The next week, Melissa met up with Harry, Hermione, and Ron back at the library.
"They've got Muggle cameras upstairs in the meeting room! Loads of them!" Ron told her excitedly.
"I'm really nervous- I've proofread my report twelve times... you think it's good enough?"
"You'll do fine," Harry had read the essay and it did sound very impressive.
"That means alot to me, especially from you, Harry." Melissa had her eyes closed and she was breathing deeply. "I'm so scared..."
They entered the room and cameras began to flash brightly as Melissa took her place at the podium. Harry had to admit, she looked terrified.
Ron leaned over and whispered to Hermione, "I don't see Colin- you don't think they broke up, do you?"
"I wouldn't blame him..."
"La-ladies and g-gentlemen, members of the press, librarians, parents, readers," she began shakily, "-and friends," she flashed a smile at the three, "I'd like to invite you to listen to me, for I have something of importance to speak about with you:
"Think of your favorite book. The one book you love to read the most out of an entire library of written works. Have you thought of it? Now, let's take it away, ban it from public schools, and burn it on national television. How do you feel? Confused? Frustrated? Angry? You would not be the only one, for book burnings take place nearly everyday. As for book bannings, there were six-hundred-forty-six formal, written complaints filed with school libraries over the content and-or appropriateness of various pieces of literature in the year 2000. Already banned from four states, the Harry Potter series is among the most challenged. Harry Potter, the book that got America (along with the rest of the world) reading should not be banned from public schools. In a culture where violence is commonly found in all shapes and forms of media, why keep the literature from us, that we so desperately need?
"Before 1997, where would you find your children in their free time? Glued to the television set or fixated on their newest game console? Now you can find them, along with millions of others, absorbed in books. Reading increases your knowledge and vocabulary, so why would anyone stop their child from picking up a book? "'Books contain a wealth of diverse and important ideas,' says Beverly Becker of the [American Library Association]. 'It is a safe place to think about things and explore different ideas.'" Although subtle it may appear, by reading Harry Potter books you are expanding your horizons to include bits of British culture, pieces of life at boarding school, and an assortment of views about good versus evil. As far as vocaulbary is concerned, how many children do you know of who could tell you what lumos and lupin mean? Anyone who has read Harry Potter: And the Prisonaer of Azkaban would be able to tell you that lupin refers to wolves and lumos to light in Latin. Harry Potter, however, is not all knowledge. It is also fun and exciting to read as the main characters battle with things in daily life. Children feel they can relate to Harry and his friends, as they also have to deal with bullies and mean teachers regularly. "Books are one of the best tools for learning about the world. Many banned books teach about open-mindedness and self-worth - very important qualities."
"Not only is banning Harry Potter against the desire of children and adults everywhere, but it is also against out constitutional rights. The First Amendment of the United States Constitution reads: 'Congress shall make no law respecting or abiding the freedom of speech or the prefs, or the right of the people to peacably assemble, and to petition the Government for a redrefs of greivances.' This right says that the governemnt will make no law on resctricting our freedom of speech. Written works, such as newspapers and books are covered in this Amendment. Sure, Harry Potter is a British book, but does that mean that it is not allowed to be freely published in America? If this were so, then the foreign civilians would have no rights under the Constitution because of where they originated from, but they do. Why should a foreign book be any different? We have a freedom to publish, and thus read, these books, and it would be against our rights to take these freedoms away. Simply put, "Banning books violates First Amendment to the Constitution, which grants U.S. citizens freedom of speech." Children and adults have the right to go to their libraries and check out a copy of Harry Potter. Public schools and their libraries are funded by the government, which means they must deffinately uphold all Constitutional rights. Anything else would be, well, unconstitutional. Only just recently has the popular series been placed back on the shelves of Springfeild, Missouri schools. Harry had been banned from all fifty-four schools in the city because a grandmother had complained. A committee who gathered to review the banning detirmined that the books did not violate board policies or guidelines for school libraries. If they don't violate policies in Springfeild, what major violations could the books have made in any other city? In addition to banning the books, burning them has also become controversial. While book burnings are perfectly legal and also protected under the United States Constitution, it tends to lead people to recall the book burnings of Adolf Hitler in World War II. Would you want to have done something that people would recognize as being related with Hitler?
"There is no reason for Harry Potter to be banned from public schools in the first place. Despite popular belief, Harry Potter does not teach and-or promote witchcraft. The series is devoted to telling the story of the tragic and hectic life of an orphan who finds he is a wizard. Simply because Harry attends Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, parents find the book offensive, in that it must teach its readers to preform spells or make magical potions. The school only supplies scenery for the story, being the place where all of Harry's adventures happen. This only makes sense. Another reason parents protest is that they believe it leads children into thinking that there are magical forces out there besides God, which would completely be contrast to Christianic views. There is more than one religion in this world, and Wiccan (which is not even closely related to steryotypical witchcraft) happens to be one of them. Who's to say that all books have to correlate with Christian beliefs? Besides having a completely fictional and fatansy based story, with a small view on witchcraft, Harry Potter is nothing more than a chapter book. There are worse books out there, at your children's fingertips, no less. If you wanted to ban anything, why not start with the books that actually give straight out information on such topics? The Jefferson City Public School library in Jefferson City Missouri has twenty-six nonfiction books on witchcraft, five on Satanism, and eighteen over cults, one entitled Carnival of Souls: program for paradise, even! If you don't want your child introduced to such things, start by banning these first. If you were really concerned with what your child's reading, you'd look at the books with the facts before going to the fiction. If you still ban Harry Potter, despite all of that, then why not ban Lord of the Rings, also? Lord of the Rings has as much magic in it as Harry Potter. Why go after one and not another? Why hasn't it also been on the 'top ten most challenged books' list for the past three years? Do the parents even know how the words 'witch' and 'wizardry' are used in the books? Have they even read what they refuse to let their sons and daughters read? Mrs. J. Milne, an English teacher at Jefferson City High School, has a thought she keeps in mind when approached by weary parents about the contents of an assigned literary peice. "I welcome parents to question anything we read in class, but I require them to read the material before I will discuss it with them." How can you not agree? You will not know what you are complaining about - unless you have read the book. With this in mind, parents are asked to read Harry Potter before posting a complaint with the school board. Compared with one book ( required to be read by juniors), Fallen Angels, Harry Potter should be a walk in the park. How can one book be allowed in the curriculum and the other not even on the library shelves? Parents's basis for banning books seems to be gretly unresearched.
"Despite the attempts to ban Harry Potter, children, teenagers, and adults will always find a way to get their handds on a copy. While some seem to have a problem with this particular set of books, others remain to argue that Harry Potter, like other books, can only be beneficial to the reader, all the while building vocabulary, imagination, and I.Q. Besides being completely unjust and unfairly challenged, banning the adventures of Harry, Ron, and Hermione would be against our rights as citizens of this country. Before you reject every word spoken here, consider this from a reader's point of view: How would YOU feel if YOUR favorite book were banned?"
The room burst into applause. Even some of the parents were begining to think differently.
Melissa shook slightly, either from fear or relief, but she was smiling. "I did it- I only hope it helps, Harry."
"Oh, it was great, Melissa. I think it will work. Whatever it does, your speech was worth coming all the way to America for."
"Actually, those Bag Mics were pretty good- The trip was worth it just for that!"
"Ron, you can get Big Macs in Muggle London..."
"Hush up, Hermione."
Melissa laughed again. They walked down the stairs and out the front doors into the cool night air when Melissa stopped suddenly.
((This report was written April 23, 2002 for Mrs. Milne's English II class. Quotes belong to their respective owners (works cited not included on site).))