Creating Conversation

I have created a conversation with an imaginary "Dave" to help me address the important parts of my topic.            

   Dave                                                    Me

What’s the big deal about censorship, anyway? What is meant by the term “censored”? Then how do most people view this? How do you see it differently? So who is affected the most? Can you provide an example of how this affects them? Why should we pay attention to this? Well if this much harm is being done, what should be done about it? What benefits might censorship provide?

Well, a lot of students, including myself, feel that some information is censored or not provided for their use and that intellectual and religious freedom are not allowed to be fully expressed. Censorship is basically suppressing information, books, etc that are considered unacceptable especially in schools. That definition is more specific to this topic of censorship in schools. It is also a matter of intellectual freedom, which is freedom of thought and expression of thought.   Some people, for example, think that not enough is censored in schools and these people are worried about how their children may be affected when it comes to learning this uncensored material. Others may argue that too much is censored, especially religious aspects. It depends on what parents think their children should be exposed to. On the other hand, college students are different because they are expected differently from those in high school and below. Here, it is a matter of intellectual freedom rather than disapproving the release of some materials and books on the campus. I would say my research supports that high school, middle school and grade school are the most affected, even in public schools. College students deal with less censorship.  For example, reports of terrorism are often censored because of the extreme effects it might have on students but are then being kept from this information. In another scenario, a student was writing a story about her own personal experiences (she had been sexually assaulted) and she got in trouble. Students’ education can be affected by unnecessary censorship. On the other hand, censorship also protects children from seeing explicit videos. I am not trying to convince you that censorship is strictly good or bad but I think it would be beneficial for people to know the facts and just know more about intellectual freedom in general so they can strengthen their own opinions and even do something about it if they feel the need. Censorship can help limit violence and obscenity and protect the morals of society and religion.