Annabelle Jenkins Idaho high school graduate defiant stand against her school district’s book banning as the teen explains what motivated her as her actions during her award ceremony raise questions about what is acceptable and off limits for children and teens.
Protesting her school’s recent decision to ban certain books an Idaho high school graduate showed her umbrage for school administrators as she made the podium last week as part of graduation ceremonies only to offer a particular surprise.
Annabelle Jenkins was one of 44 graduates to have her name called during the Idaho Fine Arts Academy graduation ceremony on May 23.
Define graphic and inappropriate?
After she shook hands with administrators on the stage, Jenkins paused in front of West Ada School District Superintendent Derek Bub and pulled out ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’ from the sleeve of her graduation gown.
The seminal novel had been one of ten books banned by school officials.
As the teen attempted to offer the book to Bub, the school official stood firm with his arms crossed, adamantly declining the book Jenkins had attempted to offer him. Instead the girl drops the book at the superintendent’s feet as she proceeded to move across the stage.
The graphic novel version, written by Margaret Atwood and Renee Nault, was one of 10 the school district banned from its libraries earlier in the academic year over its graphic imagery, deemed not suitable for the student body according to EdNews.
Jenkins stated she and some of her classmates have been outspoken about the ban because it was done without any say from the students or staff and with little transparency.
‘I want to generate conversation’
‘I just realized that I did not want to walk across that stage and get my diploma and shake the superintendent’s hand. I just did not want to do that,’ the graduate told KTVB.
‘My main issue with this particular situation was that the teacher that was contesting it never read the book,’ the graduate added.
Jenkins says her actions were in response to the school district’s stance towards the student body throughout the school year regarding the books.
‘It was a gesture and you’re going to receive a gesture. If you want to make a bigger show out of it be my guest,’ the teen added.
Following the ceremony, Jenkins shared a video of the episode on TikTok, which has since been viewed over 24.3 million times.
‘I have never desired to go viral, but if I was ever going to, I’m glad that it is for something so deeply important to me,’ Jenkins told the Idaho Statesman. ‘More than anything, I just want people to talk about it. I want to generate conversation.’
Setting review standards
‘It is a book with a lot of heavy themes, and it has some very difficult scenes to get through. It does deal with a lot of sexual themes. I believe a word that I’ve heard tossed around about that book was ‘pornographic,’ which I very strongly disagree with.’
Jenkins’ main issue with the ban stems from the fact the teacher who contested the book in the first place, never read it, according to the graduate.
In December, the Idaho Fine Arts Academy principal removed the book from the school’s library as the adaptation of the dystopian society featured illustrations of sexual violence, according to the Idaho Statesman.
Idaho Fine Arts Academy offers grades 6-12, where the students must audition to attend. The institution is located 11 miles west of Boise.
The school determined there was no system to ‘determine which students at various grade levels could access specific books,’ district spokesperson Niki Scheppers told the Statesman.
Following the book’s initial removal from the shelves, the school district set up a review team, consisting of the chief academic officer, an English teacher and a middle school and high school principal.
How far should educators go?
The team determined to ban 10 books, including the graphic novel, ‘A Stolen Life’ by Jaycee Dugard, ‘Kingdom of Ash’ by Sarah J. Maas and ‘Water for Elephants’ by Sarah Gruen.
‘I think the graphic novel is a very tasteful way of adapting it, and that’s not to say there aren’t scenes in there that are difficult for some students or some readers, I just don’t think that’s a reason for it to be banned,’ Jenkins told KTVB.
She says she read the ‘Handmaid’s Tale’ when she was in 7th or 8th grade and the graphic novel adaptation when she was a sophomore in high school.
The school district slammed Jenkins’ protest, saying it ‘overshadowed the celebratory occasion.’
‘While we respect the right to voice concerns, it is important to maintain the focus on the achievements and hard work of our students during such significant milestones,’ school district spokesperson Niki Scheppers told the Statesman.
In April, Republican Gov. Brad Little signed a bill that will require school and public libraries to move material deemed ‘harmful to minors’ to an adults-only section or face lawsuits.
The bill is similar to one vetoed by Little last year. If a community member complains that a book is harmful to minors, the library has 60 days to address it or children or their parents can sue the facility for $250 in damages. The new law uses Idaho’s current definition of ‘obscene materials,’ which includes any act of homosexuality.
In a letter to the Legislature, Little said he shares the desire to keep ‘truly inappropriate library materials out of the hands of minors’ but he said was disappointed lawmakers didn’t to more to protect children from ‘the harms of social media.’
The Idaho Library Association warned that the law uses vague and subjective definitions of what constitutes material that is harmful to minors and said it could result in significantly limited access to information for the public.
The West Ada School District pulled the 10 books out of a list of 44 titles based on ratings from BookLooks.org, a website created by ‘concerned parents’ in Brevard County, Florida.
The books were reviewed by a committee made up of the district’s library coordinator, chief academic officer, curriculum director, two secondary principals and one secondary English teacher.
Several librarians were invited to participate in the review, but ‘all opted out, declining to participate in the process,’ Scheppers said. Not invited in the adjudication process were the student body.
