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aruba to Me
                                                                                      Wednesday
                                                                                      April 24, 2024
                                                                                      T: 582-7800
                                                                                      www.arubatoday.com
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                                                                                                                                             Page 7
                 A r u b a ’ s   O N L Y   E n g l i s h   n e w s p a p e r
                 Aruba’s ONLY English newspaper
            Minnesota and other Democratic-led states lead pushback on censorship


            By STEVE KARNOWSKI and MIKE CATALINI
            Associated Press
            ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — A movement
            to ban book bans is gaining steam in
            Minnesota and several other states,
            in contrast to the trend playing out in
            more conservative states where book
            challenges have soared to their high-
            est levels in decades.
            The move to quash book bans is wel-
            come to people like Shae Ross, a queer
            and out Minnesota high school senior
            who has fought on the local level against
            bans on books dealing with sexuality,
            gender and race. Ross, 18, said she is
            encouraged to see her governor and
            leaders of other states are taking the
            fight statewide. “For a lot of teenagers,
            LGBT teenagers and teenagers who
            maybe just don’t feel like they have
            a ton of friends, or a ton of popularity
            in middle or high school ... literature
            becomes  sort  of  an  escape.”  Ross
            said. “Especially when I was like sixth,
            seventh grade, I’d say reading books,
            especially books with gay characters
            ... was a way that I could feel seen
            and represented.” Minnesota is one
            of several Democratic-leaning states   Bloomington Jefferson senior Shae Ross, center, joined Lieutenant Governor Peggy Flanagan, left, at an event promoting
                                                  proposed legislation to prevent books bans based on ideology at Como Park High School in St. Paul, Minn., on March
            where lawmakers are now pursuing      21, 2024.
            bans on book bans.                                                                                                             Associated Press
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