Panic has ensued on social media over book bans and censorships happening throughout the country. This is in result of the multiple reels and posts online, provoking emotional outbursts from their audience about the subject.
If book bans were to happen in Nevada, it would greatly affect college students statewide. It could result in greater limitations and devastating consequences if nothing is done about it.
For clarification, this is not to cause readers panic or alarm. This is simply to express the possibilities that I think could happen if another book ban–potentially a stricter one–was put in place, based on the events that happened in recent memory.
The claims on social media were founded on statistics and data from a Pen America article published on February 4, 2025. It showed what books were banned most frequently in schools from 2023-2024. The statistics from this resource were made to appear as though they were statistics from this year. Most of the data, however, turned out to be past data that was misrepresented as new information.
Concerns have also risen about how the education system might be forced to ban more material due to policies that have been enacted by President Donald Trump. These claims about book bans have stemmed from the possible influence of ‘Project 2025’. Little information has been confirmed about the education system’s new policies or any influence of Project 2025 that is directly linked to book bans this year.
Most book bans are enacted in a K-12 setting because people believe that children are too young to be reading about mature themes. Themes can consist of sex, drugs, homosexuality, political views and many more topics that would be considered “problematic” for young readers. The government can enforce and even control the outcomes of what happens to certain books’ availability in schools and even public libraries to a certain extent. Being that K-12 public schools get their funding from the government and that the K-12 education system is being changed by the government, public colleges could have their freedom of choice, finances and political views completely changed as well.
Although it is unconstitutional for a book to be banned in a college setting based on First Amendment rights, the government can still pull federal aid, grants or funding from public colleges if they choose not to comply with federal orders.
In fact, there is a temporary ban that Federal Judges Loren L. AliKhan and John McConnell Jr. passed when it came to the policies that involved freezing federally funded school programs. While these policies are not directly tied to book bans, they can still lead to a problematic conclusion for colleges alike. This may cause students and faculty to follow stricter policies, laws and even censorship in order to obtain direct payment from the government.
Books that have been affected in the past by book bans were those such as Thirteen Reasons Why, by Jay Asher (first banned 2019), The Handmaid’s Tale, by Margaret Atwood (first banned 2006) and Nineteen Minutes, by Jodi Picoult (most banned in 2023-2024).
These books have served societal purposes by highlighting controversial messages of suicide, corrupt governments, the exploitation of women and school shootings just to name a few. The topics were made to inform as well as warn readers about the dangerous situations that could occur. Without these books, it can negatively affect people’s ability to critically think of the events happening in their lives or talk about them with others without being shamed or ostracized.
Traditional as well as independent authors are especially affected by book bans. According to The University of Florida, an author’s state of mental health can be strongly affected by the stresses that come with book bans being enacted. This is because of the public backlash that authors would have to endure as well as having to possibly witness their own bankruptcy.
At minimum, having a book censorship or book ban that starts at the elementary school level can lead to polarization, a limited viewpoint of the world and even a lack of empathy as well as a lack of understanding of social injustice. People are then polarized even further and the ability to branch out and look at different viewpoints will become increasingly difficult without harassment or assault.
At the most drastic level, citizens who are strongly against controversial books can take the initiative of book banning one step further. There have been records of people not only censoring and banning books, but burning books altogether.
Book burnings have happened when extremist groups took control of the flow of information and knowledge. Examples of this would be when Nazis took over Germany. It ultimately caused hateful ideologies to influence University students, which motivated them to burn books that were against their own ideology in 1933.
It is important to know that although this is the least likely scenario to happen because of how drastic the possibility is. However, it is still a scenario that should be considered. History has a tendency to repeat itself, so it is important to look for the patterns and signs early.
Banning books has only created unnecessary problems for everyone involved, including colleges and K-12 public school settings. It limits a person’s freedom to choose what to read while limiting their worldview further causing more chaos, confusion and frustration. Book bans can even motivate more people, out of spite or fear, to keep buying as well as acquiring banned books out of retaliation or exclusivity.
As long as books are written, and the internet is alive, there will be controversial messages that come with them. Censoring an idea is like constructing a wall around the depths of the ocean, it will only go so far until it crumbles under the constant pressure.
Teagan Greer can be reached via email at gkanae@sagebrush.unr.edu or on Instagram via @NevadaSagebrush.
