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Sunday, December 26, 2010

Brian Pickett: Student Play Censored for Being Critical of NYC's School Closure Policy

Brian Pickett: Student Play Censored for Being Critical of NYC's School Closure Policy

When word came down that school officials would bar the performance of a student play set to perform at Jamaica High School, I was -- as their teacher -- charged with delivering the sad news. Huddled around an old wooden table in the school's library, the young cast reacted with a range of emotions. Some felt despair over the lack of power they seemed to have, others, a deep sense of outrage at not being consulted about the decision.

"Let's go to the press!" said some, realizing they just might have some power after all.

As part of a credit-bearing class at Queensborough Community College, students from Jamaica High School and Queens Collegiate, a smaller school within the same building, spent the fall semester reading and discussing the classic Greek play Antigone and creating scenes that