Opinion: There is an increase in the number of books being banned around the country. Not only is this ignorant of past experiences and social context, but it creates a further divide in background knowledge for students attending universities.

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Reading provides many critical benefits to people of all ages. Literature mirrors civilization. It provides social, historical, cultural and political backgrounds for a multitude of different time periods. And, of course, learning abilities benefit from early exposure to literature. Research from 2018 states that reading to children produces higher IQ scores through age 14.
Nonetheless, school districts around the country continue to restrict what stories students can experience; book bannings have risen over the past year. This not only limits the skills certain novels grant students in the short term but is also a dangerous separator of knowledge in higher education.
Oklahoma State Senator Rob Standridge recently authored a bill that would keep books including gender, sexual identity and sexual preferences out of the curriculum. This bill was passed by the Oklahoma Senate Education Committee on March 1. Standridge said, “Our education system is not the place to teach moral lessons that should instead be left up to parents and families.”
Placing this responsibility on the families of students is unfair on many aspects; it will create disparities in students’ understanding of life Although some parents and families may provide a highly encompassing education surrounding these topics, others, guided by bigotry or ignorance, will choose to restrict what their children learn. These students will be less equipped to relate to their peers, or their own identities. This disparity will echo through people’s educational career, including college.
Some students may find themselves falling behind in higher education because they were unable to read books that have in-class references. Or, they will feel isolated because they are unable to interact with the students outside of their own realm of understanding. Without reading about the experiences of others, these students will hardly understand the experiences of their own lives, let alone other students. This excludes them from meaningful relationships.
We neglect some students’ experiences and ignore historical events that cannot be forgotten by banning these books. For example, “The Hate U Give” by Angie Thomas is included among the banned books in some places across the country. The novel’s themes are deeply connected to the Black Lives Matter movement, and it spreads awareness surrounding unjust deaths through its depiction of police brutality, specifically within the experience of Black women. A South Carolina police union rejected the book’s addition to a reading list because they believed it to create distrust among police. Police unions negatively influencing education simply because they don’t want students exposed to the fictional stories that reflect the reality of police violence in the U.S. is a fascist strike against public schools.
Book banning in itself is a sad action of educational systems. Even more troubling, however, is the effect it has on higher education. Universities accept students from all over the country. 38% of students at the University of Oregon are from out-of-state. Accompanying high rates of book banning, contextual knowledge will become vastly unequal.
The conservatism relating to LGBTQ+ identity, race and sex will continue to separate education. Knowledge about relevant topics is powerful and beneficial to university education. Understanding multiple and diverse perspectives is something that literature cradles. The doomed phrase to never forget history is ignored. These students won’t have the chance to forget history; they’ll never learn it in the first place.
As school boards restrict students’ access to books, they also undermine the ideal of equal educational opportunities. The best thing for the future of universities is to have students with a wide range of knowledge surrounding topics, no matter the controversy. Educational systems around the country need to step up and create an educational experience that encompasses the wonderful richness of diverse expression. At the forefront of understanding is listening to another’s experience, and literature provides a gateway to this art of compassion.