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Scores of speakers urge Las Cruces school board to resist book bans, protect LGBTQ+ resources
Summary
Dozens of students, parents and educators used public comment to press Las Cruces Public Schools to keep diverse library materials and supports available, arguing representation and access are critical to student wellbeing.
More than a dozen community members, students and educators urged the Las Cruces Public Schools board during public comment on Feb. 18 to preserve library resources that depict LGBTQ+, racial and other diverse experiences and to reject efforts to remove those books from school shelves.
The comments, which ran for more than an hour and a half, came from speakers across generations — including recent graduates, current students and longtime residents — who described personal experiences showing why access to diverse materials matters. "Books matter. Reading matters," said Dana Hopkins, a Las Cruces resident who described fostering LGBT youth. "This is how our folks find each other." Hopkins spoke during the public-comment period, which the board temporarily reduced to two minutes per speaker because of the number of attendees.
Student Advisor Teagan DeArmond told the board that the Student Advisory Council members surveyed their peers; the council favored a proposed calendar draft but DeArmond and many student commenters also emphasized the importance of materials that reflect student identities. "Having access to books and materials that reflect their experience makes a huge difference," said Olivia Russell, a graduate student and daughter of an educator, at the meeting.
Other speakers gave personal testimony about the harms of restricted library access. "If I had access to these resources and representation as a kid, I would have realized that I was a lesbian sooner," said Sylvia Yancey, who described growing up closeted in a conservative town. Gage Burnett, a transgender father who earlier read Nancy Drew as a child, said it took until age 26 to find a story in which a trans person experienced ordinary tenderness; he praised access to those stories for current students.
Several speakers cited organized efforts outside the district seeking to designate dozens of books as "objectionable," including lists circulated nationally. "This list conflates shallow shock content with LGBTQ+ stories," said a student speaker who noted that many titles targeted by censors address race, addiction, sexual trauma and other issues students confront.
Supporters of broad access urged the board to continue district policies that emphasize equity, inclusion and student wellbeing. Yolani Sebastian Hernandez, reading a comment from a teacher who could not attend, said elementary students routinely ask what "gay" means and use the word as a slur without access to educational media that normalizes queer and trans experience. "When the government bans media that tells stories about minorities, it is an attempt to erase them, and we will not be erased," the teacher wrote.
Board President Court reminded speakers of the district's public-comment rules. The board did not take action on library policy during the meeting; public comment was directed at the board's values and implementation of existing policies.
Ending note: Speakers representing parents, teachers, students and nonprofit groups emphasized the potential psychological and social harms of restricting library access and urged continued support for inclusive resources, citing research and personal testimony about student wellbeing.
