A LESSON IN CENSORSHIP
Poly Professor Has Her Book Banned By Colorado School District

By Monica Phillips
Mustang Daily, Cal Poly (California State Polytechnic University, San Luis Obispo)

Author and Cal Poly professor Gloria Velasquez has stirred conflict at Heritage Middle School in Longmont, Colo.

A class of sixth-graders was assigned to read her book "Tommy Stands Alone," which tells the story of a Chicano teen who becomes a social outcast after discovering he is gay. The book was banned from the class when a parent complained about the controversial content. The teacher who assigned the book to her class wanted to prepare the students for Velasquez's visit.

"Parents should already be discussing issues on race, the Holocaust; students need to be aware of what's going on," Velasquez said.

She wrote the book with the intent that children ages 9 and up be educated on those issues.

The school district banned the book from the classroom until officials can study it and determine if it is appropriate for sixth-graders. The book is still availible at the school library, but it is not allowed as part of the school curriculum.

Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays is fighting harder to educate students on the issues involved with homosexuality.

A member of [that] organization, and the father of a gay son who is a student in the Longmont school district, encouraged the school board to read the book in class to educate students on the issue of homosexuality. He said in an interview with the Denver Post that he hopes this conflict will bring more awareness to this issue.

The book was based on Velasquez's cousin who died of AIDS in September 1996. "It's ironic that (the school board) finds this book inappropriate when it covers an issue that exists every day."

San Luis Obispo elementary schools do not carry Velasquez's book series.

"We would be hesitant to even order a book that contained controversial information which could be read by the younger grades,'"said Kathy Kerbo, library clerk at the Instructional Media Center in San Luis Obispo, which orders all books for San Luis Obispo grade schools.

"Tommy Stands Alone" is part of a series for young adults titled "The Roosevelt High School Series," which features the same multiracial group of high school students. Each book focuses on one member of the group and the problems she or he is facing. On her Colorado book tour Velasquez first stopped at Heritage Middle School, then Colorado University at Boulder's Poetry Festival, the Rocky Mountain Children's Book Festival in Denver, and a book signing at the Cultural Legacy Bookstore in Denver.

Velasquez's tour focused on writing, reading, and the importance of education. "Educate," telling Chicano students to educate themselves, is a message Velasquez uses repetitively. She is a supporter of the Chicano movement and frequently tours locations in California, stressing the importance of getting an education.

At Heritage Middle School she was not allowed to mention the words 'homosexual' or 'gay,' so she decided to address the issue of censorship. She asked the students if they knew what censorship is and explained to them how she was being censored.

"Velasquez is a very strong woman who is dedicated to the cause of teaching minorities," said Luz Garcia, a nutritional science senior. "She comes from a hard-working, low-income family and has worked very hard to educate herself and others."

She grew up in the 1960s with role models like Delores Huerta and Cesar Chavez, co-founders of the United Farm Workers, and Maya Angelou, African American poet and writer.

Velasquez continues educating others on a grass-roots level. At Cal Poly she teaches courses in Chicano and Latin American literature, ethnic studies, and Chicano studies.

"I teach students about compassion, human dignity, and respect," she said. "Cal Poly is fairly conservative. I want students to learn to appreciate a different perspective that they're not exposed to in other courses."

"She is not only a teacher, but a good friend," Garcia said. "She is a positive role model for me and helps students outside of the classroom. She will participate with Chicano commencement again this year."

Other books she has written for the Roosevelt High School series include "Juanita Fights the School Board," where Juanita deals with school discrimination against Chicanas and fights to continue her education. "Maya's Divided World," the second book in the series, addresses the issues of divorce and a mother/daughter relationship.

Velasquez has toured in Los Angeles with her newly revised book "I Used to Be a Superwoman," a collection of bilingual poetry, and is now featured on a bookmark sponsored by Cultural Legacy Bookstore.

This Saturday Velasquez will give a tribute to Chicano writer Jose Antonio Burciaga as an artist and a friend. He helped with several of the illustrations in her books.

"She's not just passing on information, but she's opening our minds in general to the Latino culture and their movements,"said Peter Perneel, a liberal studies senior. "She really cares about the different parts of society. I expected to learn Spanish, technical grammar, and about different authors, but it's more than just that. We're reading about writings that were written because of social protests.

"On the first day of her class, she always tells students, 'If there's only one thing you get out of this class, I want you to learn to be open-minded."