It’s safe to say that SU students can consider themselves pretty lucky. We attend a private university that offers an array of unique courses that require us all to think outside the box: to challenge, question and critique.

While small things, like an editor fixing the structure of a sentence or a professor giving you a poor grade on a paper, limit some of these freedoms, we are all guaranteed the same basic right: freedom of speech. This is a natural expectation that all students have, however it is an important part of U.S. culture that should not be taken for granted.

As scary as it is to think about, there are still places in this world and in the U.S. that reject the notion of free speech. I am obviously biased, but writing can be the most powerful tool at one’s disposal. It allows readers to comprehend and interpret your words that derive from your thoughts, opinions and ideas. Imagine if we lived in a place where that was not possible.

For the past couple of weeks, the SU bookstore has displayed a collection of literature that has fallen under the category of ‘Banned Books’ throughout history. Among them are some of America’s great classics that are often taught in high school English classes, as well as some of my personal favorites such as Fahrenheit 451, The Catcher in the Rye and The Perks of Being a Wallflower.

It is important to be aware of the fact that book banning did happen, does occur and should no longer be a part of modern culture.

While banned books are a great threat to freedom of speech, there are also many other ways to stifle the expression of words and thought. There are always loopholes in the system to censor free speech without having to publicly declare anything, which is the exact issue The Daily Orange printed in their Opinion’s section yesterday.

Los Angeles City College is currently facing issues of censorship regarding their student-run newspaper and, just like in the real world, funding is the root of ultimate power. A list of 17 colleges and universities have printed this editorial within the past week in the spirit of a very important fact stated in this same article, ‘An attack on free speech anywhere is an attack on free speech everywhere.’

This is a great example of utilizing the tools we do have in an attempt to maintain free speech everywhere. It is clear that the participating universities are aware of the importance of this issue and it’s incredible that these students are willing to actively ‘spread the word.’

There are some places in this world where an individual could be imprisoned for their journalistic efforts and reporting the truth. This might sound crazy, but sometimes I wonder if the concept of freedom of speech is practiced in every aspect of its meaning in the United States.

It raises a few important questions for media consumers to think about: Who writes the news? Why are journalists reporting on this particular topic? Why should I care? How does this affect me?

With these thoughts in mind, ultimately, here I am writing words of my own choice that are furthering my personal agenda and representing my own thoughts. Freedom of speech prevails in the United States, ladies and gentleman, regardless of a flawed system.

There are also ways to promote awareness of censorship on a grand scale. Just last week, Toni Morrison spoke at Cornell University as a part of their lecture series in honor of Banned Books Week. Morrison has debatably written some of America’s finest literature throughout history and she has also been one of the most banned authors from libraries and bookstores nationwide. In response to this, Morrison edited and contributed to an anthology of essays titled, ‘Burn This Book.’

‘Burn This Book’ is a product of The P.E.N. (poets, playwrights, essayists, editors and novelists) American Center, an organization that focuses on promoting freedom of speech nationwide. It was founded in New York City in the spring of 1922 and continues to stomp out efforts of book banning and other censorship. ‘Burn This Book’ was another publication on display in the SU bookstore, and is definitely a worthwhile piece of literature to get your hands on.

Morrison provokes many insightful ideas through all of these essays, but most importantly she leaves readers with this significant concept, ‘A writer’s life and work are not a gift to mankind; they are its necessity.’

Krystie Yandoli is a sophomore women’s studies major. Her columns appear weekly. She can be reached at klyandol@syr.edu.