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Banner Takes a Swing at Book Ban Issue, Misses


 

The numbers tell me that the blog went up late yesterday and a lot of you missed it. It’s about the Board of Education race and how the winners will be in a position either: to support intellectual freedom and inclusion or: to weaken and damage it.

Assertive me : go read it now.

Polite me: I hope you’ll find some time to catch up on it this morning.

Free People Read Freely, Village Green/Town², April 30, 2024

The Baltimore Banner took a swing at addressing what they call the “book ban debates” but in my opinion the article missed some important information.

Where Howard County school board candidates stand on book ban debates, Jess Nocera, Baltimore Banner

The article lists the following candidates as having stated they are against book bans:

Pravin Ponnuri (District 1)

Meg Ricks (District 1)

Hiruy Hadgu (District 4)

Julie Kaplan (District 4)

Jen Mallo, current school board chair (District 4)

Catherine Carter (District 5)

Andrea Chamblee (District 5)

I’d advise community members to look beyond this list. Why? 

Well, at a recent candidate forum at Dar Al-Taqwa Islamic Center, Pravin Ponnuri’s responses were problematic at best. Also, a reminder that he was one of the four candidates who originally chose not to answer the CARY survey, which contains clear questions about the inclusion of LGBTQIA appropriate materials. 

After some community pushback, Ponnuri completed the survey, using the following statement as a basis for most of his answers:

Sexual preference, just like religious or political preferences, is a personal decision that has no impact on education and does not belong in the school system. Let the school system be about education.

1. The use of the words “sexual preference” is inherently incorrect and seeing it here is alarming. The correct term is sexual orientation. Not knowing (or caring) enough to use correct terminology shows either ignorance or disrespect. Not a good look for anyone aspiring to the Board of Education.

2. If we are to take Ponnuri at his word, not only would he support excluding LGBTQIA materials from schools but he would also insist on removing all library books and curriculum materials which included heterosexual relationships and marriage. Oh my goodness. He is going to be a busy, busy man.

“Does not belong.” What do those words mean to you?

I’m not at all convinced that Ponnuri would take a stand to support school libraries and librarians were he given the opportunity to serve on the school board. Based on his own words, I don’t think he’s convinced, either.

I’m also concerned that candidate Julie Kaplan has accepted campaign contributions from former BOE candidate Tudy Adler, one of the founders of Howard County Moms4Liberty. If Kaplan is, as the Banner article suggests she is, opposed to book bans, she would have immediately returned the money and publicly repudiated the M4L connection. 

In addition, Ms. Kaplan’s answers on the CARY survey lean heavily on arguments of “parental concern” and “parents’ rights”, well-known to M4L supporters. If you take M4L-tainted money and you use M4L coded language, then your claim that you are opposed to book bans deserves some extra scrutiny. The Banner doesn’t do that here.

These are examples of what was missed in the Banner article. There may be more I am not aware of. In addition, I’m extremely concerned by candidates who are being overly careful not to say anything that might give away their position. If they won’t tell you the truth in plain language before the election, that’s a clear indicator of how they’ll act if elected.

While I’m glad that the Banner thinks that the issue of book bans in Howard County schools is worth covering, I’m deeply disappointed that this particular article does not give an accurate representation of the facts and may very likely mislead voters.

Oh, and before you go: did you read yesterday’s post?


Village Green/Town² Comments 





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