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Author’s criticism of woman conforming to religious dress codes leads to censorship by Columbia U. Radio

Author’s criticism of woman conforming to religious dress codes leads to censorship by Columbia U. Radio

“no wiggle room on the censorship”

If you read the story below, something doesn’t add up. At one point it says the author cancelled the appearance but then it says a student producer cancelled it. Either way, the reason won’t surprise you.

From the National Coalition Against Censorship (emphasis added):

After Censorship Request, Author Cancels Reading on Columbia U. Radio

A student producer at Columbia University’s radio station WKCR abruptly cancelled a planned appearance by author Laurie Stone because her planned on-air reading did not match the station and university’s “values.”

According to the correspondence between the author and the WKCR producer, Sarah Courville, Stone was scheduled to read excerpts from her latest work My Life as an Animal, Stories on October 9. Three hours before the show aired, Ms. Courville emailed Ms. Stone to say that although “freedom of speech and expression are important for all writers…some particular lines in your selections do not reflect our station’s values and more importantly our university’s values.” Specifically, she objected to sections of Ms. Stone’s reading that argued “women who live in secular countries and conform to religious dress codes make the lives of all women less free and less safe.” Courville told Stone that “we can continue this evening with the lines explicitly censored, but there is no wiggle room on the censorship.”

Ms. Stone refused, however, and cancelled her appearance. She proceeded to publicly post the email exchange on her Facebook page. WKCR’s Arts Department Head, Danielle Fox, then emailed Ms. Stone demanding that she remove the Facebook post on the grounds it contained “personal information” and “harassing comments.” In the Facebook post, Stone claimed Courville treated her like a “antichrist bitch.”

Why the sensitivity?

To what group might the reference be to “women who live in secular countries and conform to religious dress codes make the lives of all women less free and less safe.”

Ah, now we understand.

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