To win a public relations competition, several groups of Chapman University students are raising awareness of banned books and local library cuts.
In Orange, where the city recently slashed library branch hours, one group has organized a round of book-themed trivia on Thursday night at Provisions Deli & Bottle Shop.
Another team has “locked up” little free libraries in caution tape and chains to protest the library funding cuts.
“The protest stunt is a powerful demonstration showing how when library doors are closed, access to knowledge is restricted,” said senior Kestyn Hudson.
The teams of PR and advertising majors are gunning to win the Bateman Case Study Competition, a nationwide challenge issued to students by the Public Relations Student Society of America.
This year, teams around the country have been challenged to develop a campaign on behalf of EveryLibrary, the only national political action committee for libraries.
The organization’s mission is to support public libraries on Election Days, stabilize school library budgets, guard against book bans, and engage with state legislatures alongside partner organizations.
The Chapman teams have been tasked with localizing that campaign to community library issues, such as the funding cuts to Orange city libraries and a controversial book review board established in Huntington Beach.
“We’re trying to create a smaller campaign that EveryLibrary can implement after the competition on a larger scale,” said senior Nadya Rued.
In the face of Trump administration pushback to government services tied to diversity efforts, Rued’s group also organized a panel of Chapman faculty to highlight the effects of censorship on diverse communities.
Panelists and professors Ian Barnard and Lynda Hall teach courses on queer theory and book banning, respectively, while Assitant Dean Essraa Nawar facilitates DEI initiatives at Chapman libraries.
Their panel discussion Wednesday, Feb. 26, is open to the public with registration available at powerinthepagesproject.com.
Rued said one book in particular that she often sees as a target for book banners had a profound impact on her when she read it.
“That would be ‘Whale Talk’ by Chris Crutcher,” she said.
Published in 2001, the novel follows a group of outcasts as they take on inequality and injustice in their high school.
For years, school libraries across the country have moved to ban it over its use of racial slurs and profanity.
“Through that book, I think I really learned a lot about different communities and different people and developed empathy and compassion for others,” Rued said.
Although she’s from Sonoma County, Rued said she’s glad to participate in this PR campaign centered around Orange County issues.
“I think it’s important for Chapman students,” she said, “to become involved in our local community and kind of know what’s going on.”
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