BEULAH, N.D. (AP) —The Beulah School Board has reversed itself and lifted a ban on the 1994 best-seller “Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil.”
The board last week banned the book from the high school library at the request of parents Keith and Kathy Bohn.
At the board’s meeting Monday night, Chairman Phil Eastgate said the ban was approved too quickly. He said it left the board open to a lawsuit it likely could not win.
The board decided to lift the ban and look into other options, such as a list of restricted books that parents would have to approve before their children check them out.
Keith Bohn said after the meeting that he respected the board’s decision.
Superintendent Rob Lech said the board may have followed school policy in removing the book but board members missed at least one step, including reading the book.
“We know it’s a dark, ugly book, but sometimes the world is a dark, ugly place,” Lech said.
The book by John Berendt, which was made into a 1997 movie, involves four murder trials and a number of characters in Savannah, Ga., including a voodoo priestess and a transvestite.
Lech creating a list of restricted books also could raise questions about judging them.
English teacher Tina Heller wondered who would judge. “Will this follow through into the classroom and our textbooks?” she asked.
Olivia O’Quinn, a high school senior, had prepared a statement for the meeting, saying, “banning books promotes ignorance.”
Librarian Kathy Cline said it’s better to have youngsters read books like “Midnight,” than watch television “where there’s no room for imagination.”
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Beulah School Board lifts book ban
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