A Summary of Fall Events
Imagine a world where reading is prohibited and firemen burn books. This is the world of the classic novel "Fahrenheit 451." As part of the National Endowment for the Arts' The Big Read Project, residents of the San Luis Valley participated in a community reading project that celebrated the popular science fiction book written by noted author Ray Bradbury.
With an NEA grant of $11,000 and matching funds from the office of ASC President David Svaldi, we undertook a variety of exciting programming to come together as a college and valley-wide community to share a great book and creatively explore issues that are of the utmost importance to our lives as citizens in a free society.
Among the highlights of the fall semester are the following events:
- over 3,000 copies of Fahrenheit 451 were distributed for free to schools in twelve school districts, seven public libraries, and other community locations throughout the rural San Luis Valley;
- internationally-known playwright, director, and activist Luis Valdez of El Teatro Campesino captivated a full house in our ASC Main Stage Theatre as the featured speaker at our 24-Hour Big Read kickoff event;
- author Ray Bradbury joined two-hundred college and community members for a charming and inspiring live question and answer teleconference;
- a twenty-two hour long celebration of literature with people reading in fifteen-minute segments from their favorite literary works on the ASC campus and in the Southern Peaks Library of Alamosa;
- over two-hundred people participated in our Banned Book Film Series which featured Fahrenheit 451, Like Water for Chocolate, To Kill a Mockingbird, and Catch-22;
- a provocative Fahrenheit 451 Juried Theme Art Show featuring the works of ASC students and faculty held in the Hatfield Gallery;
- a new, ongoing on-air book club created by KRZA Community Radio (88.7 FM) that reaches audiences throughout the San Luis Valley and Northern New Mexico;
- a spirited 1st Amendment Forum that featured faculty, students, and Jim Pfaff of the Colorado Family Institute held in the ASC Xperimental Theatre;
- a staged reading of the original script The Novela Project: A Celebration of Oral Storytelling Traditions in the San Luis Valley;
- Censorship or Protecting Our Youth: A Community Forum with featured guests to discuss the removal and reinstatement of The Golden Compass from Ortega Middle School.
- and many more events sponsored by schools and libraries throughout the valley.
