HUDSONVILLE, Mich. — The Hudsonville Public Schools (HPS) Board of Education voted in favor of banning a U.S. Marine’s memoir earlier this week.
The book in question—'Jarhead' by Anthony Swofford— recounts the author’s experience of fighting in Saudi Arabia during the Gulf War.
HPS confirms the book was banned during a special board meeting on Monday, May 15.
'Jarhead: A Marine's Chronicle of the Gulf War and Other Battles' is listed as an "adult book."
It is not required reading and is not an option in a book club.
Since 2010, the book has been checked out only 21 times.
The Book Review Committee voted unanimously to keep 'Jarhead' on the shelves. Committee members defended their vote during public comment at Monday's meeting, saying that the literary merit overshadows the book's coarse language and graphic descriptions.
On the other hand, Lisa Bosch, a concerned parent, said the book is vulgar, morally crude and indecent.
She read several excerpts during public comment and claimed it is harmful content to give a minor.
Board members Nick Bolhuis, Greg Chanski, Mark Davis and Barb Hooper voted to remove the book; Andrew DeWitt, Ken Hall and Dawn Sneden voted to let it be.
At first, the district did not post a video of Monday's meeting to its YouTube page, citing audio quality issues.
After FOX 17 filed a Freedom of Information Act request for a copy, the district posted a link with what they called 'edited' audio and shared it with us.
This is not the first time a book was pulled from the school district. Parents successfully petitioned to ban 'Half of a Yellow Sun' by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie from an optional reading list last year. The book is set during the Nigerian Civil War.
You can find the district's Book Review Policy here.
READ MORE: Hudsonville parents get book off reading list due to content
