315_Group_P2

Position Paper – Part Two

Name: Nadia Pelletier

Instructions: Please use this form as an organizer for writing your portion of your group position paper. You will be writing the second part of the paper. You should clearly and thoroughly identify possible solutions and the final solution that your group has decided on to solve the problem that you are addressing. You may use your own research and the research from other members of your group. Be sure to follow the MLA citation format that you used when completing your JRP. Your portion of the paper should be a minimum of one page in length.

III. There are many possible solutions to this problem. The possible solutions are:

As a group we have come up with several different solutions, the one that we feel works best is creating a specific Federal law including a very specific definition of what is "indecent". I also propose it to be apart of the law to include the definition of "what is indecent" in all school registration and tuition forms. By doing so, it is clear in all schools across the nation what can be said and what can be shown. Along with that, as for any media coming in and our of people's homes, we should just provide the people with ways to limit their exposure. For example, if someone is watching satalite tv, and as a parent they do not want their child watching it, they should be offered the option to set up a restriction on their computer or their tv with locks on the channels that the parents do not approve of. That way, everything that enters the home will be approved by the parents.

IV. The solution I (we) propose is: (This section will become you proposed legislation. Be sure to include what agency will implement your law, proposed cost if any and effective date). You must also state how your bill fits within the limits of the Constitution.

think this solution will work, because with words like "indecent or obscene" are so broad and often times based more on personal opinions or values rather than what people would consider as a whole. Also, with a specific definition, is something "lewd” does come up in a student's curriculum, a parent can take their complaint to the school, however, the complaint would be quickly dismissed, because by signing the registration forms, they gave the school permission to use the appropriate words to educate their student. Moreover, the educators would not get in trouble for the words they use, because the law will specifically state what's "going too far". Futhermore, it is a fundemental right to enjoy all aspects of the internet considering the internet was made by people for people. Moreover, It is fair to the people who desire to express themselves through the media and it is fair to the people who choose not to see certain peoples' expression within the media.

Landier, Michael. “Internet Censorship is Absured And Unconstitutional” __Michael Landier’s Website__,June 4, 1997

Dick, Kirby. “MPAA Regulation Censors the Film Industry.” //Los Angeles Times// 24 Jan. 2007: n. pag. //Gale Opposing Viewpoints in Context//. Web. 16 Feb. 2011.

Mazur, Marilyn C. //Sex and Censorship: Dangers to Minor and Others?// San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 1999. N. pag. Rpt. in //Censorship of Sex-Related Speech Violates the First Amendment//. N.p.: n.p., n.d. N. pag. //Gale Opposing Viewpoints in Context//. Web. 16 Feb. 2011.

Nadia Pelletier Mrs. Ramey Government 3rd 2/28/11

With every problem comes a solution, as earlier stated, we believe a big problem in today’s society is the strict restrictions involving the content that enters and exits the classrooms, what comes in and out of our homes, and ultimately what is in the media. Ergo, our problem is too much censorship and we have solutions to stop the sheltering of our youth and end the discrediting to the artists. To begin with, the first way we would take a step closer to less censorship would be to figure out what is inappropriate and indecent. According to Merriam-Webster Dictionary, the definition of indecent is grossly improper or offensive. However, what would be considered improper? What would be considered offensive? Most American’s grow up with values, that being said, they may grow up with different values. For the reason that values vary, a child growing up might think one thing is crude, whereas another child may think the same act is completely acceptable. Author Marilyn C. Mazur, raises this question and other similar questions in her article, Sex and Censorship: Dangers to Minor and Other. Although Mazur’s article was written in 1999, the points she makes still hold true today. Ms. Mazur gives the example of other authors have had their work censored for using the actual name of STI's such as Syphilis. Also, in Mazur's article she addresses how censoring could affect a child more than not censoring. She discusses how if teachers censor themselves too much during a class such as health or a sex education class, they are doing a disadvantage to the student and essentially the community. Continually, a large portion of taxes are given to public schools, so if parents are paying for their child to get an adequate education in every subject, does that stay true if health classes are censored? As for nude art, Ms. Mazur says, “Always censoring nude art, it makes the body seem taboo. With parents raising the bar of what is decent and indecent or their children to see, they are discrediting beautiful pieces of work”. By censoring nude art, it blocks out a big part of Western European History, which greatly influenced our culture today. After figuring out what is decent and what is not, I propose to lower the restrictions of censorship is creating a specific Federal law including a very specific definition of what is "indecent". I also propose it to be a part of the law to include the definition of "what is indecent" in all school registration and tuition forms. By doing so, it is clear in all schools across the nation what can be said and what can be shown, and parents know exactly what to expect from their child’s curriculum. Furthermore, I think this solution will work, because with words like "indecent or obscene" are so broad and often times based more on personal opinions or values rather than what people would consider as a whole. Also, with a specific definition, is something "lewd” does come up in a student's curriculum, a parent can take their complaint to the school, however, the complaint would be quickly dismissed, because by signing the registration forms, they gave the school permission to use the appropriate words to educate their student. Moreover, the educators would not get in trouble for the words they use, because the law will specifically state what's "going too far". I believe that this new law would not only be successful, but also better our society as a whole by giving students the knowledge they rightfully deserve, artists the credit they have justifiably earned, and parents a peace of mind.