors, give these intellectual cretins the fails they deserve.

[Cirque du So-What]

99. Brittle belief system ya got there

if it can't take the heat from a smattering of literature. Don't like it? Go to a religious school!

[dakota_democrat]

101. These kids are right, they should stick to reading books in which no one sins. Here's a list:

This section intentionally left blank.

[niyad]

102. I love part three of this guy's comments:

Martin Cunningham commented 37 mins ago
Three notes:

I) a faith that has never been tested is no faith at all. (I think this view is attributable to St Augustine)

2) If you don’t want your religious views challenged, don’t go to a secular college. There are plenty of religious schools who will be willing to reinforce your own personal dogmas.

3) Don’t take their word for it. When people say they have an objection to course content on religious grounds make them write a five thousand word paper which summarizes their views, the content of the course, and shows how their views
A) conflict with the course content
and
B) why anyone should care

Can’t stand the intellectual heat? Then stay out of the academic kitchen.

[valerief]

105. I am so over stupid people. nt

[Feeling the Bern]

110. The five words that validate homophobia, bigotry, sexism, intolerance and ignorance while

invalidating all attempts to end these things: "It Violates My Religious Beliefs."

[seaotter]

114. Are these college freshmen?? or fourth graders?

Let them take a fail. And have LOTS of questions about the book on a final exam.

[July]

115. Seems they don't know the difference between

reading/critiquing a text assigned by university professors and actively seeking out what they consider porn for the sinful purpose of getting their jollies.

[AngryAmish]

120. This is a stunt and it seems to be working.

I think many people support reading diverse materials in college. It is intellectually stultifying not to.

However, recently on college campuses there seems to be an uptick in srudents saying they feel threatened by works that contain racism, sexism and the usual litany of isms. Also, trying to no platform some points of views, MRAs for example.

So, I bet, these kids got together and said a work offended them and made them feel less safe due to the subject matter described.

The only way for Duke to win this is to reaffirm that their students must confront difficult ideas, that they are not children and, basically, shut up and learn.

The challenge then is the next time a campus member protests a right wing or christian speaker. Will Duke keep up their own rule about unwelcome ideas being necessary in college?

This is a work. Let's see who is smart enough to not fall in the trap.

[melm00se]

121. Duke's summer reading list

seems to stir up controversy if not every year than every couple of years.

[hifiguy]

123. F's all around. For the entire course.

And expulsions wouldn't be off the table.

Fuck the fundys with a rusty pitchfork. Plenty of other kids would love the opportunity to go to such a great school.

[Yo_Mama]

133. It's not a course - it's the freshman summer reading list.

Might as well assign a porn flick.

Hey, if you believe in diversity AT ALL, you should allow religious people to live their own way. Or maybe people who just object to explicit sexuality, which some do.

[Humanist_Activist]

143. They can live however they want, but if they refuse to do the work required or recommended...

in school due to their religious beliefs, they should not be given a pass because of it.

What's next? Creationists being able to refuse taking tests or reading materials on evolution in biology class?

They should also learn, early on, they they are not special little snowflakes who get to do what they want without consequences.

[Yo_Mama]

147. But it's not a course. It's not work.

It's a sort of community orientation thing.

[Humanist_Activist]

153. Which makes such material more valuable it allows them to open up to new experiences and how...

different types of people have different worldviews. If a graphic novel is simply too much of an offense for them to even read it, then perhaps they don't belong in a pluralistic college or society.

[Solly Mack]

124. People can be so stupid.

[matt819]

127. If a book threatens their religious beliefs

then, I'm sorry folks, but those religious beliefs aren't very strong.

What a bunch of cowards.

America - plunging headlong into the 17th century.

[KamaAina]

129. At Duke?! I was thinking Liberty or Bob Jones.

[Vinca]

130. Ashley Madison clients in the making.

[Yo_Mama]

131. They have the right to refuse to read highly explicit sexual material

Good for them!

Look, when you go to college you shouldn't be forced to eat meat if you don't want to, drink alcohol if you don't want to, or eat a strict vegan diet if you don't want to, and especially not under a global mandate given to the entire incoming freshman class.

You shouldn't be forced to go to chapel, and you shouldn't be forced to watch porn flicks or read sexually explicit novels, unless they are in coursework WHICH YOU HAVE CHOSEN.

I would say that the discussion of why some few students don't want to read it would be just as mind-opening for the incoming frosh as anything else.

[Liberal_in_LA]

134. .

[Hekate]

140. "Christians" who rely on ignorance and never being challenged are weak in faith

What foolish children.

College coursework is where one hopefully learns critical reasoning skills. A religiously-inclined student can hone those skills and emerge stronger in his or her faith. Or not. But all students need to learn how to think -- and the university or college should never back down.

Refusal to do the work = F for the course.

[okasha]

141. Flunk 'em.

[hunter]

142. Any god threatened by a graphic novel or an ancient monument is not a god.

The gods of the grifters are not so sturdy.

[mike_c]

146. the Atlantic just published a story about this sort of thing....

http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2015/09/the-coddling-of-the-american-mind/399356/

?1438197190

[moobu2]

149. Give them a failing grade.

They shouldn't be given special treatment.

[Jamastiene]

150. Reading a book will give them teh gay?

Is that what they think?

[David__77]

154. As a sophomore in high school, a racist classmate refused to read "Black Like Me."

And while I'm not sure, I think she was excused from that assignment. Her and I - we did not get along.

[Flying Squirrel]

155. I was once assigned to read a book written by a Catholic priest

Which violated my atheist beliefs. I didn't like it, but I completed the assignment.

Life's a bitch, suck it up.

[LittleBlue]

156. It's a summer reading list

Don't like it, don't read it.

[B Calm]

157. Wondering who the christian was who read the book and warned the others. . .

[WinkyDink]

159. "Freshman Daughter Drop-off" sign banned. "Freshman Daughter Reading List" okay. WTF?

There seems to be hypocrisy enough to go around, n'est-ce pas ?

[yardwork]

162. What are you talking about?

[bluestateguy]

163. Then don't read it

It's not required. Just don't read it. No need to be a drama queen about it.